Top Ten: Things I Love about Nursing

Clearly, some of you will enjoy this post more than others, but as we celebrate Clare Bear’s 11-month mark today (WOW) I thought it was appropriate to share why I’m the crazy mom who nurses her kids to their first birthday 🙂

THINGS I LOVE ABOUT NURSING

1. I apologize if this first one sounds a bit narcissistic, but there’s just something quite gratifying about being the one person in the world who can give your baby just what she needs.

2. 2am feedings. No, I’m not crazy, really. I began to appreciate these more with each child. At 2am (and at 3, 4 or even 5!), the world seems so calm, so peaceful and all you can hear is your baby happily eating. It was in those moments that I’ve said my most heartfelt prayers. No one interrupted, the busyness of life was at rest and it was just me, God and a new life to love.

3. The milk drunk baby. I must ask, is there anything that says “contentment” more than a baby with a clean diaper, a full belly and milk running from her mouth? I think not. I do believe my favorite nursing memory is when the kids would nurse, be half-asleep, smiling, with milk running from their mouths.

4. Sometimes, on those nights when nothing else works (and I mean N-O-T-H-I-N-G) a quick 5-minute nursing session ends the screaming, the tears (theirs and yours) and makes the world right again.

5. The realization that our bodies really are a gift. During pregnancy, I was completely a-mazed with what my body was helping to create and nurture. After I delivered these magnificent beings, I was even more in awe of what God allowed me to do.

6. I’m cheap. I’ll admit it. I can spend a bazillion dollars at Pottery Barn, but I simply couldn’t bring myself to fork over $40/month for formula…especially when I knew I could get it for FREE!

7. That I didn’t have to make a trip to the microwave at 2am (see #2) to warm up a bottle. That I didn’t have to worry about forgetting a bottle, sterilizing a nipple or running out of formula.

8. Each of my children has nursed in his or her own special way, but one thing they’ve all done is rest their little hand on my chest, just over my heart, while they ate. For all of them, as I’ve held their hand it’s reminded me that this “stage”, this wonderful time when they are completely and totally dependent on another human being, is over way faster than I would like.

9. That I developed thick skin. On occasion, I would nurse in public. Hey, it’s not like I planned my day and said, “Oooo, yea, I’m going to the mall in a half hour, I’ll just sit in the food court around a million people and nurse Will/John Paul/Anna-Laura/Clare so some tacky stranger can tell me I’m making them uncomfortable.” Yep, that’s exactly how I planned it. I am discreet and I am a planner. But, when your kiddo is screaming at the top of her lungs for food, what are you gonna do?? Perhaps next time, I’ll tell that kind stranger that she can go tell her child to eat lunch in the bathroom since that’s what she’s suggesting I do for mine…or I guess I can just smile and say nothing 🙂

10. That I get the excited kick and squeal after bathtime when Scott hands said baby to me. There is nothing sweeter than that.

Tomorrow, I’ll have the Memorial Day wrap-up. Until then…Happy Hump Day!