Whoever said "there's no use crying over spilled milk," was never a nursing mother.. I've kept it no secret that I plan to breastfeed at least until Hailey's 1st birthday, it was a choice I made way before that awkwardly pressured conversation between you and the Lactation Consultant at the hospital. You know the one... a small elderly woman comes into the room, always wearing small reading glasses and pristine white sneakers... as she assembles your hospital swag bag, she peers over her glasses and asks, "and just how long do you plan to breastfeed?" wait.... I know this one.... um, as long as possible before it gets all Norman Bates-ish? DING DING DING! "Good Answer," she says and hands you your goodies.... what do the women that say " no thanks I like my nipples the way they are, thanks" get? Probably a slap in the face. This lady doesn't look like she plays around.
Anyhoozles... nursing has been the most rewarding, challenging, wonderful, annoying but satisfying experience for me. My little Hailey has become a jubilant bundle of chub, I lost ALL my baby weight ( definitely still have some toning to do but hey....) and the girls look AH-MAZING if I do say so myself... but nursing does take a lot out of you.... Half the time I fall asleep with the baby after I nurse her... and sitting alone in a room with a breastpump for 20 minutes at a time four times a day when I'm away from her isn't as fun as you think it could be.
So the days that I work and I am away from my darling cherub I make sure that there are at least two 5 oz bottles to hold her off until I see her at lunch time, and while I'm away I pump to make enough for the afternoon...etc.... the last words that are ever spoken from myself to Lee when he leaves me are "DON'T FORGET TO PUT THE MILK IN THE FRIDGE!!!" This is usally met with a scoff and "I KNOW!"
Yet.... on more than one occasion.... I have come home to see two completely FULL bottles resting on top of the diaper bag... that have now been sitting out...for hours.... that to me....is the most awful thing to see when I get home.... Hailey could have taken red paint to the carpet.... the dog could have crapped in my shoes..... but no... there it is... my hard work....wasted. And worse I have to now wake up twice in the middle of the night to pump... and my husband cannot understand how I could hold him responsible.... he didn't know.... he was too busy making sure she didn't roll away in the stroller at Bass Pro Shop... What if she got into the catfish tank? Or knocked over the taxidermied antelope.... He had to focus all of his male brain cells on preventing those catastrophies so he can't possibly be expected to remember to put his wife's breastmilk, his daughter's food, his saving grace for a fussy baby, in the fridge.
Anyhoozles... nursing has been the most rewarding, challenging, wonderful, annoying but satisfying experience for me. My little Hailey has become a jubilant bundle of chub, I lost ALL my baby weight ( definitely still have some toning to do but hey....) and the girls look AH-MAZING if I do say so myself... but nursing does take a lot out of you.... Half the time I fall asleep with the baby after I nurse her... and sitting alone in a room with a breastpump for 20 minutes at a time four times a day when I'm away from her isn't as fun as you think it could be.
So the days that I work and I am away from my darling cherub I make sure that there are at least two 5 oz bottles to hold her off until I see her at lunch time, and while I'm away I pump to make enough for the afternoon...etc.... the last words that are ever spoken from myself to Lee when he leaves me are "DON'T FORGET TO PUT THE MILK IN THE FRIDGE!!!" This is usally met with a scoff and "I KNOW!"
Yet.... on more than one occasion.... I have come home to see two completely FULL bottles resting on top of the diaper bag... that have now been sitting out...for hours.... that to me....is the most awful thing to see when I get home.... Hailey could have taken red paint to the carpet.... the dog could have crapped in my shoes..... but no... there it is... my hard work....wasted. And worse I have to now wake up twice in the middle of the night to pump... and my husband cannot understand how I could hold him responsible.... he didn't know.... he was too busy making sure she didn't roll away in the stroller at Bass Pro Shop... What if she got into the catfish tank? Or knocked over the taxidermied antelope.... He had to focus all of his male brain cells on preventing those catastrophies so he can't possibly be expected to remember to put his wife's breastmilk, his daughter's food, his saving grace for a fussy baby, in the fridge.
Don't get me wrong, my husband is an extraordinary father and considering he has absolutely ZERO infant experience, he has been pretty kick-ass at his role as the day care provider... and I wouldn't be myself if I wasn't complaining about SOMETHING. But when it comes to the fruits of my labor I get a little touchy when they are left to spoil in the hot car, or forgotten in the depths of the diaper bag.
