Breastfeeding is awesome... except when it's not

I just read a hilarious article for National Breastfeeding Month titled "Breastfeeding is awesome...except when it's not," see original here and I thought I would add my own top reasons of why I don't always love breastfeeding. Don't get me wrong, there are so many awesome reasons why I do love it, and why it's the best decision for my family. But as the floodgates (pun intended) have opened on everyone promoting breastfeeding, I'd like to highlight some of my own amusing/awkward moments. Let's face it, we all feel better when we share ;)

So like said article says, I too do not speak for all the breastfeeding ladies, but at times I am jealous of the normal bras, the flexible schedule, and that....

1) You have the ability to leave your baby for more than a couple of hours with someone else. I seriously think my husband believes that baby needs milk access (even if he just ate and I am just running to the drive-thru pharmacy) at all times and a bottle just isn't the same....it really isn't to our son.

2) You don't have to worry about getting an infection in your breast. I didn't have the pleasure of experiencing mastitis with my first child, but the second time around I got a terrible infection and there were moments when I thought I would just pass out from the pain. I am not even exaggerating a little. I had to go to walk-in urgent care and they kept me under observation for a couple of hours before letting me go home. Seek treatment immediately if you suspect you are getting mastitis. You'll know because in addition to the breast pain, you feel like you have a really bad flu, complete with chills, fever, and aches all over.

3) You don't have to worry about checking to see if you have your nursing pads in before you leave home. Nobody wants to be at the store and start having a leaky situation. I keep spares in the car just in case. I've had to use them too.

4) You don't have to pump, label with name and date, and prepare bottles for baby to go to daycare the next day. Thankfully, I am not having to experience this again. It was a lot of work to get the bottles washed and filled and then I had to actually label them too with name and date. Too much extra work for a new mommy who wasn't getting much sleep to begin with.

5) You don't have to cry over spilt milk. Yes, I really did cry over this once with my first son. I had just spent my lunch hour at work pumping a good 16 ounces...only to spill it all over my pants. Since, I didn't have a spare pair in the car I just went home for the rest of the day. What a waste of good milk and of half a day of vacation time!

6) You don't have to monitor your diet for effects on baby. Once all the vomiting of pregnancy was over, I was ready to get back to eating again...only to find out that certain things (like chocolate) that I craved were still off of the menu because they upset little guy's tummy. I'd never seen projectile spit-up before baby boy #2. No chocolate milk for him...

7) You will never have to milk yourself in a public bathroom. Yes, I know this was on the original author's list, but it happened to me too. I had a terrible time with morning sickness during my pregnancy so when my first son was about 2 months old, we decided to go out to dinner at a popular Italian restaurant. I was thrilled to go out in public and to get to EAT!! yay! Well, halfway through the meal, I am about to burst. I seriously thought my chest might explode from the pain and pressure. So yeah, I resorted to leaving my lasagna to milk myself in a bathroom stall. I promised myself I would never let that happen again. It hasn't. The lasagna was so worth it though.

Okay....so now you are wondering why in the world I would put myself through all of that. Well, the benefits for baby having breast milk are proven. But I feel like I am blessed to actually be able to do this for my son so I should. Breastfeeding protects baby from viruses, reduces a child's risk of developing childhood cancers, decrease chance of baby getting allergies, and may actually help children avoid diseases like diabetes, high cholesterol, and hypertension later in life. Breastfed babies also have a lower risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). What about benefits to mom? I have to mention that it was super nice to be able to lose the pregnancy weight within only a couple of months (I dropped 30lbs by the time baby was 8 weeks old). Also, breastfeeding may help protect against ovarian cancer and can reduce stress levels. I know sometimes it's tough, but the benefits outweigh the awkwardness and occasional inconveniences. If you can do it and it works for your family situation then try. There will be moments when you want to quit (I've had several). I only wish society didn't make it such an awkward topic/thing. But that's another issue to talk about for another post.

Happy National Breastfeeding Month.

Places of Love: Love Grows Here

Hallmark decided to do a contest Share a story (IN 250 WORDS OR LESS) about a particular place or space that has special meaning in your life (where you would say “love grows here”) and the person or people who have made that place so meaningful. 

