I was planning to write some amazingly poignant post about breastfeeding and how that part of Harper's life is coming to an end, but I've got a cold thing and can't write good. I don't want to sound like some hippie who wants to b'feed her kid until he's at university, but it really has turned out to be an ace experience.
I hated it at first. It 'sucked'. Everything that could go wrong did go wrong. It seemed like if you didn't have your body facing the north pole at the right angle with the wind blowing in a semi anti clockwise direction, you weren't doing it right.
But then when H was about three months old he turned his head and looked up with an expression of complete and utter awe that his favourite thing in the world came from me. He turned on one of those gummy heart-melt smiles, and I resolved that I would breastfeed till he was 21. From then on, it got easier and easier. I have breastfed on planes, in the back of a wedding car, on the Interislander ferry, in a pub, in a movie, and many other places besides. I'm not sad that we're down to only three feeds a day - I've ditched the worn out maternity bras I've been wearing 24/7 for 11 months, and can leave Harper with his dad or other non lactating person for hours and hours and not worry about him starving. But I am sad that soon perhaps Harper will call it quits on the whole thing, and that our special time together (usually with him checking out my teeth or pulling at my necklace) will be over. It's been a sweet and lovely time.
6 comments:
Goodness it seems the only way to resolve this situation is to get thyself re-knocked up.
Lovely post.
You might be surprised... sometimes they look like they are ready to pack up and leave home and then they decide last minute that they quite like having their parents run around after them. Same goes for breastfeeding. :P
Thanks for that honey, just when I am so over feeding after just 3 weeks... I'll wait for that smile. x
Am introducing solids at the moment - but will breastfeed for a little longer. She is probably not too bothered, but I am definitely not ready! Love, love, love those little times, even middle of the night, even when sicked up on, even though my nipples actually bled this time at the beginning...sounds horrendous, but worth sticking through hard bits. No-one ever said having children would be easy, and giving up on the hard stuff means missing out on some of the great stuff.
Hang in there mama...look like you just wrote your lovely bf'ing post. Really sweet. I miss those days.
There is nothing that brings you more completely into the energy of the universe than the tug of the let down reflex - I so appreciate where you are coming from! That devine moment when your milk just spurts out, and you feel it from you heart to your groin. It's like an orgasm, but something about it connects you to the moon, trees, tides, and every other thing on the planet that has ever reproduced. I fed twins for 13 months and my let down was insanely powerful - I've never experienced such a complete physical expression of maternal love. Hold on to those memories x x x
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