So, breastfeeding. This is a fun topic, right? I breastfed my daughter until just after her first birthday and I plan on doing the same for my son. He is currently ten months so we’re almost there! Breastfeeding is a lot of things, beautiful, natural, healthy, best for baby, reduce mom’s breast cancer risk, ect. What it’s not? COMFORTABLE. Lets talk about the first month. When you first have you baby and decide to breastfeed you have this beautiful image in your head of what it’s going to look like. You picture yourself sitting in a comfortable rocking chair looking out a window with the sun shining in on your still glowing skin. To a degree, I fell like this is true. I have never felt so beautiful and confident as I did while nursing my kids. My maternal instincts were at full throttle and I thought “yes! I can do this!” It take a lot of practice at first for you to figure out how to hold your baby in a comfortable position and it takes baby time to master the latch. Finally they get good at it, but then, TEETHING.

Oh teething, how I have a deep love/hate with you. I can’t remember when my daughter started teething but she was a very light and gentle eater. Now, my son on the other hand, oh, my sweet boy. He is like a damn alligator. When he started teething he wouldn’t want to eat. His fevers go very high, in fact his first tooth gave him a temp of 104! It was awful. As soon as that first tooth popped through he was in mid rage. His second tooth popped through the next day and he finally had relief. All the sudden there are these strange things in there. He decides he needs to test them out. We tried every type of teething method and he didn’t want any part of it. What he did want? To chew on mom. I can’t tell you the amount of times this boy made me bleed or the amount of times I swore I was done. “That’s it! I’m just pumping from now on!” I didn’t expect it because my daughter only bit me once with her teeth. I couldn’t figure out how to get him to stop. On top of that, we kind of co sleep. I lay down with him until he falls asleep and then put him in his crib. Now the whole time I’m laying down with him nursing him to sleep even though he is latched he is trying to roll all over the place! He might be eating but he doesn’t care! He faces the opposite way, puts his butt up in the air, and then it happens. He rolls. It is the ultimate titty twister of ridiculous proportions. Then, about 4 am he wakes up to eat again and I just bring him into bed with me and nurse laying down.

This past weekend he got his top two teeth and a few bites was enough to make him realize it doesn’t give him teething relief anymore- thank goodness! Now he hasn’t bitten me since and nursing is pleasant again like it was the first months. Most of the time while he’s eating he’s playing with his feet, or pulling my hair, stuffing his fingers in my mouth, or doing this hilarious slap to my chest. He’s getting to the point now where he gets enough real food that he doesn’t really care to “eat” but it’s more of a comfort. Personally I love the bond I share with him thanks to breastfeeding.

Mom’s I urge you to stick with this. It sucks sometimes, I know. Some days I laugh so hard because he lets go and gives me this huge milk covered grin. He’s so satisfied and happy. It’s so worth it. I promise if you do, at the end you will miss it and be so glad you did!