This was my entry: On Granddaddy’s front porch we had welcome hugs, goodbye kisses, sharing of secrets with cousins, singing hymns, or just swinging quietly. Here is where love grew. My favorite childhood memories are from the summer days at Granddaddy’s. My mother is the youngest of seven children and there were 15 grandchildren in all. Granddaddy and Grandmother had labored to build this house and its large front porch. It took many years and all but my mother were gone and married by the time they finished. But they had their dream home: a sprawling five bedroom red brick home (with running water!) set on several acres of land in a town with only one traffic light. The traffic light was eventually taken out and the home was sold to become a quaint nursing home. But my memories on that front porch remain. I long for those summer days sitting on the front porch in that green swing with the cut out hearts. I felt closer to my family and to God as the time on the front porch offered nothing but an opportunity to bond. We shared our hopes, our dreams, our problems, our worries. We sang together and talked our hearts out. There was plenty of work to do but there was always time to spend together on the front porch. There was no TV to distract, no phones to divert, and definitely no city noises to take away from some good conversation and maybe a Dr. Pepper.

He's 4 months Already!

I can't even believe that this time last year I was starting my third year of teaching and pregnant. I didn't know how I was going to do it but I couldn't wait to meet my little bundle. I wasn't sick and I had such high hopes of having a totally different pregnancy. It wasn't.... I suffered through months of vomiting and trying to teach at the same time. But look at this little sweetie. He was so worth it. I love him to pieces! 

This past month has been interesting for sure. My little guy continued his absolute obsession of being near me at all times. I swear he knows when I even think about leaving the room. It made me tear up at just the thought of going back to work. Between my sweet little bundle's attachment and Elijah vast improvement in speech skills, Noah and I decided that it was best for me to take some time off from teaching. It was a hard decision but so worth the time I get with my boys.

Back to Isaiah's month. He went through a lot of changes already and is rolling around and doing this belly scooting maneuver. Apparently this combination of rolling and scooting is referred to as "creeping." His doctor said she expects he will be an early walker because he is way ahead with his motor skills. She even went so far as to tell me that his head and muscle control looked more like a 6-7 month old. I think she expected me to be surprised....I wasn't because Elijah took his first steps at 9 months old. Aside from motor skills, Isaiah is a super happy little guy. He smiles easily, even when all you say his name and loves to coo and laugh.  He apparently finds my hiccups funny.  I will admit, my hiccups are pretty funny - they sound like a combination of burping and hiccuping.  It is definitely not very ladylike, but makes for great entertainment. He is enjoying his toys and absolutely loves his o-ball.  Isaiah can actually throw the thing already.  

As far as sleep goes, my little guy is great.  Around 11 pm, he goes down for the night until about 7 am.  He takes about 3-4 good naps during the day.  I attempted to start him on solids, but Isaiah had little interest in actually ingesting them.  He enjoyed tasting and making a mess though!  At his 4 month check-up he weighed in at a strapping 15lbs 3oz and is already 26.5 inches.  He's growing so fast :)

Gamer wife confessions #1

I'll admit it - I like to play video games. I grew up loving video games.  I played them with my little brother and we had a blast.  We enjoyed our Super Nintendo, our Sega Genesis, our Playstation, and our gameboys.  It's not surprising I married a gamer.  When we were dating I even got into playing the same games as he did.   I know the lingo.  I can tell you that I like RPGs and I know what backwards compatible means.  However, I am not a true gamer myself.  I just don't have the time now that we have 2 kids.  I'd rather spend my precious few moments of free time taking a nap than catching up on my Skyrim character.  So this leads to me to.....

GAMER WIFE CONFESSION #1

I cannot wait until the new PS4 and XBOX 1 are out.  Not because I want to play the new fantastic games, see the improved graphics, experience better loading, faster downloads, or even enjoy the new controls .  I can't wait until the new systems because I want to STOP hearing about them!!!  I want to stop seeing the comparison videos.  I want to stop the daily conversations that revolve around why PS4 is so amazing.  Sony has definitely done things right this time.  But does that mean that I need to hear about them constantly?? My only reprieve is being able to participate in mocking Microsoft and all the mistakes they made and how much back-peddling they had to do after E3.  I'm still waiting for Microsoft to announce they have made the XBOX1 backwards compatible.