Note to Self

World Breastfeeding Week was last week. I don't know about you, but that's a pretty big deal in our house! Well, no it's not but it should be. It should be a time for Big Poppa to celebrate me and what I so selflessly did for the first year of T's life. (Did I lay it on thick enough you think, because I am waiting for Big Poppa to shower me in praise and Cookie Company cookies and Victoria's Secret gift cards!)

Is this post going to talk about MY opinion on breastfeeding? Nope. Is this post going to talk about YOUR opinion on breastfeeding? Negatory. This post is strictly going to reflect upon my experience breastfeeding my son. I feel it is very necessary to get this stuff down before I forget. You see, I have a tendency to freak out and obsessively dwell on the unknown. I fully anticipate, when I am 9 months pregnant with my second child (some time in the far far FAR future), that I will have a nervous breakdown. I just know I am going to freak out thinking about how everything is going to change and how hard it is going to be to take care of a newborn, toddler, 2 dogs, husband, job and all the other things that come with living the high life so I need all the help I can get!

(I lied- I do need to insert a little personal observation into this post. I know this is a hot topic, mommy debate, and everyone thinks that the only moms that get beat up on are the formula feeding moms. Not so, my friends, not so. You would be surprised at the lack of support that BF moms encounter- from the doctor telling me to supplement with formula because she didn't think he was growing fast enough, to EVERYONES initial reaction to any cry that came out of his mouth to be that he was starving to death, we encounter our own set of hardships. Can't we all just get along?! Observation over- back to the post.)

So, future Megan, when you are feeling scared and overwhelmed, remember these few things to help get your through those first few tough  days  months:

1) You are lazy: Breastfeeding, at least while at home, fits right into that mindset. You do not have to go to the store, you do not have to measure anything, you do not have to heat anything up. All you have to do is LAY there and the kid is good to go.

2) You are cheap: Correction- you are not cheap and you actually love spending money. (Might want to work on that if you have 2 kids to support). But you only want to buy things that you see fitting to spend your hard earned cash on so DON'T want to waste it on something that your body makes with absolutely no effort from you! (See #1 above)

3) No more fights over the TV: Big Poppa and I have come up with a pretty good system on sharing the TV, but there are just some times when keeping up with those Kardashians is more important than marital bliss. How do you convince your husband to not only watch it with you, but keep his very opinionated, anti-Kardashian mouth shut? You remind him that you are single-handedly keeping his baby alive. How can he come back from that, really?

*Added Bonus* You can hijack the recliner that your husband claims is only his. Yes, I know we agreed it would be yours the day we bought it, but have you not learned anything over the last 12 years? I say what I have to say to get what I want.  I have the best of intentions, but sometimes things change. The recliner just happens to be the perfect width to support the Boppy without me actually having to hold anything. (See #1 above)

4) You get lots of help: "Oh, Big Poppa, the dogs need to go out but I am feeding the baby", "Big Poppa, I forgot my phone but I can't get up because I am feeding the baby", "Big Poppa, I would get up and cook dinner but I have to feed the baby." You get my drift. The only downside to this would be if your baby wakes up a million times a night to eat. I won the lottery on that one though because after the first few weeks, T was pretty much sleeping through the night- win! Next one better follow suit or his big brother will quickly become Mommy's favorite!

5) You gotta eat: In order for your body to make milk, you have to put something into said body so that it has fuel to make milk. I'm sure fruits and veggies and healthy stuff make milk just as well, but peach milkshakes and ice cream also do the trick. The Kid lived on peach milkshakes last summer, but alas I have to stay away from them because I don't have the milk excuse to gorge anymore.

And all that hoopla about breastfeeding helping you lose weight faster- it only works if you don't stuff your face ALL THE DAMN TIME. I did try dieting and cutting back one time, and I kid you not, I saw a noticeable decrease in supply that day. When you are waking up at 1am every morning to pump to have enough milk for the next day, every little bit counts and you will cut anyone and anything that gets in the way of that. I read a very inspiring pin during these stressful days that really helped me. It said something along the lines of you have your whole life to get skinny, and only 12 months (or however long you choose) to feed your baby, so enjoy every precious calorie and every second giving your baby something that only you can.
I am sure that there are tons more great things that I am forgetting about, like it's the perfect food for my baby and blah blah blah, but I find I really respond best (especially when stressed out) when I can see the benefit for myself as well. I'm willing to bet that future Megan feels the same way too! Good luck, Future Megan, on your new family, and I hope the new baby is as perfect as T is!

Body by Momma!

6 months old, right before he tried his first real food, avocado. Up until then, it was all Momma, all the time! Well, Aunt Arny tried to feed him potato salad but we don't talk about that....