Despite what breastfeeding proponents want you to believe, breastfeeding is hard. The early days weeks are exhausting, painful, frustrating. Your body is not yours, you are still healing from birth and for many of us, you wander zombie like throughout the day in a sopping wet shirt. Regardless of the difficulties, there comes a moment when you realize that breastfeeding your baby is purely and simply amazing.
I am not talking about the clichéd reasons breastfeeding is wonderful… No bottles to clean. Milk is always warm and ready. Its free. Etc. I am talking about the little reasons that you eventually come to love breastfeeding. The reasons that make your heart sing.
- I love the way he gets all excited when we are getting ready to sit in his “eating spot.”
- I love the way he closes his eyes in pure contentment while he eats.
- And the way he holds my thumb and rubs it in his palm.
- Or how he grabs his little foot and stretches it when he’s just having a “snack.”
- I love how when he’s getting full, he pulls back and smiles.
- And then the milk dribbles down his chubby chin.
- I love that when he is getting hungry. he will pull open the top of my shirt and look down, as if to say, “what’s cooking?”
- I love this funny little noise he makes that sounds a bit like “oieey oieey oh.” – I call it his breastfeeding song.
- and that his first baby sign was milk.
- Mostly I just love it all. Every minute. Every feeding.
All of these little things I love are fading by the day. He is becoming more independent and growing up so quickly. It’s hard to believe that he will be my last breastfed baby.
Bittersweet.
So I am just trying to capture every little memory.
What do you love about breastfeeding?
Aw! I love your loves of breast feeding. I wish I had some to share. My milk never came in with M in the NICU. I pumped so much, but it never increased. And with Big C, I was at the frustrated phase before she went into the hospital.
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I love your loves!! I absolutly loved bfing Liam…I looked forward to the night feedings the most. It was hard not getting a full nights sleep but when I looked at his sweet face just nursing away and how relaxed he got and just closed his eyes in pure contentment, I didn’t mind missing sleep at all. Now that he’s a little older we still have other ways of bonding but I just miss that closeness and being able to give him something nobody else could!! I treasure those memories.
This is such a sweet way to look at a everyday task 🙂 It seems like all we hear about breastfeeding is about how hard it is or how it shouldn’t be done in public. This is a great perspective!
Oh goodness this post made me tear up! I remember when I first became a mother I was so so young and knew absolutely NOTHING about newborns let alone how to take care of one. Even so, I knew I wanted to breastfeed my baby but had no real support. My mother explained nothing to me and wasn’t a real source of encourage meant so, of course, I stopped after about a week and my first three children were formula fed. It makes me sad now, knowing what I missed with my first three babies, because that’s an experience I will never be able to make up for. When my new baby is born I will breastfeed like I did for the last two of my 5 children. I will take in every moment!
I was unable to breastfeed my first so I completely understand those feelings.
I love that she knows what the sound of my bra snap means.
I love her eyes as she looks at me.
I love watching the tiny peek of her tongue do it’s work.
I love watching her eyes drift off in sleepy contentment.
And I love holding on to that sweet milky-sleepy baby!
I so agree! I’m only 11 weeks in to this journey but nothing beats that totally content, milky smile!
Those are some great things to love about breastfeeding! It truly is the little things that make it worth it! I have been breastfeeding my daughter for over 2 years now and although I feel impatient at times for us to move on from this stage, I know I will miss those precious moments!
I love the happy little “nom nom” sound my baby makes while she’s eating.
Breastfeeding has been one of my favorite parts of the parenting journey! I actually find that it helps me with my depression, too. I was sad when my son weaned, and I will be sad when my daughter does (but I think I will get to breastfeed her for a long time–at 12.5 months, she is not cutting back like DS did!).
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I love feeling like a conqueror! Like so many other mothers that commented, I also was unable to breastfeed my first due to lack of support. But my 2nd and my 3rd have both been breastfed. And we have overcome some HUGE obstacles in our journey. This is a battle that we have won together!
awwww lovely post.
I just love mostly everything about breastfeeding <3
The bond, how healthy it is for momma and baby.
hooray breastfeeding!
I love your loves too! We had a super difficult start to our breastfeeding journey, but now at 9 months we’re still going strong!
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