I am an African American woman breastfeeding currently, so I wanted to share my story and why it is so important to Breast Feed, if you are able!

Breastfeeding is the best thing that you can do for your baby and at the same time it is the biggest sacrifice you will EVER make in your life.  When I was pregnant with my son, I knew I wanted to  give breastfeeding a chance.  I knew I wanted to do it.  I did tons of research and read all about it.  One of the things in my birthing plan, was to immediately have skin on skin contact.  In doing my research, it was best to do this, it helped the baby but also helped in promoting breastfeeding.

When Baby M was born, I was able to immediately have skin on skin contact and he immediately began to nurse.  It was like he already knew what to do.  I already had this amazing bond with him, but once he began Nursing it was an indescribable bond IMMEDIATELY.

How Your Partner Can Get Involved

Now don’t get me wrong, those first couple months were extremely HARD!!  My main concern was, “Oh Boy, I’m going to be up all night feeding the baby while the Hubs snoozes away”… LOL LOL  But you know what, the Hubs was so involved.  When Baby M would wake up for a feeding, he was there to go get him from his bassinet, change his diaper and hand him to me for feedings.

Once I was finished Nursing, the Hubs would burp him and lay him back down to sleep.  The cycle would start all over again when baby woke up again.  It was awesome!!  It was a great way to get the Hubs involved in those night feedings every 2 hours.   The Hubs also got involved with helping to massage my breasts to help with milk let down.  He was so supportive to me and helped every way that he could.  The first month was so hard because of the sore nipples, trying to get him to latch on correctly, and just pure exhaustion!  But you know what… Baby M is 7 months old now, still breastfeeding, and I would so go through the beginning months all over again.

I plan to Nurse Baby M up until he is 12 months, and maybe a little bit more if he wants to, but my goal now is for the 1st  year.  It has been smooth sailing and I love Nursing my son.  I know he is getting the best nourishment from me and it helps me to eat healthy!!  He has only had 1 cold since birth and it was just a slight cold.  It only lasted a few days.  Other than that he hasn’t been sick at all.  I totally believe that breastfeeding had 100% to do with that.

He has 2 teeth now and I was so concerned Nursing would be an issue , but I can tell you, it doesn’t even matter!  It is no different just because he has teeth.  Although breastfeeding is a HUGE sacrifice, If you are able to, Please Do It!  It is the best thing you can do for your little one!!

Are you currently Breastfeeding, Plan to Breastfeed, or Have Breastfed your baby?  How did your partner help?