A highly debated topic; breastfeeding.

I never in my life thought I would be nursing a baby, let alone nursing a toddler. When I got pregnant with Jacob breastfeeding was not something I was interested in, at all. I was repulsed by the idea honestly. When I had Jacob, I decided to give it a shot. Nobody was very helpful at that time. So I gave up and Jacob was given formula. On day 3 of his life my milk came in. All I could think was this was my one shot to try again. So I did. I couldn't get him to latch, so I had to pump, and i did. Around the clock. It was exhausting. Finally I was able to meet with a lacation consultant, and to be honest we never really got latching down. It is what it is.

So here is my rant. Why don't more people TRY breastfeeding? I see so many people who say it's gross, and it's this and that. Their boobs are theirs.. or their husbands.. or their neighbors [lol]. Who knows what they do. Almost everyone says they don't produce [which is pretty rare honestly]. It's just irritating to me. I feel really strongly about breastfeeding as of lately. I just think that if people tried it out for 6 weeks. And went from there. Their minds might change and more babies would be breastfed. I never had a set goal really. I made it to 6 weeks and said lets see how 3 months goes, from there to 6, to 9, and then I said what the heck let's go a year. Jacob is 15 months old now, and I don't really plan to stop anytime soon. I know a lot of people who wean feel "done" with it. I don't feel that at all. Actually the idea of weaning makes me really sad! I've cried a few times at LLL meetings just talking about it! Now, I am not one of those moms who would look down on a mother for formula feeding. I get that you can't force anyone to breastfeed, and in some cases there is a legit reason someone can't. But really. I just don't understand how someone can look at all the benefits for both baby and mom. And yet, not even want to try. Someone please explain this to me!

Just a vent!

Today Jacob had his 15 month appointment.  I don't always keep up with those appointments because I mostly find them pointless. I go sometimes just to see how much he weighs and if I have any concerns. My boy is 32 and a half inches and 24lbs. Any who, my vent is about the pediatrician we saw. She was older, so I wasn't expecting her to act the way she did. First, she wanted us to lay him down so she could listen to his heart, lungs, look in his ears. Stuff like that. All I said was "He's not going to like this" and her response? "I don't care, doesn't bother me". After that I figured she was just a mean person honestly. So we mention how picky he has been with eating. He used to eat great, then all the sudden it was like boom. He will eat chicken, meatballs, pizza, peanut butter and jelly, and all breakfast foods. It's been hard trying to get him to eat better. I offer everything I make to him. But I am not going to let him starve either you know? Anyway. She told me that I need to start cutting back on nursing sessions.  She said 5-6 was too many and I should only be nursing him twice a day. Morning and night. I'm also not suppose to comfort nurse him throughout the day.

Uhhhh.. what? I was so shocked I didn't even have a clever response! She told me he's not eating because he nurses so much. No. He's not eating because he is being picky. Our nursing sessions have nothing to do with it! He gets juice probably 3 times a day in a sippy cup, and he doesn't drink cow's milk. So those nursing sessions are not only comfort, but something to drink! She mentioned we need to push the cows milk on him. I just said "Human milk for human babies". I've always liked that saying, figured I could use it. But wow. I was really shocked. I have never had any issues with doctors trying to get me to wean Jacob. His normal ped is happy that we're still breastfeeding and he supports going for as long as we want to. I don't know what this lady was thinking! I'm pretty mad about it.

On a positive note, we will continue to breastfeed for as long as we feel comfortable doing so. I have my days where I think about weaning him. But I know that he enjoys nursing and that it's such a comfort to him. I am not going to take that away from him.