Is Breastfeeding Right for Me?

You’ve heard a lot of talk about how great breastfeeding is, but maybe you’re still not sure if breastfeeding is right for you.

When I was pregnant with my first baby, I really wasn’t sure if I would breastfeed. Honestly, I was little squeamish about the idea.

Maybe you’re just not sure if you can keep up with it or maybe you’ve heard horror stories (whether true or not!) that make you feel scared to breastfeed.

I’ll share with you both the great and the not-so-great parts of breastfeeding to help you make your decision.

Breastfeeding can be so rewarding! But it is also hard work; and it will change your life.

The good news, though, is that there are many people who want to support women throughout their breastfeeding journey, no matter how long or short that journey may be.

Let me be one of your supporters to help you on your journey!

In this post, I’ll cover the benefits of breastfeeding, the challenges, and share a bit about my own experience breastfeeding my two girls.

Jump to a section:

• Is Breastfeeding Right for Me?
• Breastmilk 101
• Breastfeeding Benefits for Baby
• Breastfeeding Benefits for You
• The Challenges of Breastfeeding (and How to Solve Them)
• The Real Factor in Determining If Breastfeeding Is Right For You

My First Time Nursing My Baby

The second my newborn baby was handed over to me and I looked into her dark, beautiful eyes, I had such a strong urge to nurse her. It just felt so natural to want to breastfeed.

When she began to suck, I felt like a superhero. I thought to myself, I can do this. I can feed my baby and keep her alive with just my milk!

We faced a lot of challenges in that first month. Challenges like engorgement, thrush, blebs, and clogged ducts.

What got me through those challenges were three things:

1. that superhero feeling I got when I saw my baby thrive because of the milk only I could produce for her;
2. the overwhelming support of my family and friends; and
3. Google.

Yup, I spent a lot of time googling for answers. I’ll briefly cover some of the answers I found to my breastfeeding challenges later in this post, but first, let’s figure out if breastfeeding is right for YOU.

Is Breastfeeding Right for Me?

If you want to figure out if breastfeeding is right for you, then answer these questions for me:

• Do you have a baby?
• Do you want to breastfeed this baby?
• Do you have boobs?

If you answered yes to all the above questions, then breastfeeding is going to be a great option for you!

Just kidding.

Well, only a little bit.

Deciding whether breastfeeding is right for you takes a little more reflection than the answers to some generic questions. After all, as I stated earlier, I really didn’t know if I was going to nurse my newborn until she was latched on and I was doing it!

However because of how much time and commitment breastfeeding requires initially, I believe that starting off with that desire to nurse your baby is what can ultimately lead you to success.

Success, in this case, means meeting your breastfeeding goals, whether it’s one month or one year.

The second thing that will help moms succeed with breastfeeding is education.

• Understand what breastfeeding is and how it works.
• Know what the challenges of breastfeeding are and how to conquer them.
• Realize that the rewards of breastfeeding your child go beyond nourishing for survival.

If you’re ready to prepare yourself for breastfeeding success, then let’s start by learning a little more about breastmilk and breastfeeding.

Breastmilk 101

Breastfeeding is a cause-and-effect relationship.

To feed an infant, mom latches baby onto her breast. This triggers baby’s sucking reflex and she begins to nurse.

The sucking signals mom’s body to release milk. This is known as let down. (Read more about how breastfeeding works on BellyBelly.)

The more mom nurses her baby, the more breastmilk she will produce. The less baby drinks, the less breastmilk mom will produce.

So what is breastmilk?

Obviously, breastmilk is milk that comes from a woman’s breast.

But did you know that breastmilk contains

• water,
• proteins,
• enzymes,
• fats,
• vitamins,
• carbohydrates,
• white blood cells,
• antibodies,
• and more!

And scientists are still discovering more about the chemical make-up of breastmilk! Find out more about the composition of breastmilk in this article (check out their references at the end if you want to geek out.)

Formula contains only a fraction of the wholesome ingredients found naturally in breastmilk, with the downside of not being perfectly customized for YOUR unique baby.

It could take some trial and error to find the right formula for your baby’s specific needs, especially if your baby has cow’s milk, soy, or other types of intolerances or sensitivities.

