A Story of a Well-fed Baby

Motherhood is rough, ya'll. It's the best part about my life by far, but the most difficult as well. And I know I am not alone in thinking that. And since I know exactly how tough it can be, I do my best to not judge other's methods of parenting their own children. I think for most of us, we are just doing the best we can. And that is especially true when it comes to how we feed our children.

When Luna was first born I had only weaned Jack about six months prior. I was one of those "weirdo" moms who took part in "extended" breastfeeding with him (he was 2.5) and I have zero regrets. However, I did have my share of struggles in feeding my first born, so when Luna came into the picture, I was worried she would have some of the similar issues her brother faced.

It was those issues that almost made me give up breastfeeding for good when Jack was an infant. It was difficult to push past the shallow latch (used a nipple shield for three months), countless bouts of thrush for both me and him, colic and reflux brought on by my oversupply and overactive letdown and not to mention the fact that I could not eat dairy in significant amounts for several years. All of that added to me having to pump three times a day, five days a week while at work. It was enough to drive any mom crazy. But I was determined to keep going for many reasons:

• Emotionally, breastfeeding really helped balance my mood and hormones. I felt better mentally than I had in years because while breastfeeding, your body gives off extra doses of Oxytocin to help you bond to your baby. And I'll admit, I love that time I get with Luna. Since she's my second baby, she doesn't get as much one on one with me as we'd like so nursing times when it's just the two of us are really special. 

• Also, weight loss. I lost a significant amount of weight while I was breastfeeding Jack. I was 160 when I got pregnant with him, went up to about 180 during pregnancy and then I got down to 130 after having him. Fortunately I seem to be headed in a similar weight loss trajectory this time around as well. I don't work out and I don't eat exceptionally healthy, but breastfeeding seems to be helping me lose the weight anyway. 

• It's cheap. As in inexpensive. (Minus the costs associated with pumping.) I feel so fortunate to have lucked out with an abundant supply. While it's caused issues having so much milk production, my supply has regulated well with Luna and she gets just the right amount she needs to chunk up nicely. :) 

We have started introducing a few solids with Luna.

 

(The carrots are mostly just for teething lol) 

I know some people start a little earlier with their babies and some wait until the 6 month mark or later. I started based on her signs of interest and readiness which hit around 5 months. She gets super angry (hangry?) when we eat in front of her now. So we started giving her small tastes of things that we were already eating.

Other signs of readiness included:

• Sitting unassisted (if babies can do this before they begin solids it helps decrease their choking risks)
• Teeth (obviously they can chew better if there are a few teeth to help them gum through the food.) 
• Interest in food. As I mentioned above, your baby will let you know when they are looking to expand their palate. 

However, while Luna has all of the above, she appears to still have quite the tongue thrust reflex so she can't really chew and swallow much. We do a few purees here and there but she's mostly still exclusively breast fed. I think in the next month or so, she'll start chowing down on solids. Honestly, I am fine with that. Breastfeeding is much easier. Ha.

Going into motherhood, I have learned so much. I've said this before on my blog and I will say it again, motherhood is such a personal experience. We are all different, from vast walks of life, have been raised differently, have learned varying ways to approach parenting and we all take that information and backgrounds and put forth into how we raise our kids. Who are also all very different. That is why I would never venture to say a parent is doing something wrong just because it is not how I choose to do it based on what works for our family.

As long as I don't see signs of neglect or abuse, I really have no business judging how another parent cares for their child. We all are just doing our best. Whether our kids are formula fed, breastfed for a short amount of time or a long time,  as long as they are fed and well-care for, that is all that matters.

For those interested in learning more about various feeding options for your baby, a great resource is the Honest Company's website where you can find out more about what is available and is best for your baby.