Blessed

Yesterday we went to the local elementary school to play on the playground for a while in the morning. Sammie decided she wanted to climb the ladder to get to the twisty slide but was distracted by two little boys playing near her. I was right there trying to make sure she kept her hands and feet on the bars but she missed the last one, hit her head and fell to the ground before I could even react fast enough to try and catch her. She screamed. I picked her up and looked for blood. Thank God there was none, so we headed over by the parking lot where we found a private place to nurse. Hugs and Kisses are enough for some owies but boobie usually helps when my girls are really upset, scared or hurt. I am so grateful that as a mother I have the ability to offer my children comfort, natural pain relief, a sense of calmness that helps them recover from a traumatic event like she had.

Years before I ever had kids, I'd never gave breastfeeding a second thought. My sister and I grew up during a time when breastfeeding wasn't so popular and being the youngest I never was around very many babies. Bottle feeding formula was what seemed normal to me. When my sister had her children, she (like always) did a lot of research and made very educated decisions as to how she and her husband raised their kids. This was my first exposure to breastfeeding and I saw what a natural beautiful thing it was.

When I was pregnant with Pie, Chris and I knew that we wanted to breastfeed her but everywhere we turned we received negative comments and a serious lack of support. Very few people seemed to have anything positive to say and only gave excuse after excuse as to why they couldn't breastfeed their child and tried to justify why they fed formula. Now I believe every parent has the right to make their own choices when raising their children but I also believe in encouragement and supporting other people even when they choose something different than what I would choose.

Two and a half years later I am still nursing both my girls and intend to let them decide when they are ready to end this part of their childhood. At times I am touched out and it can be frustrating when they fight over who gets which boobie but when they hold hands and giggle so hard they they loose their latch, it makes it all worth it.

I love my girls and this special time we have been blessed with. I am so thankful that my sister showed me how beautiful breastfeeding in and am grateful that I have such an awesome supportive husband who helped me struggle though the rough spots to be able to enjoy this journey with my girls.