RELATED: 7 Nighttime Baby Products to Help New Parents Get More Sleep

Breastmilk is kind of amazing. To think that even with the advanced technology and leaps humans have made, we cannot replicate breastmilk, nor can we fully understand all the benefits of breastmilk for a baby.

Here’s some of what we DO know about breastmilk.

1. It’s easy to digest.
2. Mom’s immunities are passed along through breastmilk.
3. It morphs to meet baby’s changing needs.
4. It’s the safest food for baby to have.
5. It comforts baby.
6. Here’s the best one: It can change flavor. (Wild!!)

Let’s explore more of these benefits that are unique to breastfed babies and their moms.

Breastfeeding Benefits for Baby

Breastmilk protects babies against allergies. Some babies have difficulty tolerating proteins found in cow’s milk or soy milk. Drinking formula containing these proteins can cause allergic reactions, including eczema. With breastmilk, food allergies are not a concern because breastmilk is the perfect first food for newborns and infants.

Breastfeeding lowers the risk of many illnesses and childhood diseases. According to this article by the American Academy of Pediatrics, an exclusively breastfed baby has a lower risk for

• asthma,
• childhood obesity,
• ear infections,
• eczema,
• diarrhea and vomiting,
• type 2 diabetes,
• leukemia, and
• SIDS.

Because breastmilk can change to meet baby’s needs, it can change to contain the antibodies needed to fight off an infection. These antibodies can help baby fight the infection more quickly and get back to being happy, healthy baby a whole lot sooner.

Baby’s tummy will be happier. Breastmilk is easy for babies to digest. Babies who are exclusively breastfed experience less diarrhea, vomiting, constipation, stomach upset, and spitting up. They’ll also poop more initially than formula-fed infants, but later on, exclusively breastfed babies may end up pooping up to only once a week! Additionally, those poops will be a lot less stinky than formula poops!

Breastfeeding Benefits for You

Moms who breastfeed may lose weight faster. Producing milk is a lot of work! You could burn up to 500 calories a day just by breastfeeding.

Of course that also means you’ll be a lot hungrier. I wasn’t super hungry with my first baby, but with my second, I was inhaling food alllll the time. I was surprised by how much weight I lost even with my ten-Oreos-a-day diet. Guess what? I was back in my pre-baby jeans in five months. And that’s my pre-first-AND-second baby jeans! Woohoo!

Delayed menstruation up to a full year. Because exclusively breastfeeding (i.e., no solids, no formula or supplements of any kind) can delay ovulation, periods may not come back right away either! Of course you’ll still want to have a backup contraceptive since you’ll have no clue when ovulation starts back up again. We all know what could happen nine months after “that one night I forgot to take my pill.”

Breastfeeding moms have easy access to milk, anytime, anywhere. Breastfed babies are super portable as long as they’re with their moms! This was one of my favorite things about breastfeeding. I didn’t have to worry if I had brought feeding supplies with me. They were both always with me! (Ha. Ha.)

If we were out later than intended, we didn’t have to rush home to get a bottle ready. If we were stuck in traffic on a road trip, we could pull over and feed the baby!

Eventually you’ll get into such a groove that you can practically breastfeed in your sleep. I was so grateful for breastfeeding in those early months with a newborn because I could roll out of bed, grab the baby, pop her on and feed her, then get us both back to our own beds all without turning on the lights!

Moms who breastfeed have a lowered risk of breast cancer and ovarian cancer (source). Breastfeeding also lowers women’s rates of hypertension, hyperlipidemia, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. Yay!

You’ll save money by breastfeeding. Formula can cost over $1,500 a year at the low end, and this is excluding the cost of bottles and nipples. Breastmilk, technically, is free, but there are accessories that most breastfeeding mothers purchase to make their experience go as smoothly as possible.

For example, I purchased a couple bottles, breastmilk storage bags, nipple cream, nursing pads, a nursing cover, nursing bras, and a few pumping accessories. This cost me a little under $200. My pump was free with insurance, or I would have had to shell out $350 for that.

So yes, you will save money breastfeeding, but it’s not all free.

