Breastfeeding

Easy parts:

• It's cheap. Like zero dollars. Enough said
• It is (after the initial phase) so easy. Guess who never had to leave her bedroom if she didn't want to when baby boy woke up (and again, and again) in the middle of the night? This girl.
• Another point, it burns like 500 extra calories a day. Hot dang.
• Lastly, my favorite perk, breastfeeding my son created a bond that I never want to give up. I can't even describe the way my heart melts when those little beautiful blue eyes gaze up at me and then when he gets so tired and milk-drunk that he simply cannot keep his eyes open any longer. I could stare at him for.ev.er.

Not so easy parts:

• It sucks at first. It(or he) sucks a LOT at first. That baby boy ate and ate and ate the first few weeks. When he was about 2 weeks old my nipples were so sore, but they eventually toughened. Someone told me to every time ask myself if I could make it through one more feed, and I did. It was definitely better by the time he was a month old.
• Clogged ducts are no fun. I had one when he was a few weeks old after I went like 6 hours without pumping one night when I was at clinical. It certainly did not help my sore nipple problem and feeding on the affected side was nightmarish and I remember actually crying once. Thankfully after massaging and massaging during hot showers for a few days it cleared up. Clogged ducts can lead to mastitis.
• You might feel tied down to the baby. I know I did a bit, not because I necessarily wanted to go anywhere, but because feeling like I couldn't go anywhere made me crazy. I have never been one for staying at home all day every day for more than a couple days. Having a pump and building a freezer stash is really a lifesaver. It was really awesome to be able to get away for an hour or two, even if it was just to get groceries. A note, though: even if your baby eating pumped milk, your boobs will still produce milk. I have gone 6 hours before without feeding or pumping, and by that time I am engorged, leaking, and sore. Be sure to bring your pump, or learn how to hand express (I haven't tried that yet).
• Getting the hang of and becoming comfortable breastfeeding in public takes a bit (or at least it did for me), but it is awesome. You barely have to pause what you're doing to get the babe to latch on. Nursing tank tops rock. I only have one, but it's a lot easier (for me) to unsnap part of it instead of plopping my boob out overtop.

Nursing my son is one of the things I've done in my life that I am most proud of. In high school, I never thought I would nurse my kids. I was ignorant; I didn't know any better. I knew my mom had breastfed me, at least for a little while, but I was sure it wasn't for me. Then, I got baby fever pretty bad after AJ and I had dated for over a year. I knew we weren't ready to have a child yet, but I started to spend a lot of my time researching about all things baby.
When I was pregnant, I set a tentative goal of breastfeeding for 6 months. There were many times in those first days that I thought that I wouldn't make it; wouldn't even make it one more day. Now, 6 months is shorter on the spectrum than I'd like. Having support is infinitely important when something is so new and so completely different than anything I'd ever experienced before. My family and friends encouraged me, and while that was completely wonderful, no one really close had a lot of expertise on the subject. My online friend added me to a face.book group for breastfeeding mothers, where new (and old) moms can ask questions about their problems. I have only asked a couple questions, but reading everyone else's concerns helped a lot, too. Knowing that I was not the only one to have issues relieved me. Usually everyone comments positively with suggestions; but even an, "Oh, man, I've been there," alleviated my stress. Now, I even have some suggestions on others' concerns, which is awesome.
These are my breastfeeding experiences. No mom is the same as another, just like no baby is the same as another. For some moms/babies, formula is the best option, though I have never met a mother that wished she hadn't tried breastfeeding her baby.