Book Review | The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding

Hey everybody! How was ya'lls weekend? Anything new or exciting? We decided to surprise Anthony's parents with a visit and I finally finished up one of the books I have been reading which brings us to today's post, a book to review. 

Now I don't know when I made the decision to breastfeed but whenever I did, I knew I wanted to give it all I had to be successful. I heard from multiple people about how hard and challenging and uncomfortable (even painful) it could be so I began researching and researching once I found out we were pregnant. I was so terrified of not being able to produce enough milk (which is a common misconception of breastfeeding as only 2% of women in the ENTIRE WORLD actually cannot produce enough milk, if you are struggling with breastfeeding, it is highly suggested you seek help from a LICENSED lactation consultant as they can troubleshoot what is really going on) or being uncomfortable. Honestly, it wasn't that hard or as bad as everyone kept making it seem. Yes, the first few days were a struggle waiting for my milk to come in and having to supplement because Little Love had low blood sugar those first few days but more so emotionally because of that fear of not being able to produce enough for her BUT once my milk came in, everything else just came naturally. 

I received The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding as a gift a few days after giving birth and I immediately dug into it. I was really hoping to get it before giving birth (if I did I think it would have helped tremendously with the fear I was dealing with and those emotional first few days) but it is what it is.

This book pretty much has answered every question I have had about breastfeeding and Anthony and I find ourselves flipping through this first when we have questions because it is such a great resource. I personally read the book from front to back because I'm OCD like that, I have to go in order, but this is a resource not a storybook although it does have snippets of real women sharing their breastfeeding experience so you can just bounce around and read what fits your needs. Are you adopting and want to breastfeed your new baby? Flip to the chapter and read how you can start a milk supply without having to go through pregnancy. Have a question about breast milk storage? Go to the table of contents to find the guidelines or you can even check the tear-sheet chapter and tear out the page about breast milk storage and hang on your fridge. That is how convenient this book is, it provided an entire chapter with easy tear-sheets so you can place information where you need in your house without having to flip through the book to find again. Worried that your milk supply is dropping? Go to the tech support chapter and you will find encouragement and advice.

If there was only one breastfeeding resource I could recommend, I would definitely recommend this book and I plan to provide this as a gift to friends and family if I know they are planning to breastfeed. Again, you don't have to be a reader, this book is just as easy as googling a question but without the worry of receiving false information. I hope I am not the only one skeptical of answers that appear in a google search (I'm looking at you Wikipedia).

What breastfeeding resource do you highly recommend? Have I convinced you that you need this book in your life?