Parenting

Breastfeeding Is a Waste of Time

ParentingPublished Aug 20, 2013
By Mary Hawkins
breastfeeding

I've said it before and I'm not the least bit ashamed to say it again -- I hated breastfeeding. And while there were myriad reasons I just couldn't seem to warm up to the idea of constantly having my baby attached to one of my boobs -- the time it took each day to get him fed was definitely what broke me and made me switch to the bottle exclusively.

OMG. It took f-o-r-e-v-e-r, people. And now a new study has determined that breastfeeding moms spend 6.6 more hours each week feeding their newborns than moms who use formula.

Did you hear that, 6.6 hours!!

And if that doesn't blow your mind, then wait until you hear how many hours per week moms spend breastfeeding in general.

Are you ready? Eighteen hours.

Good GRIEF. No wonder breastfeeding is so tough for so many new moms to commit to and stick with -- regardless of how beneficial it is for our babies.

More from The Stir: 12 Most Common Breastfeeding Hurdles & How to Overcome Them

When I made the switch to formula, it was like a whole new world opened up for me and I got my life (and my body) back again. And now that I know I was probably saving an extra 6.6 hours each week by bottle-feeding instead of breastfeeding? I hate to say it, but I may have given up the boob even earlier.

I mean, 6.6 hours over the course of a week is almost an extra hour a day. Just think about how many things you can do other than breastfeed with that amount of time?

More from The Stir: 10 Things to Never Say to a Formula-Feeding Mom

Like getting a little bit of additional sleep, for example. What new mom in her right mind wouldn't want to squeeze in an extra hour of precious z's? Or how about taking a nice, long, hot shower? Or even having extra time each day to actually straighten up around the house and prepare a meal that doesn't involve hitting the defrost button on the microwave -- wouldn't that be nice?

And I realize that breastfeeding gets much easier and less time consuming (so they say) as your baby gets older, but all I know is that every extra minute of time you can save while trying to adjust to life with a newborn is totally priceless.

If you love breastfeeding and it comes easily after your baby arrives, that's awesome and you should absolutely savor those extra 6.6 hours as more bonding time with your baby. But if you're one of those moms (like me) who just can't get into the whole breastfeeding thing, you're not alone. And you can take comfort in the fact that you're basically getting an extra 6.6 hours of your life back by choosing to do what works best for you -- offering the bottle instead.

Do you feel like breastfeeding is too time consuming?

Image via Caitlinator/Flickr

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