Breastfeeding creates a special bond between mother and baby. It also is the best way to give your child all of the nutrition and immunity she needs during a critical stage of growth and development. However, breastfeeding can be hard.

Although the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends exclusive breastfeeding until a baby is at least six months old, supplementing with formula also has benefits. Breastfeeding during the day and bottle-feeding at night allows you to get more sleep since it lets your partner participate more in feeding your infant.

Breast-feeding provides a valuable method of feeding your baby nutrients and the antibodies your body naturally possesses. However, dry skin makes it a difficult process for some women. If you have dry skin, particularly on the nipple, breast-feeding becomes painful.

Your newborn infant’s immune system is still immature when you bring her home from the hospital. Unless you keep everyone who may be sick away from her, she is going to be exposed to illnesses and develop colds or gastrointestinal illnesses.

Women who are breastfeeding their children have special nutritional needs. In general, they must add an average of 500 calories to their daily diets to ensure good nutrition for themselves and their babies.

As a breastfeeding mother, taking good care of your health helps to ensure the health of your baby. Dehydration due to illness, weather or your busy lifestyle can lead to problems in the breastfeeding relationship with your baby.

Healthy people pass gas as many as 23 times every day, according to the National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse. Breastfeeding mothers who make healthy dietary changes or who use supplements to increase their milk supply sometimes suffer from a gassy stomach as a result of their efforts.

Any woman can experience sore bumps on her nipples from breast-feeding -- no matter how many children she has given birth to or how much experience she has breast-feeding. Irritated nipples can be painful and make feeding time difficult.

When you are breastfeeding, any medication that you take has the potential to get into your breast milk and affect your baby. Some medications also might reduce your milk supply.

Newborns can experience congestion for a variety of reasons including illness and allergies. Congestion may interfere with your baby's ability to feed and cause her general discomfort. Since babies lack the skills and abilities necessary to blow their own noses, you must clear your baby's nasal passages for her.

What a mother eats may affect the taste as well as the composition of her breast milk. Generally, eating a variety of foods with a variety of flavors is beneficial and may influence a child to be a more adventurous eater.

A newborn's eyes are not fully developed, according to Lawrence M. Kaufman, M.D., Ph.D. at the University of Illinois Medical Center. The elements of the eyes develop in utero, but the nerve and internal structures continue to grow over the first two years of life.