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Reply to "First Time Mom and Breastfeeding - How Long Did You Do IT?"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]For those moms who kept going, did you do it because you enjoyed it or because you feel this pressure to do it because it's best for your baby? I feel like a lot of moms aim to breast feed as long as possible as some sort of contest almost, which everything I've read says that after 6 months. the benefits have leveled out.

But if you love it or find personal benefits to it, I can see sticking with it for longer. I just know for myself that if it was massively inconvenient or pumping made me feel like a dairy cow I don't think I could keep it up. Also, does that mean you're still having to wear nursing bras and pads and worry about leaking and stuff during all that time? And what about sex? [/quote]

PP here who is still going with a 3 year old.  No leaking for me after the first couple of months; I don't wear underwire bras (got mastitis the first time I tried that!) but I don't wear nursing bras now that we're just nursing at nap and bedtime.

To answer your other question about "why," it's not really any of the options you lay out.  I didn't feel pressure, but I did get a lot of encouragement.  I was committed to breastfeeding through the full first year because I did not want to have to use formula, for many reasons.  It turned out that DD is dairy and soy intolerant, so formula was not an option for us.  We continued nursing through the second year because she need the nutrition and fat since she could not eat dairy or soy products or drink dairy or soy milk.  I suppose that the closest answer is "because it's best for her" but that doesn't mean that I disliked it.  There are and were definitely times when it was very hard, when she was going through growth spurts or sick or I was sick and not getting enough sleep.  There were also difficult times emotionally, when I felt trapped and put upon, but that was never about the breastfeeding, that was about my own baggage and just how demanding having a young toddler is.

Because of DD's allergies and food intolerances, she's always been small and we have been very committed to making sure that she gets enough calories and good nutrition.  Therefore, I haven't limited nursing except to gently redirect if she asks for it outside of "regular" times, beginning around 15 months.  If she insists or gets upset, I don't push it.  It might sound silly, but I feel like she's working very hard inside her little body to grow and be healthy and I know that nursing is a reliable comfort and source of food for her.  It has always soothed her when her digestive system is a bit upset and that was one benefit that continued on past 6 months.  There were definitely nights when I would think, "I cannot WAIT for this to be over!" but now that the end is in sight I feel very sentimental about the connection and her trust in and reliance on me, and it will definitely be bittersweet when it's over.[/quote]

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