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One of the things I learned today in prenatal birth prep class is that breast feeding helps with weight loss. How weird. Apparently, the body just producing milk uses many calories per day, so the more you breast feed, the more your body works out. That’s just one advantage of breast feeding. A few others include lower rates of breast cancer, ovarian cancer, and osteoporosis. I think they’ve got me convinced. I don’t really need to lose weight (even after all this pregnancy weight, I’m okay with it), but it’s kind of good to know that there are natural ways the body can go through to lose weight outside of just taking top diet pills or even liposuction or something. I’ve never been a fan of those types of methods, as they seem so unnatural. I think the human body, particularly the woman’s body, is so magnificent in all its form and I appreciate how durable our body is. It’s really cool that my tummy can stretch this far and wide and become a giant balloon, and then stretch back down after it’s all done. How wonderful!!

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Breastfeeding is an amazing thing. I am still nursing Hunter, and he’s almost 2! (A luxury only because I can’t work yet) and I nursed Darius until he was 13 months. During that entire time neither of the boys had ear infections, both of them waited until at least their first birthday’s before getting their first cold, and I had an instant pacifier at my disposal.
I nursed during needles (it prevented the minutes, which can be torturous, of crying and screaming), flying (during take-off & landing), overly-stressful situations (accidents and boo boo’s), bedtime (No wake-up in the middle of the night stuff, just roll over cause we have a family bed), and once during a haircut (to prevent mega wiggling and crooked cuts), and to help calm me down (it soothes one to know there’s someone there to rely on them to be calm).
Breastfeeding eats a whole bunch of calories, and they recommend you continue to take the prenatal vitamins after birth to keep up the calories for the breastmilk. There’s no bottles (unless you pump so Dave can feed her once and a while, or so you can go back to work) so it reduces waste to the environment, it’s cheaper, and if you think of it…formulas are based on cow’s milk or soy. Cow’s milk is milk that’s produced especially to help COW’s grow, not humans, and Soy is a plant.
Anyhow, that’s my spiel on nursing, though I have to add I do envy those who bottle-fed their kids cause they didn’t have to worry about weaning…ever. That is, and will be the hardest part about it for me.

Yeah there are definitely more pros than cons when it comes to breastfeeding. I’m entirely convinced.

I plan to breastfeed when he turns a year old and really, the main reason why I went that route is (besides the weight-loss) is it’s cheaper too. Also, the bonding time is priceless.

I plan to breastfeed until he turns a year old and really, the main reason why I went that route is (besides the weight-loss) is it’s cheaper too. Also, the bonding time is priceless.

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