How breastfeeding made me a lazy parent

I have come to realise that actually my style of parenting is a lazy one and I blame the breastfeeding! It was followed by co-sleeping, babywearing, baby led weaning, extended breastfeeding, tandem breastfeeding – ultimately leading on to why I was cooking cakes before we left for school this morning! All these things are just because I am lazy and I think that if I had got myself more active from the birth I might be less so.

Why breastfeeding is lazy

You have to admit it having a newborn baby is hard work and tiring so I made the decision to go down the lazy route of breastfeeding. As soon as the boys were born they were placed on my chest and expected to do all the work whilst I just lay there. This carried on into nightfeeds – where they even managed to latch on without disturbing me (well some of the time at least). No getting out of bed, going downstairs, waiting for kettles to boil, making up feeds and dealing with the crying whilst it cooled. Best of all my husband was keen to help out and so he did the winding and nappy changing whilst I slept!

Lazy Parenting as a Result of Breastfeeding

There are things that I did which made it easier to breastfeed but ultimately just made me lazier still. Co-sleeping made breastfeeding at night possible by removing the need to get up out of bed. If this doesn’t make me lazier still think about the fact that co-sleeping meant I did not have to think about the type of cot they would sleep in, or pick out bedding and no extra sheets to wash – result! Again babywearing was useful for breastfeeding because my babies could just latch on and I didn’t even have to pick them up! I did not have to fold prams (although I believe you don’t have to do that on buses these days), there were no people tripping over my wheels in busy theme parks, and I had my own hot water bottle on colder days (no need to worry about me keeping warm!).

Breastfeeding gave me the confidence to do baby led weaning as I knew my baby was getting all he needed from my milk. Lazy parenting means I did not need worry about buying the “right” foods or spend time preparing (blending, pureeing, tubbing up and/or freezing) – I simply went oh yeah we need to eat and we shared some food. Just simply having what everyone else was having. I did not even have to worry about whether they were old enough for honey or nuts for example – as if they weren’t meant to eat then they physically wouldn’t. Plus I was too lazy to worry about choking as that’s what the gag reflex is for right (note this was actually the one time I woke up as the gag reflex is actually pretty scary and it is hard NOT to want to whack them on the back!). In fact I was so lazy that I didn’t even decide when to stop breastfeeding – I let my sons do that too.

This ultimately led to me tandem feeding – which was amazing. If my toddler was upset he just came to me, or if I was nursing his brother they would sometimes both feed together and both fall asleep – have you any idea how amazing that is with two children under 18 months! Especially great if one of them was unwell.

How I am a Lazy Parent Today as a Result of Breastfeeding

And so it happened to be that I got into these lazy parenting habits. Yes both boys have stopped breastfeeding (they both did around their fourth birthdays) – and all the boys love to cook. The perks of them cooking (especially their cakes) is that I get to eat them! So what happened this morning? They didn’t have enough snacks for their lunchboxes. Instead of getting them to rush getting ready for school early to go the shops I just whacked flour, eggs, sugar, butter, raisins into a bowl, whisked it up and stuck it in the oven. Just in time for them to get their shoes on. The lazy way is much easier – and kinder on the vocal chords.

Are you a lazy parent?