Sunday, August 21, 2011

Changes are a-coming...

Well, I've been failing as a blogger. I blame summer.

I'm not gonna lie, I've been enjoying lazy days at the beach, playing Word with Friends, visiting with friends and their babies, and the other joys of being a stay at home mom. My baby has finally gotten on a pretty decent nap and bedtime schedule, and I can usually count on a couple hours to myself over the course of the day.

So now that we've reached this blissful period of my life as a mom, it's all going to change.

I go back to work in a couple of weeks. I realize that I'm very lucky that I only have to work two days a week...but all the same, the transition is going to be tough.

My little guy and I have never spent more than two hours apart from one another and suddenly, I have to be away from him for six hours! It's hard to say who will cry more, me or him (or my husband, who will be charge of getting the baby to bed those two days).

One way or another, we'll get through.

Friday, August 5, 2011

WBW, Post 5

So I have to double post today because my little nursling didn't want to let go last night, so I never got a chance to blog about him...there's some kind of irony there.

I'm a very mild mannered person. I tend to take "to each her own" as a personal philosophy. I do believe that nursing is the best start in life we can give to our children, but I don't believe that nursing works out or is easy for everyone.

Because of that, I honestly believe that if you nurse your baby for one day, that's better than no days. Two days is better than one day; three better than two...and so on.

If you start to nurse and stop after a couple of days (and your reasons for stopping are totally your own), you can congratulate yourself on 1) making the effort to nurse and 2) giving your baby at least a few days of that liquid gold.

Women are very hard on one another, and I wish we could see the value in standing behind one another--even if we disagree with each other's choices--rather than tearing each other down.

WBW, Post 4


A picture is worth a thousand words...



Wednesday, August 3, 2011

WBW, Post 3

My little nursling is a curious creature. I love that he takes such an interest in his world. He loves to look at his cousins (or any kids, for that matter) and he likes to go outside and take in the world around him.

The only trouble is that taking in the world is, in his mind, something that can be done while he nurses. Mama disagrees.

Because of this basic disagreement between our worldviews, I often find myself alone while nursing. I don't like this for several reasons. First of all, I like to be around people too and as adorable as my little Button is, I sometimes like to talk to grown-ups. Second (and more importantly), I think it's important for other nursing moms to see women nursing in public (NIP, in Internet shorthand).

I'm lucky that I know a large and supportive network of nursing moms, most of whom have never batted an eye about NIP. Because of this, I've felt pretty comfortable nursing my little guy wherever and whenever he needs...something I wasn't expecting. I fully expected to use a cover in the name of my own modesty. But when it comes down to it, I expose very little of my anatomy when I NIP. I end up feeling much more conspicuous when I use something to cover us.

So my point is, I don't like that I have to hide away when I nurse, and I like for people to know that I don't do it out of a sense of modesty or from some sort of societal pressure. The truth is, if I don't nurse in a quiet, dim room...my baby won't eat. And lord knows, this child needs to eat!

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

WBW, Post 2










I saw this through a friend on Facebook.

Dr. Suess for Nursing Moms

Would you nurse her in the park?
Would you nurse him in the dark?
Would you nurse him with a Boppy?
And when your boobs are feeling floppy?

I would nurse him in the park,
I would nurse her in the dark.
I’d nurse with or without a Boppy.
Floppy boobs will never stop me.

Can you nurse with your seat belt on?
Can you nurse from dusk till dawn?
Though she may pinch me, bite me, pull,
I will nurse her `till she’s full!

Can you nurse and make some soup?
Can you nurse and feed the group?
It makes her healthy strong and smart,
Mommy’s milk is the best start!

Would you nurse him at the game?
Would you nurse her in the rain?
In front of those who dare complain?
I would nurse him at the game.

I would nurse her in the rain.
As for those who protest lactation,
I have the perfect explanation.
Mommy’s milk is tailor made.
It’s the perfect food, you need no aid.

Some may scoff and some may wriggle,
Avert their eyes or even giggle.
To those who can be cruel and rude,
Remind them breast’s the perfect food!

I would never scoff or giggle,
Roll my eyes or even wiggle!
I would not be so crass or crude,
I KNOW that this milk’s the perfect food!

We make the amount we need
The perfect temp for every feed.
There’s no compare to milk from breast-
The perfect food, above the rest.

Those sweet nursing smiles are oh so sweet;
Mommy’s milk is such a treat.
Human milk just can’t be beat.

I will nurse, in any case,
On the street or in your face.
I will not let my baby cry,
I’ll meet her needs, I’ll always try.
It’s not about what’s good for you,
It’s best for babies, through and through.

I will nurse her in my home,
I will nurse her when I roam.
Leave me be lads and ma’am.
I will nurse her, Mom I am.

Monday, August 1, 2011

World Breastfeeding Week, Post 1

Today is the beginning of World Breastfeeding Week. I'm celebrating by changing my Facebook profile picture to a picture of me nursing my son (though I wish I had a better one...you can barely tell I'm nursing in the one I have now).

My goal for the week is to post something nursing related every day this week.

Here's my first post...

Over the weekend, I went to a birthday party for a little girl. There were two new moms there. One was nursing and one was feeding her baby a combination of breastmilk and formula. Mom #2 said that she had low supply. When she said that, I bit my tongue.

As we left the party, I said to my husband...I wonder if people realize how few women really have low supply. It wasn't worth making a new mom feel bad or starting any kind of argument when I would likely never see that woman or her child again.

A lot of women don't realize that supplementing can often exacerbate a supply that is borderline. When a woman nurses, her body is given signals that she needs to make more milk. Every time your baby nurses, you are getting milk-making signals. It's a simple supply and demand...or demand and supply as it were. So when you supplement, you are getting fewer demands to make milk....which means your body will make less milk....thus further reducing a supply that may be on the low side.

This is a super simple reduction of a really complex system. Kellymom.com is a great resource for nursing moms. There are also tons of websites and Facebook forums that can help a mom find answers to her breastfeeding questions.

Good luck mamas!