Surfing the net and trying to sort through all the misinformation, conflicting advice, and sales pitches can be really confusing and frustrating.
Relax. Take a deep breath. You’ve come to the right place to find answers to your breastfeeding questions, and practical solutions to any breastfeeding problems you may encounter.
As the mother of six wonderful breastfed children, four perfect breastfeed grand babies, and an IBCLC (International Board Certified Lactation Consultant) with over thirty-five years experience in lactation counseling, I can offer you professional support, as well as information and advice based on my personal experiences over the years.
During the course of nursing six babies, I’ve tandem nursed, co-slept, home birthed, used pacifiers, pumped, nursed in public, gotten bitten, leaked, had cracked nipples, delivered a preemie…I’ve had babies that didn’t gain weight well, babies who weaned early, babies who nursed for years, babies who nursed during pregnancy, babies who were colicky, babies who slept through the night at two weeks, babies who weren’t sleeping through the night at two years…you get the idea.
I’m not trying to sell you on anything, although I do hope you’ll support the advertisers who help me keep my site up and running. I will tell you what breastfeeding products I think are good – and I’ll also tell you which ones I think are a waste of money, and why. I have strong opinions about lots of things, and won’t hesitate to put them out there on the table. I’m unapologetically a huge proponent of breastfeeding, and in a perfect world, I’d like to see every woman nurse her baby.
However, I’m not here to cast judgment on anyone, and I’m not about to step into the divisive minefield of the bottle wars. Moms have a hard enough time doing what they feel is best for their babies without having guilt trips thrown into the mix. Mothering is the hardest job in the world, and somehow women are expected to navigate it without a road map.
I do think that the more women find out about the benefits of breastfeeding, as well as the risks of artificial feeding, the more likely they are to make an informed choice about whether to breast or bottle feed. Breastfeeding wins, hands up, but we live in a bottle feeding culture, and formula companies throw billions of dollars into convincing moms that their human milk substitutes are ‘just as good’ as breastmilk.
Every nursing couple is unique, and a one size fits all approach just doesn’t cut it. One mom’s goal may be to nurse for the first few days after birth so that her baby can get the protective antibodies of the colostrum, while another mother may want to nurse her child for years.
Whatever your breastfeeding goals are, I’m here to help. Cruise around the site, check out the articles, and take from them what you need. There are no hard and fast rules about how to be a good mom, or about how you feed your baby – regardless of what anyone says.
The one thing I have found to be absolutely true over the years is that mothers rarely go wrong when they follow their instincts. No one knows your baby better than you. Learn as much as you can about breastfeeding, treat your baby as the unique tiny individual he is, ask lots of questions, make sure that you have a good support system when you encounter the inevitable ‘bumps in the road’ as you embark on your journey into motherhood – and most of all, trust yourself.
Hang on to your seats….parenthood is gonna be quite a ride! I can’t make it easy (because it’s not), but I can help you with the breastfeeding part. You’re embarking on a lifelong adventure, one that’s worth every single sleepless night, every stretch mark, and every poopy diaper. From the first time you see your positive pregnancy test, your life will never be the same.
Enjoy it, embrace it, take it one day at a time…and let me help you have a successful breastfeeding experience, whatever that means to you.
Welcome to Breastfeeding Basics, and enjoy!
Sincerely,
Anne Smith, IBCLC
PS: Breastfeeding Basics has been a labor of love for me for over a decade. Over 6,000,000 moms visit the site every year to read my articles, and I am honored that I’ve been able to reach out and touch so many new mothers all over the world via the internet. I’m glad that so many of you are finding the information you need, and I’m asking only one thing in return : donate a few dollars to Project Pets: Spay, Neuter, Love– a non-profit group that provides spay/neuter services for rescue animals. I’ve been involved in animal rescue for over 40 years, and I’ve seen way too many homeless pets put down in shelters. Just a few dollars can spay or neuter a dog or cat and prevent the birth of hundreds of unwanted puppies or kittens. Every single dollar counts. Please give what you can. It means a lot to me, and even more to the furbabies!
Find out more about how you can make a difference by visiting Project Pets on Facebook.