Breastfeeding releases oxytocin, which will help you feel good. Oxytocin is a hormone that causes us to feel happy and promotes bonding between a mother and baby. When moms breastfeed their babies, oxytocin is reponsible for the let-down, or milk ejection reflex, and helps moms relax and feel all ooey gooey over their sweet little babies.

Personally, I felt the most at peace and the most connected with both my babies while nursing them. I loved watching them nurse and treasured our special times together.

The way their eyes fluttered as they started to get drowsy and full. The feeling of their bodies snuggled close to me. How they relaxed they were as they fed even though ten minutes ago they were acting wild and crazy!

I could see how some women might prolong nursing their babies past the one year mark, the two year mark, and even the three year mark!

Oxytocin is more than just a happiness hormone, too. It causes the uterus to contract and shrink when breastfeeding. Contractions sound bad, and they can be uncomfortable, but they’ll also help the uterus shrink back to its pre-pregnancy size while lessening the risk of hemorrhage.

The Challenges of Breastfeeding (and How to Solve Them)

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Now you know how breastfeeding can benefit you and your baby, but let’s get real about the challenges of breastfeeding.

The challenges may be difficult, but they’re not impossible. And as you’ve seen from the benefits of breastfeeding above, there are great rewards for those who take on breastfeeding.

These are some common issues women face when breastfeeding, and I’ve included a way to solve each issue just to illustrate how breastfeeding is hard, but not impossible.

Sore nipples. An overly hungry baby will suck very hard, and that hurts. The first few times, it won’t be bad, but day two will start to get uncomfortable and could get worse before it starts to get better.

There are plenty of things you can do to alleviate pain in the meantime, such as checking your baby’s latch and putting cream or soothing gel pads on your nipples, but it will still hurt until your body gets used to it.

Engorgement. Just when you thought your boobs couldn’t get any bigger, they do! Engorgement happens when milk builds up too much from either your milk coming in or from skipping a feed. The best way to relieve engorgement is to feed baby or express your milk.

Breastmilk leaks. The sound of a baby crying will make you leak. Sometimes thinking about feeding your baby will make you leak. And every night for the first couple months, your breasts will leak. Heavy duty pads or these amazing milk-savers will keep your clothes nice and dry.

Your OOTD will need to be planned around breastfeeding. If you plan on feeding baby in public, you probably won’t want to wear anything that doesn’t include easy access to your milk-makers. For me this meant two-thirds of my dresses were out of commission, but at least I’ll have one more thing to look forward to when I’m done nursing. Yippee!

Cluster feeding. Newborns feed around the clock, and at times, they will want to nurse as often as every hour! This is called cluster feeding. Babies who cluster feed may be tanking up for the night, or might be going through a growth spurt. In my experience, cluster feeding doesn’t last forever, but just requires time and lots and lots of patience. Netflix also helps.

Plugged ducts. Our breasts are made up of milk ducts, fatty tissue, and blood vessels. Sometimes one of the ducts will be blocked and cause pressure to build up. The plugged duct will feel like a sore, tender lump inside the breast.

I had plugged ducts often in the first few months of breastfeeding, and the first one was scary because I didn’t know what it was!

But I learned to recognize the symptoms (tenderness and swelling in one area of the breast) and take care of it quickly (feeding only on the plugged side, switching nursing positions, soaking in warm water, massaging the sore spot) before it got to be a problem.

For more breastfeeding tips and tricks, check out this post.

Wondering if baby is eating enough. Because breastfeeding moms can’t measure their milk unless they pump and bottle feed, it’s difficult to know exactly how much baby is eating.

As a new mom, I was constantly worried that I wasn’t feeding my newborn enough. She had all the signs of a healthy, well-fed baby: she slept well, she was relaxed and content after feedings, and more importantly, she was gaining enough weight. Those fears just kept coming back though.

It wasn’t until I pumped for the first time that I saw just how much milk I was producing. And after that, I never wondered if she was eating enough again 🙂

Pumping problems. You’ll want to go out for a day without baby at some point. Or you might go back to work. Or maybe dad wants a little bonding time with the new baby! Pumping is a must for all breastfeeding moms. It doesn’t hurt (though you’ll never look at a gallon of milk the same way again!), but it is a pain to work out a pumping schedule and figure out how to use the darn thing!

