7 Reasons Why I Love Breastfeeding {Guest Post}

Happy Wednesday! I hope you all are having a wonderful week. If you remember, I mentioned in my August goals that we were about to do a big office move at work. Since it’s monopolizing a lot of my time and energy, I reached out to a few of my favorite blogging moms to help me out this month! I do hope you’ll stick around and get to know them – they are some of my favorite reads and I know you’ll love them too. Enjoy!

Hi Being Mrs. Beer readers, my name is also Jessica, which clearly means I was a product of the 80s and in good company with Mrs. Beer! Before I dive into my post, here’s a little background on me, so you know where I’m coming from.

I’m a mom to two little girls—Julia’s two and a half, and her sister, Madilyn, is 6 months old. My husband is in the Air Force, and since the day I met him, he’s always wanted three girls. I’ve always been very opposed to having more than three kids, but lately that idea isn’t completely off the table. We currently live in Georgia, but we hail from New Mexico, and we were somehow lucky enough to be stationed in Italy for two years; I still dream about our little Italian town every day. I’m a work-at-home mom, and like Jess, I’m on Weight Watchers (currently down 17 pounds—woohoo!). I’m a sucker for red velvet donuts (oh my gosh, so good), coffee ice cream, and anything spicy. Whew! How’s that for a short and sweet intro on myself? Oh! I also blog over at Jessica Lynn Writes, and it’s basically about everything I mentioned above, and more!

Breastfeeding is something I’m passionate about—not in an over-the-top way, but in a this-really-works-for-us way—and I’ve written a decent amount on the topic (check out those posts here). Before you think that everything’s all peachy with our nursing journey, I definitely struggled the first time around, but I’m really happy I gave it another shot this time. I actually recently wrote a post called, Sometimes I Don’t Like Breastfeeding, which strayed from my normal happy, peppy chatter about how much I actually enjoy nursing my baby. So today, to be fair, I’m sharing a few things I actually like about breastfeeding.

I love breastfeeding because…

…it’s cheap.

When I breastfed my first baby I actually had to supplement quite a bit in the first few months, so I didn’t get to reap the monetary benefits from nursing. But this time around we’ve saved quite a bit of money since we don’t have to buy formula. Sure there are still expenses: a breast pump and accessories (if your insurance doesn’t cover it), clothing (nursing tops, nursing bras, etc.), and bottle supplies (if you’re building a stash of breast milk), but comparatively, it’s pretty inexpensive.

…I’m lazy.

Yes, of course you can take a bottle with you wherever you go, but I like knowing that I can whip out a boob (conservatively, of course), when she starts getting fussy, and feed her wherever I am. I don’t have to worry about mixing anything or checking the liquid’s temperature; I don’t have to wash anything after she eats. I can feed her anywhere and everywhere without hesitation.

…I get alone time.

Sometimes life can get a little overwhelming with kids (can I get an “Amen”?!), so sometimes it’s quite nice to have to leave and go to another room to feed the baby. She’s also at an age where she gets really distracted, so calming things down and just being alone with her helps her actually eat.

…I can actually sleep!

Ahhh sleep. I love sleep. So much so that my cousins nicknamed me “Nappy.” I truly can’t imagine having to mix a bottle in the middle of the night (I’m guessing there are some easy tricks to making it quickly?). I like knowing that, when she cries for me at 3:33 am, and the last thing I want to do is open my eyes, I can get her out of her crib, pop her back on the boob in bed, and we can both get some sleep while she eats. I’m so thankful for the side-feeding position. So. Thankful.

…we get to bond.

I’m absolutely not implying that you can’t bond with your child if (s)he’s formula-fed. I’m simply saying that I truly enjoy being as physically close as possible to my little girl some times. I didn’t connect with her as quickly as I did with my first, so I love those quiet moments when she just eats. It sounds corny, but sometimes we’ll literally just stare at each other, and it’s just the best. The last feed of the day is my absolute favorite, because I can literally feel her relax in my arms as she gets one (almost) last meal.

…milk does her body good.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, “breast is best,” we’ve all heard that before, but more than that, I’m seriously in awe that I’m literally helping my little lady grow. With my first, I dreaded every single weight check, and doubted myself and my supply more often than not; I joked that I must’ve had skim milk because she was (and still is) so tiny. This time, my baby has delicious little rolls on her arms and legs, so I can actually see that milk is doing her body good. Knowing that she really is getting the best is extremely comforting to me.

…the adorable extras.

When Maddie is really hungry she’ll sometimes make a hungry excited face that totally reminds me of someone ready to chow down on a huge hamburger. It’s adorable. Babies also make some really cute noises while they eat. It sounds like “nom-nom-nom” combined with a humming sound, but in a baby “voice.” It’s hard to explain, but it’s so gosh darn adorable. Plus, then there’s being milk drunk. I didn’t really experience that the first time around, but Madilyn loooooves getting (milk) drunk. Totally adorable.

In honor of National Breastfeeding Month, I’m actually giving away a nursing scarf on my blog right now. What’s a nursing scarf you ask? Well, it’s just that! It’s a scarf that you can open up and use as a cover. It’s pretty clever and it comes in several great designs. The giveaway also includes a $50 Target gift card, so one reader is going to be a very happy camper!

I’d love to hear what you love about breastfeeding in the comments below!