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| Rachel very excited to be breastfeeding on a hike, Colorado, 2011 |
Just think of all the stuff you don't need: bottles, bottle brushes, formula cans, nipples, nipple caps, nipples in different sizes, bottle warmers, bottle coolers, pacifiers, pacifier holders.
You just need...you! And your baby, of course. Which is good, for someone as forgetful as me.
The only real breastfeeding equipment I needed was herbs and medication to overcome my low milk supply issues, and an SNS. But I made my own tinctures, and all the packaging for my medicine, for the 14 months I used it, probably amounted to 2 cans of formula. The SNS was equal to less than one bottle. Plus, I just discovered that Nordstroms will alter any bra you bring them to turn it into a nursing bra--how cool is that?
I believe that mamas and babies are a true dyad for the first year, and so I never left Rachel for longer than she could go without nursing. I am fortunate to be a full-time, stay at home mom, and so we never needed bottles or a breast pump. I tried to convince her to take a pacifier so that I could get a bit more sleep, but by that point she was convinced that the real deal was the only deal in town, and she wasn't having any substitutes!
Simplification leads to a more genuine life. Nursing Rachel, and forgoing all the paraphernalia that could have supplanted or supplemented breastfeeding, has been wonderful for us. Rachel and I share a bond and a connection that could not be the same if I had not nursed her--was still not nursing her.
Happy World Breastfeeding Week!
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