My two-cents on breastfeeding - I advocate it, and here is why (self images inside)

Hello ladies!! I know that this could be posted maybe in some pregnancy subreddit, but I figured I could get more people to look at this here...potential mothers, not just ladies pregnant now.

I breastfed (and am currently doing so) two children. My eldest will be three in September. My youngest will be 7 mo. on the 17th.

I have three reasons why I beilive that if you push through it and can physically do it, breastfeeding is the best thing you can do for everyone involved.

• MONEY I have saved...gosh, I don't know how much money. One can of generic formula costs 14.00 at Kroger. I think that lasts 3-6 days depending on how old your baby is. Think about that!

• BABY'S HEALTH BENEFITS My eldest has been sick twice since he was born. TWICE. No earaches, no colic, no allergies to food, no coughing/sneezing/croupy nights. My youngest has been sick once...he got sick when my oldest boy was sick. That was a virus that was going around that they both caught, and thankfully, got over quick.

• YOUR WEIGHT Now here is where the images come in. I was 155lbs when I got pregnant with my first son. I only gained 20lbs with him, I was lucky. I lost the 20lbs in 5 months, and was down to 147lbs within 18 months of his birth (I breastfed him for one year). That is when I got pregnant with my second son. Now, this one was baaaaaad. I gained 43 lbs with him (197lbs is pretty substantial on a 5'4 frame!) and felt every bit of it. I planned to breastfeed him just like my other boy.

I have linked here pictures that show you how big a difference it has been on my body. (I will preface these with a disclaimer- I have cut back to only eating meat once a week at most, and no more fastfood since I had him. This may be why I lost more weight more quickly this time...but the breastfeeding is most definitely part of this!!!)

Album of my up and down

This goes from right before I had him right down to a couple minutes ago. Warning- there is a NSFW-ish pic of me in my undies so you can see just how all over the weight has gone (btw I am at 129lbs right now).

I know not everyone that tries, succeeds at breastfeeding. No judgment coming from here; there are alot of...fundies that are too crazy about making women feel bad about not being able to do it. That is the last thing I want to accomplish with this post. I only want to encourage you, for your baby and your sake, please please PLEASE try it!

Love all you girls!