Breastfeeding a Third Child in Hoboken

Breastfeeding was both the bane of my existence and one of my greatest accomplishments.

After struggling with supply issues with my first child, she was primarily formula-fed. I pumped until my daughter was 9 months old because I was determined to give her the benefit of my antibodies, but I would spend large amounts of time pumping to get miniscule amounts of milk (think half an ounce).

I went into my second pregnancy determined to learn from my breastfeeding mistakes (namely, not buying a breast pump right away); my son was exclusively breastfed until he self-weaned at 13 months.

What are my options for breastfeeding a third baby? I now know how to successfully breastfeed a child, but am I prepared to commit to the time and physical discomfort involved in exclusive breastfeeding?

It took me four months to successfully establish breastfeeding with my son. Cracked nipples, mastitis and variable supply drove me to the brink of insanity. Even after that, I still had occasional recurrences of cracked nipples that made breastfeeding feel like battery acid was being poured on my nipple. Every time I found myself pumping one side for half an hour and then spending another 20 minutes feeding on the other side, I was amazed at the amount of time breastfeeding consumed.

And all that was before I spent one minute changing diapers, bathing, playing with and soothing my son, not to mention cooking, showering and feeding myself and my family. And did I mention that I was also caring for my older child and while all this was going on? There is a reason why we waited to have a third child; our main objective as parents is to not go insane.

There is also the issue of father-child bonding. My husband has been extremely close to our daughter from day one because he was so involved with her care. Meanwhile, it took him a couple of years to get to know our son because I basically handled 100 percent of his care for the first 13 months.

I haven't noticed any significant health differences between my two children. Both are healthy and don't have any allergies despite strong family history. I think it's important for my next child to get some breastmilk but don't think it's necessary to exclusively breastfeed. If it happens to come easily next time, excellent. But if it continues to be a time-consuming, stressful experience, I have no problem with giving some formula bottles so I can get some rest and take care of my work and family obligations.

There is a risk that the baby will refuse the breast because it is so much less work to get milk out of a bottle, but that's a chance I am prepared to take in the name of life balance. And retaining my sanity.

To read more about what makes Kathy Zucker tick, check out her blog at http://momcondoliving.com/ and follow her at http://twitter.com/kathyzucker