Where was I? This momnesia can be a bear ... oh, yeah. I told the very sweet caller to be gentle on herself, and that she should remember it's 9 months up and 9 months down, and that she had given her twins the gift of a long gestation and high birthweight, which takes a bit of poundage on mom's part (boy, do I remember that!). Then I had a thought, and asked if she had nursed her babies.
She hadn't. Which, of course, is every mother's choice. But in all the yada yada yada about how great it is for the baby (which it is) and how many IQ points it gives them (it does) and how it's a real money saver (oh, boy, is it ever!), it's easy to miss what I like to call:
Breastfeeding Benefits for Selfish Chicks:
Right away, as in, the first time you nurse after birth, before you're even in your over-priced "good room," breastfeeding makes your uterus shrink! Seriously -- you can actually feel it contract, and it's not comfy. But getting that duffle-bag sized womb back into its travel case (that's how I picture it -- like a raincoat that folds into its own pocket) is the first step toward Getting Your Body Back.
Did I mention it's free? So you can take all the money you would have spent on bottles and sterilizers on some cool duds for yourself, maybe even on a pair of wicked cute and comfy shoes.
Your breasts will look fabulous. You might not want anyone to touch 'em, but they'll be full. That's a good thing.
I could go on, but bedtime for my four has come and gone and two of them are still wondering the halls. That's the benefit I still miss -- I was able to be my lazy self and get them to sleep with nary a second thought. Now, parenting takes actual thought. :)
I'll leave you with my favourite, easiest trick for hiding a mummy tummy after having a baby -- wear your baby! Slings make nursing easier, and camouflage that extra skin!
Check out the Belly Bandit on Good Day LA in the am, and as always, tell me what you think!
Posts
4 comments:
I wonder how hard it must be to nurse twins. I know a few people who had twins and none of them lasted more than a few weeks. As the mom of a singleton who nursed every 45 minutes for months, I give moms of twins a lot of leeway.
I never used a Belly Bandit, just a good old-fashioned girdle. My stomach is still flabby, but honestly? It ain't that serious.
Actually, having nursed twins and singletons, it's not significantly harder to nurse 2, IF you feed them at the same time. Otherwise, it's like nursing one baby that never sleeps! You also need someone to feed YOU, since the caloric needs for the mom are huge (3500 a day -- yum!) and, most importantly, to ignore all the naysayers. Milk is a supply and demand thing. So twice the demand, twice the supply. The other cool thing is that a weak latch on one baby won't hamper their intake -- the other baby does the work of getting letdown until they correct their latch.
My point to this mom wasn't to berate her for not nursing, but to point out that her only solution was now the one that all of us face -- exercise and taking in fewer calories than we burn. Darnit!
Bfding does really help a lot!!!! I loved and still loving it!
Yeah, I didn't think you were trying to berate her.
And as someone who has not lost an OUNCE from breastfeeding, I am sticking out my tongue at those who eat like pigs and the weight falls off.
Post a Comment