Nothing prepares you for being a parent. While the first few weeks and months are unforgettable they are also incredibly exhausting.
Amongst all the excitement and the attention given to the newborn, something often gets forgotten, that’s the health of one very important person, you – the mom. And as you have a little one to care for now, nothing is as essential as sustaining your own physical and mental health. [Read more…]
Breastfeeding your child to sleep is not a bad habit, it will not create sleep problems and it is not spoiling your baby. You are providing a normal and natural way for your child to go to sleep. The suckling motion of nursing relaxes and soothes your child to sleep. Yes, I said “child” because this is not just for babies. Breastfeeding is far from just food. It’s one of those powers that makes you a super hero.
Things get old. Sometimes going outside, making meals or playing the same old games feels old. Even breastfeeding feels old sometimes, like could you please just skip a feeding? But one thing that never feels old to me is sharing a bed with these boys. I never get tired of pulling them into my chest, smelling their heads and watching their sleeping faces. I don’t even get tired of a foot or butt in the face. It’s always a new adventure. Simply going to sleep with 2 small children is a new and unique adventure everyday. I never get tired of finding out what tonight will bring. At the end of the day it feels like such an accomplishment to see them sleeping. Healthy and safe in my bed. The house feels calm and it’s very quiet for the first time since before the sun came up. When the little one starts to stir and asks for “boobie” in the pitch dark, breastfeeding feels less heavy and old than it did earlier. A quiet night and sleeping children can freshen anything up.
It’s Breastfeeding Awareness Month 2017 baby! And I am here to rant about things I cannot stand about breastfeeding! Why? Because this is hard. Breastfeeding is really hard! It’s magical and empowering and all that stuff but I need all you new parents and parents struggling right now to know that you will not like everything about breastfeeding. And that’s OK! We do a disservice to each other when we wash over the negative feelings that breastfeeding can bring us. We can find comfort and community in the tough things that we deal with just like with any other journey in life. It’s the secret to our success. So let’s get to it. 10 things I hate about breastfeeding!
My name is Katherine Havener. My book is Nursies When the Sun Shines and it’s a book that is meant to help moms communicate with their toddlers that nursing is for the daytime and that nighttime is for sleeping. [Read more…]