I would recommend getting a quality pump, and taking a pumping class like this one from Milkology, especially if you are going back to work and planning to continue breastfeeding. Stacey Stewart is a certified lactation educator and the founder of Milkology, and she will guide you through pumping step-by-step and answer every question you might have, including how to choose a pump, how to store breastmilk safely, your rights as a breastfeeding mama, and more! Check out The Ultimate Back to Work Pumping Class at Milkology if you want to learn how to maximize your time at the pump.

Low milk supply and oversupply. Breastmilk supply can go both ways: you can have too little or too much. Sometimes moms can think they have low milk supply when really their babies are cluster feeding or just needing extra comfort.

Oversupply is another story. You’ll know you have too much milk because your boobs will be rock hard almost always, and poor baby may choke or gag on the force of milk behind those giant boobs. Cool breast therapy pads like these help to relieve some of the engorgement that happens with oversupply until it’s time to feed baby again. Block feeding and no extra pumping will help regulate oversupply.

Breastmilk supply is ever-changing and the first few months it seems to be all over the place! It does eventually regulate itself to match baby’s needs and most of the challenges above will no longer be an issue.

The Real Factor in Determining If Breastfeeding Is Right for You

We’ve talked about the benefits of breastfeeding and the challenges, and if you’ve made it to the end of this post, I applaud you!

So, is breastfeeding right for you?

Maybe this will help you decide: the real factor in determining if breastfeeding is right for you, is your physical and mental ability to breastfeed.

Can you physically breastfeed your baby? If so, then you should.

Are you strong enough emotionally and mentally to take on the challenges of breastfeeding? If so, then you should breastfeed.

So many of us get guilted into things, like continuing to breastfeed even if we struggle emotionally or physically, whether that’s by not making enough milk (even with the help of galactagogues or power pumping) or other health-related reasons.

New moms are being thrust into a challenging new life where they have to learn how to meet the needs of a baby who only communicates by crying. It’s exhausting, both physically and emotionally.

Adding breastfeeding to this can make new mom life worse if she is struggling already and doesn’t have enough support.

Thanks to the baby-friendly hospital initiative launched by the World Health Organization and UNICEF in 1991, breastfeeding has become widely accepted and venerated. This is a good thing.

Unfortunately, the “breast is best” campaign has created some advocates who have guilted moms into breastfeeding even though the moms and their babies clearly weren’t thriving.

Moms who struggle with breastfeeding may struggle needlessly for too long for fear of being judged harshly for seeking an alternative.

This causes unneeded stress for new parents and takes the joy out of caring for a new baby.

If you are on the fence about breastfeeding, I hope that you’ll try it. I hope that you can surround yourself with people who will be your advocates and support you whether you decide to continue breastfeeding or if you decide to stop.

Because our real job as mothers is not to breastfeed our babies, it’s to provide them with love, comfort, stability, and nourishment.

If you need formula to do that, then you’re being the best mother to your baby that you can possibly be.

If you choose to breastfeed, then you, too, are being the best mother you can possibly be.

So, is breastfeeding right for you?

There’s only one way to find out, and it starts with you.

Are You Ready to Take On Breastfeeding?

I covered a lot of things in this post, but there are a lot of other breastfeeding topics you may be wondering about. If you’re ready to learn more, then you need to take The Ultimate Breastfeeding Class from Milkology.

Milkology is a great resource on breastfeeding and was founded in 2017 by Stacey, a Certified Lactation Educator, as a way to educate and empower women to meet their lactation goals.

The whole class is online and covers topics like how lactation works, latching techniques, and what to expect from your first month of breastfeeding and beyond!

Enrolling in the breastfeeding class gives you lifetime access to the course and comes with free bonuses like a troubleshooting guide to breastfeeding issues, The Little Black Book of Breastfeeding Secrets, and more!

If you’ve made the choice to breastfeed, then I want to see you succeed!

Why not get as prepared as you can by learning as much as you can about breastfeeding before baby comes? Check out my review of the class if you want more info.

More of My Posts on Breastfeeding

You may also want to check out these additional breastfeeding resources on EYT.