Healthy Baby

I can't believe I haven't written about breastfeeding yet...
I love breastfeeding knowing that what I am providing for my baby will help her be healthy for the rest of her life.  I can't believe that some woman actually go into pregnancy planning NOT to breastfeed.  I know that after the baby is here there are several reasons why some woman cannot breastfeed, but I don't understand the women who choose not to from the get go?  I guess that is just me...
All the research I have found says that breastfeeding is the single best thing you can do for your child.  I have a friend, who recently said to me, "I hope you plan to breastfeed for a long time".  I told him at least year for sure.  He was so happy as he blames his chronic flus, colds and allergies on not having been breastfed as a baby.
I am also part of an online site for moms www.babycenter.com there have been many new moms on there that have said that breastfeeding was just too much for them, too hard, too painful, too time consuming, so they give it up after 5-6 weeks. For me, it has been none of these.  I have only had one painful week when I had a clogged duct.  If you like spending time with your baby then it isn't too time consuming and with the help of the lactation consultant and nurses at the hospital, it has been easy.  When I had to start pumping when I went back to work, Rock and I would actually get into fights when I got home if he had a bit of bottle left to feed her that he didn't want to waist, and I wanted to breastfeed her.  Breastfeeding was the strongest bond I had to her after being gone all day at work and I didn't want him to take that from me...I have mellowed a bit on this since that very rough first week.

I am also shocked at the crap that people are willing to put into their children's bodies.  I am not saying I am perfect or ever will be.  Edy will some day eat at McDonalds, have a Coke and even possibly a loathsome Lunchable.
BUT...the other day we were walking into Walmart, a mom, my age maybe with a 1 year old was saying to her daughter, "oh honey, your pants are all wet, did you spill your Coke on yourself?"  It was all I could do not to choke.  Coke? a 1 year old.  Now this was a mom who looked educated, wasn't 18, looked relatively healthy.  Why in the world would she let her 1 year old beautiful baby girl drink a Coke.  We also recently watched a Documentary on a family in West Virginia...yes I know all the stereotypes, but really these people must never have seen a TV show? or newspaper or even a trashy magazine that said how bad it was to put Coke, Mt. Dew and Sprite into your baby's (8 months at most) bottle? Also had they not seen the memo that smoking, doing lines and drinking excessively in front of their children, isn't the best way to help your kids get into college, as they were all saying they wanted for their kids?
So let's say that these people from West Virginia, and even the woman at Walmart hadn't seen any articles or news shows on how to help your children be healthy...to me it is common sense.  These people have some street smarts, they are intelligent in some way.  Couldn't they figure this out themselves? and no I am not buying the whole it is too expensive to buy formula, baby food, etc.  I would give my left leg to feed Edy in a healthy way, I would eat Ramon Noodles every meal if I had to so that she could eat healthy food, I hope it never gets to that but I would.  Isn't that what you do for your kids.  You love them and provide for them so that they can have a better life than you had?  That is the ideal at least.
In order to have a healthy child you have to make those healthy decisions for them.
I am so lucky that I have been able to successfully breastfeed and hope that my efforts will benefit Edy for years to come.  I am priveledged to be able to feed her healthily as she gets older and am excited for the journey.  I find myself already planning the future meals we will have.   I am waiting by the door for my babyfood maker to arrive...I make everything else from scratch, why not this too!