The Ugly Side of Breastfeeding

When you consider breastfeeding, everyone tells you how wonderful it is, and the great benefits that
come from breastfeeding.. What they opt not to tell you is the after effects and how they will drive you crazy.. I guess it depends on how long you nursed your baby. I nursed my two year old for 18 months and I plan to nurse my daughter the same amount of time.

Do not get me wrong I love breastfeeding and IF I should have another baby there is no doubt in my mind whether or not I will breastfeed. I enjoyed nursing my son. I would call it our bonding time and any problems, or negative feelings I had would automatically disappear. The bond my son and I share is amazing. He would not go to sleep at night unless he was sleeping under me which I did not mind. Well, at the time I did not realize, or cared how this would ruin my sleep later on.. The problem started when he learned that he could grab things with his hands. I remember seeing a picture of a mother breastfeeding her baby and the baby taking comfort in squeezing her mother's breast. It was beautiful and I remember telling myself I cannot wait until my baby starts doing that.. but once he started the grabbing, rubbing, and sticking his hand down my shirt it never stopped! Here we are a year later and he is still doing it... After a while it becomes uncomfortable.


I will never forget the day we were in the check out line of the grocery store and Graison wanted to nurse, but I could not stop putting the groceries up as it was many other people in line behind me. Graison stuck his hand down my shirt, and pulled my breast out in front of everybody.. I was very much embarrassed. He tried this on several different occasions, but I always caught him before he could get it out. Later on I realized that this would not be the last time he would embarrass me in public and it surely wasn't, but that's a story for another day.

My son went through the stage where he would gum my nipple and pull it as far as he could. I am glad it did not last long and that he did not have teeth. I remember it like yesterday. He would smile and laugh so hard. He thought it was funny to see me beg him to stop and squint in pain. I would tell his daddy what he was doing and he would laugh. It was really funny when he saw him do it in person.

I guess I was the only one who did not think it was funny.. Not to mention after I had my daughter and my son saw me nursing her, he wanted to nurse again. I did not want to be mean, but I had to figure out how to explain to him that he was to OLD to breastfeed.. Of course, he was not listening. He still felt like he was the baby, so I did some research and found this article about kids who wanted to start nursing after they have been wean. The article stated that if I felt comfortable let him nurse again which I did not feel comfortable doing! It also stated letting him taste my milk. (I was more open to this method) He did not like the taste of the milk. That took care of one of my problems. It did not keep him from sticking his hand down my shirt. It is beyond annoying.


I do not want to discourage anyone from breastfeeding their child. Don't get me wrong breastfeeding is beautiful and can become a wonderful experience for both mom and baby. The benefits breastfeeding has to offer for your baby is enough to look pass the ugly parts of nursing.