My life as a 42 DD sippy cup
Apr 27 '00
The reality about breast-feeding is that your body does not belong to you – not entirely.
Most women probably know what I’m talking about in reference to pregnancy. Any woman who has experienced the punches, kicks, rolls, and hiccups of their fetus, not to mention the use of her bladder as a trampoline, knows that her body is not entirely her own anymore.
The decision to breast-feed (one that I strongly endorse, by the way) tends to extend that feeling of shared ownership of own’s body. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but it does take some getting used to.
Women who choose to breast-feed exclusively (not supplementing with formula) are the sole source of nutrition for their baby for the first 4 to 6 months of his or her life. I don’t know about you, but this realization just blows me away! I’ve looked at my chubby little babies (and they all have been quite round) and I’m dumbstruck by the realization that I made them that way – completely by myself! All this from an unassuming pale, bluish-white liquid that tastes vaguely of cantaloupe juice.
The cost to mothers in providing this unparalleled nutrition for their baby is quite minimal on the scale of things. However, it’s on my mind these days because of various minor discomforts and inconveniences. Here are some of the "costs" I’ve encountered:
Your body is a temple. Nursing moms needed to be careful about what they consume in terms of medications/drugs, alcohol, and caffeine as these substances can be passed on to their infants through the breast milk. I’m very careful about the medications and drugs, slightly looser about the alcohol (I have one drink maximum on infrequent occasions), and I’m not very good about the caffeine restriction. All of my consumption of these substances meets with full approval by my family physician but that doesn’t mean I don’t have guilt pangs and doubts from time to time.
"What do you mean I can’t eat chocolate?" Some babies don’t respond well to certain foods consumed by their mothers. Common culprits are chocolate, broccoli, and certain spicy foods. So far I’ve been lucky because my kids never reacted poorly to my diet. However, some women have to be very careful about avoiding certain foods or their breast-fed babies will be fussy and gassy.
Nipping at the nipple. When babies are teething, the likelihood that they will use your breast as a chew toy increases. If you're lucky you will have at least three pain-free months after you've gotten over the cracked and sore nipples of a new nursing mom before your baby gets teeth. All of my kids bit me at one time or another during nursing. Generally it happened when they were cutting their first teeth (those hard gums can hurt, too), later when cutting subsequent teeth, when they had colds and were congested, and when I tried to encourage them to keep nursing when they were done ("come on, just one more sip – OUCH!").
Biting is definitely a manageable problem because babies can quickly learn not to do it. However, there will be a few painful nips prior to catching on that Mom doesn’t like the love bites. My 10 month old has bitten me several times in the past week, probably because he is teething. He only has two teeth on the bottom but they are sharp as razors. Sure keeps me from dozing off when I nurse!
No time off for good behavior. If you are nursing exclusively, it’s difficult (though not impossible) to take a day or even a night off with your sweetie away from the baby. Theoretically you can pump ahead of time and have the babysitter give your baby a bottle. However, to be comfortable, you also need to pump about the same time that you would be feeding the baby or else you risk the following problem…
Rock hard breasts. At the very least, engorgement is uncomfortable. It can even be quite painful. I have trouble holding my son in my arms when I’m engorged because the pressure of his body against my chest hurts too much.
Pumping to reduce the pressure from engorgement is not always the best solution, either, because pumping just stimulates more milk production and can ultimately make the problem worse. In addition, I’ve never cared much for pumping, probably because I have a cheapo manual pump (don’t even know the brand). I’ve tried a variety of pumps in addition to mine but I’ve found none that work as well as baby lips for reducing engorgement. Of course, to get the baby lips you need the baby, too. So much for a break from the kids. In addition to being painful, engorgement can lead to …
A leak that the plumber can’t fix. Swollen, leaking breasts are a badge of motherhood, especially in the first few months after birth. As your body adjusts to the changing needs of your baby, you can go through periods of feast and famine when it comes to breast milk. As much as I try, I’ve found it’s almost impossible to put my breast-fed babies on a strict schedule. Some days they are ravenous and nurse constantly and other days they just aren’t as hungry, especially when they have colds. However, my body remembers how much they ate the day before and if they eat a lot less today, I leak. Drip, drip, drip.
In the early days of nursing, I also used to spring a leak whenever I heard another baby cry. I had a student who brought her baby to school with her and whenever she walked by my office with her crying son, I ended up with two big wet circles on my shirt. Nursing pads stemmed the tide a little but they didn’t eliminate the wet spots. Sometimes I would even leak just thinking about my baby or looking at a picture of him. Needless to say, I keep a few spare shirts and bras in my office now. Speaking of clothing, I’ve found myself asking sales clerks…
Does this shirt come in XX-Large petite? Breast-feeding certainly has made me well-endowed. You may think this is a bonus but for me it’s really more of an annoyance. I’m sort of a shy person so having a lot attention directed at my physique is embarrassing for me. I was already "busty" before I had kids. For the past five+ years straight I have been either pregnant or nursing or both so I’ve been top heavy for awhile. It’s hard for me to find shirts that fit comfortably and don’t hang like tents over the rest of my short body. I’d like to get back into running but I need to wear two bras for adequate support and to keep from giving myself a black eye (just kidding).
Someday I know that my son will self-wean, as his two siblings before him did, and all of these complaints of mine will go away. I’ll be able to go on a vacation by myself (or with my husband) without children, go running, eat chocolate, have a few drinks, and wear clothing that is flattering, without fear of unwanted milk stains. And do you know what I’ll do when this day finally happens?
I’ll cry.
This is my last baby. I know that I will never have this kind of intimate, joyous, heart-melting interaction with another baby ever again. There is nothing I’ve ever experienced in my life that compares with the sweet and wondrous experience of nursing my babies. It makes me weepy now just thinking about it coming to an end someday…
P.S. My goal is not to dissuade women from breast-feeding. I wouldn't have done it with all three of my kids if I didn't firmly believe it was the best decision for my children and myself. You just need to go into it with your eyes open...and a willingness to share ownership of your body with your bundle of joy.
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.