The body is intelligent and when it comes to breastmilk, it knows exactly the right “formula” to meet all your baby’s nutritional needs. Breastmilk is complete with vitamins, minerals, protein, fat, carbohydrates, anti-inflammatory factors, enzymes, hormones, growth factors, immunoglobulins, and water. In fact, 87% of breastmilk is water and even in warm climates, breast milk contains all the water the baby needs.
Colostrum is the first milk produced, and this starts during pregnancy around week 16. Colostrum is higher in protein than mature milk and is exactly what the baby needs in the first few days of life.
Some women wonder if they exclusively feed their baby via breastmilk will the baby get all the essential nutrients for growth and development? Yes! The recommendation is to exclusively breast-feed for the first six months, and continue to breast-feed up to two years of age along with complimentary foods.
When my daughter was born in October of 2022, I was so excited to be able to breastfeed her. Unfortunately, this time around I was unable to breastfeed. I am a believer that life has a way of leading us in the direction we are to go, and I committed to becoming an international board lactation consultant (IBCLC) to help other mothers. And so the journey began, and I have been loving every minute of it.
Hindsight is 2020 and now with baby #2 on the way (that’s right, 2 under 2 and more to come on this), I am excited to start my breast feeding journey all over again!
What was your experience with breast-feeding? Did you struggle at first or was it a fluid process for you? Did you see that the support of a lactation consultant? How long did you breast-feed for?
Feel free to leave any comments or reflections below. We are mamas in this together supporting one another.
~Juliana Marie
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