life lessons from a first year mom

wow!

a year already.

it’s still surreal that i’m a mom.  i know that in time that will pass.  i remember having the same feeling when we first got married. 

one of my biggest fears in becoming a new mom was breastfeeding. i was determined to nurse, as long as becca was getting what she needed. i knew it would be hard and i knew it would be a big commitment, but i felt prepared to do this.

jp totally supported this decision, and was willing to do what he could to help me in any way, but it really came down to me.  I decided to commit to six months and then go from there.

i remember when they first brought becca to me in the recovery room (jp had told them i wanted to nurse as soon as possible because the sooner you nurse after delivery, the better your chances are to continue)  i suddenly realized i had NO IDEA what I was doing.

the sweet nurse helped me, and we were very blessed that becca latched right on.  she acted like she knew exactly what to do – i’m glad one of us did!

from that moment on, we had total success. 

someone once told me that if i could just make it through the first two weeks, then i would be fine.  this was very true advice.  the first two weeks are a little on the painful side – even though the lactation consultants say nursing should never be painful.  once we got past that, it was smooth sailing. 

now, even though I was the only one able to feed her, jp was very helpful.  if i was very tired, i would wake to feed becca, and then he would change her & get her back to sleep.  i would not have been successful without him and his support.

now, i know that nursing is not always easy.  even though it worked out for becca and i, it was a H.U.G.E. commitment.  for the first few months, i couldn’t be away from her for more than a few hours.  after that, i had more freedom, but I just had to make sure if I left the house, I had my pump and all fifty million parts that go with it:)  then there was pumping and work.  at first, I was pumping three times a day.  luckily, my schedule worked out for the most part – i just pumped during my planning period and at lunch.  it eventually just became a part of my daily routine.

now, i must say that when the time came to put the pump away, i was NOT sad.

not even a little bit!

i was able to nurse for a year.  we had to supplement with some formula the last month and a half, but i still nursed in the morning and at night.  I loved this time with becca.  it was our time, and i wouldn’t trade it for the world.

this was the last time I nursed her, and while it was a little bittersweet, she was ready to give it up, and i was ok with that.