baby boy raising hand
Raise your hand if you like mama's milk.Someone recently asked my husband: Why is Michele still breastfeeding? An odd question, yes, especially considering my twins are just 8 months old and not 8 years old.

And ... um ... they are my breasts and my kids and it's not like I'm feeding them NY Pizza Burgers.

While I've moved on from the drama that was created as a result of this nosy (ballsy? boobsy?) and oh so annoying inquisition, it did make me think: Why am I still breastfeeding?

I know I don't really need to answer that question, but it did make me think about why I chose this method of feeding my babies.

In short, I breastfeed because my twins have to eat and I want to feed them the best food I could possibly give them ... and breast milk is the best I can give them.

I breastfeed because I am lucky enough to have the ability to produce milk (although it's hard to keep up with twins) and I want to give them every ounce of the best that I can. 

I don't need to get into the specifics of all the health benefits that come from being a breastfed baby, do I? There are tons.

And my son, Hunter, is comforted when nursing. He could be having the biggest freak-out because his sister stole the elephant rattle from him, and nothing will calm him, but the minute he gets in my arms and starts to nurse, he's calm. And so am I. My mom likes to joke and say, Just like a man; he likes the boobies.

Ameda also likes the boobies. And they have a campaign now during National Breastfeeding Month called "I Breastfeed Because..."

Nursing mothers can upload a video on ibreastfeedbecause.com to share the reasons they breastfeed and here is the best part -- a really, really amazing part and the reason I want to share this information with you: For each tweet or video comment or video uploaded, Ameda will make a charitable donation to the Human Milk Banking Association of North America, a non-profit association that works with donor human milk banks to supply the best baby food in the world. Yes! $5 goes to them for every video and $1 for every tweet or comment. (I just tweeted and commented.) There are prizes you can win, too.

Check it out and spread the word if you can ... and start here ... complete this sentence:

I breastfeed because ...

 

Image via Michele Zipp