As you carried your baby in your belly, you dreamed of an instant connection between you – just like the soft focused television ads. He would instantly know you are his mother, the one who will protect him and love him forever and he will love you back. You will be his special person, the one he loves more than anyone else in the whole world.
Right now, though, it doesn’t feel like that. Of course you love him and feel utterly responsible for him but it’s not like the ads – you feel like a zombie craving sleep, he seems more like a tiny poop machine who cries and squirms and feeds endlessly and all you want is some feedback that your endless hours of nurturing are truly making a difference.
Your care is helping your baby thrive. It is helping love grow between you and as this bond grows, he will show you in his own special ways that you are the most important person in his world:
When you really think about it, breastfeeding is pretty bloody amazing.
After a woman gives birth, on cue her post-birth hormones kick in, telling her body to produce breastmilk – the perfect amount at the perfect temperature.
Ah-mazing, right?
It’s also the ultimate portable on-the-go snack, has countless health benefits for both mums and babies, and the rush of oxytocin (the ‘love hormone’) stimulated by breastfeeding helps to promote a special bond between mum and baby.
From the practical to the magical, real mums shared with us what they love most about breastfeeding.