It�s true what they say. If you can do it for a month, you�ve cracked it. I would however suggest that one shouldn�t get cocky until about six weeks. Then of course there are the growth spurts to be taken into consideration. This is the point at which you have to learn to do absolutely everything one-handed because the other is holding the baby to the breast for the twentieth time that day. I can vividly remember when Sam was about ten weeks old I somehow managed to combine breastfeeding with putting on a load of washing, telephoning the bank and making beans on toast for five.
Sam is now four months now and weaning. Having weaned three other children previous to this I am absolutely convinced that baby food actually explodes on impact. My advice to first timers is not to make the mistake of trying to get pureed carrot into the baby�s mouth, but instead to spread it over the face and body where it can be absorbed by the skin the way nature intended.
But this is straying from the point.
I wanted to breast-feed, and breast feed I did. It took me three goes, but by jingo I�ve got it now!. And I did finally drop the guilt bag I had carried around for the four years between my first and third-born.
My two daughters did not have the benefit of breast milk, but looking at them now, strong, healthy, beautiful and full of mischief, I need not have worried. The way a mother feeds her new-born is not always based purely on her own preference. Sometimes circumstances can dictate how she must proceed, and to feel guilty about not doing what nature tells you to do is not only pointless, but can also be destructive. I am proud that I could breast-feed two out of my four children. I am also proud that in each case the choice I made has kept my family happy and avoided a great deal of unnecessary stress.
Yes, breast probably is best. But sometimes, you just have to give a little. |
