Why I breastfeed

In my previous entries, I've talked about the challenges of finding time to pump at work and why I can't just skip a day of pumping when it's particularly inconvenient. So your next question might be, "If it's so hard to find the time to pump, and you can't just skip a day, why continue doing it at all? Is formula really that bad?"

Well, I ask myself that same question just about every day. Actually, about five times a day, when I slip away and hook myself up to my pump.

Here are some of the reasons why:

1. Breastmilk is the very best food for Littles. This really cannot be disputed. Not that formula is bad, but it's not as good as breastmilk. There are plenty of sites explaining all the benefits of breastmilk (here is one), so I won't repeat them here.
   
   My little girl deserves the very best. Enough said.
   
   If I couldn't breastfeed for some reason, obviously giving formula would be the very best thing to do, far better than starving Littles! But I can breastfeed, even while working -- it's just a question of whether or not I'm willing to commit a few hours a day to pumping. Giving her something less than the best, just because I couldn't commit to a few hours a day for a few months, would make me feel guilty. (Don't get me started on guilt. Working mother's guilt is a whole 'nother blog entry.)
   
2. It's hard. If someone tells me that something is hard, that just gives me more motivation to go out and do it. When I hear that only 25% of working moms are still breastfeeding when their babies are 6 months old, and only 11% are still breastfeeding at one year, that makes me want to be in that 11%.
   
   I also hope that by putting myself out there and working/pumping and talking about it, I make it easier on the next mom who comes along and wants to do it. I really hope that by the time Littles is a mom, those numbers on working moms who breastfeed are a lot higher, and I like to think I'm doing my part to make that happen.
   
3. I'm cheap. Don't let anyone tell you that breastfeeding is free. My pump cost over $200. I've spent a couple hundred dollars on nursing bras/tanks, nursing cover-ups, replacement pump parts, etc. etc. But all of those costs are fixed, whether I keep pumping or switch to formula today. I can't justify spending money on formula when I have a perfectly acceptable alternative that doesn't require spending more money.
   
4. I'm lazy. Breastfeeding means no bottles to heat up, no dishes to wash!
   
5. Formula is too hard to figure out. Over Christmas, when I thought we might need to switch to formula soon, I wandered through the baby aisle at the grocery store. Littles' pediatrician had recommended Good Start formula, but I was amazed to discover that there were three or four different kinds of Good Start formula alone! Not to mention Similac and Enfamil, plus all the specialty formulas for kids with allergies... way too confusing. Breastmilk is easy -- there's only one kind!
   
6. I love breastfeeding. This one is hard to explain if you've never done it (and possibly even if you have). I love snuggling with Littles at the end of the day and feeding her and relaxing and reconnecting. I love knowing that breastmilk is something I can give her that no one else can, a special gift. I know that all too soon, the day will come where she'll be a big girl who doesn't need or want that gift anymore. I don't want to rush that day.

So that's why I stick with it, even when the going gets tough.