THE REALITIES AND FACTS OF EXCLUSIVE BREASTFEEDING.....................

                        The realities of breastfeeding;

Exclusive breastfeeding also called baby friendly breastfeeding is breastfeeding without even a drop of water or baby milk in baby’s mouth for six solid months. It is a natural way of preventing pregnancy for that first six months. As soon as you stop exclusive breastfeeding go for family planning sharp sharp. 

It is no more news that breastfeeding especially exclusive breastfeeding is good for babies. Just as a cow feeds her baby with her breast milk, and every other mammal, so should a woman give her new born baby her breast milk. Apart from being healthy for your baby, breastfeeding has some realities and facts that we usually neglect or may not notice. Exclusive breastfeeding happens to have more breastfeeding tales. 

Some moms may want to do exclusive breastfeeding but due to the nature of their work, they cannot. That is why they buy breast pump, which I also bought but never used and I consider it as one of the unnecessary baby items moms buy for their babies.

 

     1)    Exclusive breastfeeding is money saver; if you do not breastfeed exclusively for six months, I guess you know how much you spend on buying baby milk and formula and for those of us that breastfeed exclusively, we know much we save. Breast milk is the cheapest and safest baby milk and formula for your baby and your husband already paid for the breast, and bought it when he paid your dowry, so feel free to breastfeed your baby.

  

     2)    No washing of bottles; for lazy bones like me that hate washing bottles, sterilizing bottles and all, it takes hard work and being meticulous to keep baby bottles clean and free of germs, you need to sterilize at least once in a month and I don’t have that kind of strength and time please. You must have Milton tablets for sterilization or maybe use hot water and salt. Even after I stop exclusive breastfeeding, I still prefer using plate and spoon because it is easier to maintain, wash and keep clean unlike feeding bottles that has hiding places, bottles can hide germs  hide under the mouth of the feeding bottle.

      3)    exclusive breastfeeding is very convenient; I know very well how lazy I can be, so I will always prefer to go for the easy part of everything including motherhood. It is serious hard work, and tasking to me, preparing baby formula even from boiling the hot water is work. You only need to raise your blouse and feed your baby. No need to stand up, boil water, mix formula and start feeding. Sometimes the baby may not want to feed, and you have to force feed the baby. With breastfeeding no force feeding. I started making my own pap in my house as I stopped buying from the market the day I saw maggot in the pap I bought. You can imagine the hard work involved in making pap, from going to the market to buy the corn and millet, then soaking them for two to three days and changing the water morning and evening, and then finally going to the mill to grind it and then sieving. If only it is possible to breastfeed a baby till that baby is old enough to feed himself/herself, I will take that option with gladness. So I always prefer raising my blouse and feed my baby straight away. Even to make the pap and sit down to feed baby is hard work.

      4)    It makes you, the mother, feed very well; me for one, over feed myself when breastfeeding, I also know some women who does so too, if you ask them, they will say they are breastfeeding and needs to feed very well and very often too. Well, I buy that logic too. Exclusive breastfeeding makes me add weight a little., and then shed off the weight afterwards. The only time I ever managed to weigh up to 70kg was when I was breastfeeding, and the whole weight went off after breastfeeding.

      5)     Breast milk is very healthy, safe and very nutritious for your baby; breast milk has been proven to contain all the essential vitamins and minerals in the right quantity needed for your baby’s optimal growth and development. No baby formula no matter how expensive will contain everything your baby needs in the right proportion.  

     6)    Exclusive breastfeeding is a good, natural family planning method; so far as you are breastfeeding exclusively there is a high possibility of not getting pregnant (at least I used it as a family planning method after I had my first child).   Throughout the period of exclusive I was not on any form f family planning neither was I preventing pregnancy but I didn’t take in until I wanted to. If I'm on exclusive breastfeeding I don't menstruate till the end of the six months. It may not and does not work like for everybody.                                                                                      

      7)    COME TO THINK OF IT, IF YOU DON’T BREASTFEED YOUR BABY, WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO WITH YOUR BREAST? YOU DON’T WANT YOUR BREAST TO SAG? EVEN IF YOU DON’T BREASTFEED AT ALL, YOUR BREASTS WILL STILL SAG WITH AGE. 

TILL I COME YOUR WAY AGAIN…...STAY HAPPY ALWAYS…..                                                                 

You may need to see this post to make sure that you are eating the right thing your baby needs for optimal growth and development.