WILT...

WILT...7 months

More specifically, what I learned about myself, my body, and my baby over 7 months of nursing and pumping.

The latest recommendation is to breast feed for at least the first year of your baby's life to provide the best nutritional start you can. My goal from the beginning was to make it 6 months. Whew-success!! Maybe not sweet success, but success none the less. It was a struggle in the beginning and if not for great patience and persistence from the nurses at the hospital I may have given up before I even really got started.

I can't believe how tiny she was just a few short months ago...and the Boppy was a constant accessory. Wherever we were, it was never far away!

One of our other constant nursing accessories was the Milk Saver from Milkies-a cup that catches milk expressed from the breast not being nursed on. Nothing wasted, and this stuff is like liquid gold at some points! My sister in law turned me on to it, she didn't discover it until kid #3! Seriously though, this is the stuff they need to teach classes about-not birth. You don't remember a thing about birth, that's how nature intended it, we need to know about Boppies and Milkies!!

I have been really fortunate that G has always taken a bottle easily. Maybe that's because she had to have one those first days in the hospital or because we were asked to supplement her at home for the first few weeks until she put weight back on, but we've never had an issue with going back and forth between the breast and the bottle.

Can you believe those thighs?! I have to say I am a proud mama for having had a hand in creating them-and not just genetically! I think she's filled out rather nicely :)

I did enjoy all the bonding time nursing created for G and I but alas, I am a full-time working mom so this bad boy and I quickly became traveling buddies. I do mean travel, I have done this in the car more times than I'd like to count, and no-it ain't easy! But I also got alot of reading done since I always kept a good (or trashy!) magazine with me to help pass the time.

That's the other thing they should teach in a class- just how time consuming and stressful it can be to keep track of all of this. And yes, there is an app for that...and I have it. Overall though, I think we both made out just fine!

I've said it before, I'm EXTREMELY grateful that I was able to nurse G and provide her breast milk almost exclusively for the first 6 months. It was a rewarding experience for us to share and I'm glad to have given her the best start in this crazy world that I possibly could. We're not quite done with the transition yet, but with the freezer supply diminishing it will only be a few short weeks away. One more milestone to cross off the list.