During the first days of breastfeeding, you'll discover some hard-to-miss benefits: you'll actually feel your uterus contracting each time you nurse your child. You may not think having contractions after your baby is born is a good thing, but it really is -- it helps your uterus return to a normal size. It also prevents you from hemorrhaging, which is why bottle feeding moms receive oxytocin intravenously to induce such contractions. But nursing moms get the continued benefits of oxytocin during the critical first week. Any mild cramping pain usually subsides minutes after the feeding ends, leaving you a little bit closer to your pre-pregnancy size and shape.

Would you like to lose weight while lying down in bed? Well, if you're nursing, you can. You'll burn up to 500 extra calories a day while you recline on the couch gazing at your little one's sweet head. Sure beats hitting the treadmill! And you can continue to justify eating a whole container of Ben and Jerry's as "filling your need for calcium."

Depending on where you give birth, you might receive free formula samples when you check out of the hospital. Remember how your father taught you there's no such thing as a free lunch? Well, he was right. Next time you're in the grocery store, pick up a box of powdered formula and try not to faint when you see just how expensive it is. Don't even look at the ready-to-pour liquids unless you're sitting down. Just like cosmetics companies "give" you a "free gift" if you buy $1,000,000 worth of products, formula companies are in this for the money. By nursing your baby, you'll save yourself fistfuls of money -- to the tune of $1,500 to $3,000 in the first year, depending on which formula you pass up -- so go wild at the Clinique counter.

Another "side effect" of breastfeeding is increased energy. You won't need to wash any bottles, for one thing. And you'll be forced to stop washing the floors or folding the laundry if your baby is hungry. Find a comfortable spot on the couch or the bed, grab a magazine and a glass of water and relax while your baby nurses. It's perfectly acceptable to send your husband to bring you necessities such as the phone, the remote control, pizza and ice cream. You can also say things like, "Oh, I really would clean the bathroom, but I can't right now. You'll do it, right, honey?"

Breastfeeding women usually experience a delay in the return of their menstrual cycle. Try not to cry too loudly at the thought of not having to deal with tampons, pads or birth control. Lactational Amenorrhea Method (LAM) -- the delayed return of menses as a result of breastfeeding -- has been proven to be 99 percent effective in preventing pregnancy for the first six months of nursing. To get the full benefits of LAM, you must be exclusively breastfeeding (which means feeding on demand, nursing at night and refraining from using supplements of any kind). Not getting your period means you'll have higher concentrations of iron in your blood, which also leaves you feeling more energetic and reduces your risk of anemia.

Nursing your infant means you'll spend lots of one-on-one time with him. You'll get to know him very well -- and you'll be his favorite person in the world. It will amaze you that 6 weeks after the birth of your child you really do know what each of his cries means. He might cry and fuss when others hold him, but he'll settle down immediately when you pick him up and put him to your breast. It's easy to have confidence in your mothering abilities when you get such great feedback all the time.

You may have heard that breastfeeding for 6 months or more significantly reduces your risk of developing breast cancer. But did you know that it also reduces your risk of developing ovarian and uterine cancers? Nursing your baby could actually save your life! In addition, recent studies show that breastfeeding for 6 months or more results in increased bone density after lactation is stopped. So, you could say that nursing your baby today means you're less likely to break your hip when you babysit your grandchildren.

Nursing is cheap, it's the easiest diet and most complete food ever invented, the act of nursing makes you feel good, and it's good for you. It doesn't get much better than this. So if you don't want to breastfeed for your baby's sake, be selfish, and do it for yourself!