Breastfeeding

Hello fellow moms and dads, thanks for tuning in to Ooh Baby’s Brands blog. Last time, we talked about swaddling; see last post about everything swaddling. This time, we dive into a personal favorite of mine…breastfeeding. Now, who doesn’t enjoy a good old fashion breast feeding?? Now, just in case you have no idea what breast feeding is, and I don’t see how that could be possible, here is the definition of breastfeeding.

verb (used with object), breast-fed, breast-feeding.

1.

to nurse (a baby) at the breast; suckle.

verb (used without object), breast-fed, breast-feeding.

2.

(of a baby) to nurse.

3.

to nurse a baby.

So, basically breastfeeding is the act of feeding a baby or young child with milk from a woman’s breast. It is highly recommended by health professionals that breastfeeding begin within an hour of the birth of your baby. Then continue to feed the baby as often and as much as the baby requires. Being that the milk does not fill the baby’s stomach for long, you will find that you need to breastfeed your baby again within 2-3 hours and this will continue all day.

If you are a first-time parent, this where all your veteran parent friends will tell you how sleeping is almost impossible as your new little one will wake you up many times throughout the night in order to eat. You can pretty much pick out the parents of a new little one because they tend to have the zombie like look; you know, little to no sleep so they are just walking around on autopilot. Now, it is not always convenient to breastfeed, mothers that decide to go back to work instead of being a stay-at-home mom, you can pump your milk to save for later. Please, just remember that pumped milk is not going to last all that long, so pump just for that day. You can find breast pumps at most major department stores and of course on Amazon.

If you are a seasoned parent, and have already been through the process of breastfeeding a little one, you know that when they are hungry they want to eat right this moment and don’t understand that now is not an appropriate time to eat. At that point, they have a single-track mind, I am hungry and I need to eat right now. Sure, if you have a small supply of pumped breast milk on hand it is easy to just feed the baby and make him/her happy. If you are like most parents, you may not have had pumped milk to keep on hand, so the only thing you can do is stop and let the baby eat. This is where a nice, large swaddle blanket comes in handy and a somewhat private spot to feed your little one. Of course, I am sure that you have seen plenty of the videos online or articles about women breastfeeding in public. Personally, I don’t see any issue with breastfeeding your baby when it’s needed. And the people that complain that it is offensive for a woman to have her breast out in public and to be feeding her baby, I mean come on, women walk around all the time with their breasts just about hanging out, and nobody claims that is offensive. In fact, the same people that complain about breastfeeding have no issues with other women having their breasts hanging out of some skimpy piece of clothing. Okay, that is the only rant you will find in this blog post.

During your pregnancy, you start to produce milk. A woman’s breasts have milk glands in them which are activated by pregnancy and begin the process of producing breast milk almost as soon as a conception. One of the early signs of pregnancy is sore, painful breasts. For many women, they will notice a dramatic increase in the size of their breasts early in the first trimester; and if for whatever reason you don’t happen to notice the increase in size of your breast, you can rest assure that your husband will notice that your breasts are getting bigger. In fact, you may have to fight your husband off because more than likely, he is going to want to “handle” your breast. You would do best to limit this type of contact, however, being that your breasts are going to be a little sore and of course there is a chance of leakage. I know in my case, I just about had to keep something handy to swat at my husband for the times that he got a little too handsy. The milk glands are a cluster of cells high up in your breast. When you have your baby, and deliver the placenta, the estrogen and progesterone levels in your body decrease and the hormone prolactin will rise signaling these glands to produce and to send milk down to milk ducts.

Deaths of an estimated 820,000 children under the age of five could be prevented globally every year with increased breastfeeding. Breastfeeding decreases the risk of respiratory tract infections and diarrhea, both in developing and developed countries. Other benefits include lower risks of asthma, food allergies, celiac disease, type 1 diabetes, and leukemia. Breastfeeding may also improve cognitive development and decrease the risk of obesity in adulthood.

Now, there are also benefits for you as the mother as well, those benefits include less blood loss following delivery, better uterus shrinkage, weight loss, and less chance of postpartum depression. Breastfeeding delays the return of menstruation and fertility, a phenomenon known as lactational amenorrhea. Long term benefits for the mother include decreased risk of breast cancer, cardiovascular disease, and rheumatoid arthritis. Breastfeeding is often less expensive than infant formula. Of course, you will need to choose what option is best for you and your baby. Many women choose to breastfeed, as in the end is a cheaper and healthier option for your baby. If you choose to not breastfeed, don’t worry about the milk you can pump and dump to relieve the soreness in your breast and then with time, your body will naturally stop developing milk. Your body is amazing and it knows that you no longer need the milk and will stop producing it. This also works when you stop breastfeeding your baby and start the transition into formula or solid foods. Now, go out there and feed that baby and say to hell with anyone that thinks you are offending then, do what is best for your baby and if they don’t like it, tell them to stop starring. Take care all you parents out there, and don’t forget to stop by our Amazon page (https://www.amazon.com/Ooh-Baby-Swaddle-Blanket-Neutral/dp/B018RUDJNE) and purchase some high-quality swaddle blankets. Because let’s be honest, you can never have enough swaddle blankets.