breastfeeding

I love it. T loves it. I am grateful in a thousand ways for my ability to nourish my baby in this way. I am thankful for all the moments we have and all the good it is doing him.

Recently my sister lost her milk and for reasons beyond her control, was forced to wean her 3 month old. My heart broke for her as she grieved her and her little one's loss. Our hearts are now swelling as he thrives on his new milk, growing every day.

I understand that breastfeeding does not work out for everybody. I am sad for those women that have great difficulty. I am grateful (after a few false starts) that our special relationship came easily to T and I. I am thankful it continues into its seventh month and my original goal of breastfeeding for the first year of Teddy's life is effortless.

Today I spent a minute reflecting how beautiful it is to sit on my back steps, with my Teddy in my lap feeding. Smiling and chatting to me with a mouthful of nipple. His eyes gazing into mine, then flitting toward the trees - he loves watching the leaves move in the wind. I thought about how amazing and privileged I feel. I thought about all the pain I suffered in the early weeks and about how happy I am to have persevered to be rewarded with these moments now.

A little hand pulls my hair, drawing my attention back to where its owner prefers it...on him! He smiles up at me, then dramatically rolls away only to roll back a second later. He licks my nipple, then sucks it roughly back and continues to feed.

Yep, we love it.