MamaGray: Superhero?

"I make milk. What's your superpower?"

I came across this saying on a t-shirt the other day and thought it was so clever. I was tempted to buy one, except it was a bit more than I would usually spend on a t-shirt, and chances are, it would be too short on me anyways.

But yes, I make milk.

Nursing has proven to be a challenging undertaking, but it is immensely rewarding. From a nutritional standpoint, it is very empowering to know that you are solely responsible for the growth of your child for the first 6 months of his life. You and only you made those chubby thighs possible.

Aside from providing round the clock nutrition, nursing fosters such a sweet relationship between a mother and her child. It is so wonderful to be nursing and have your son pop off and look up at you with wide eyes, smile at you, then return to eating. In fact, it makes my heart all melty just typing that out!

On the other hand, nursing is also a challenge. With your first child, you don't know what to expect - learning the art of nursing is not easy. Not only are you dealing with engorgement and sore nipples, but you have to make sure you're nursing properly. There are possible physical problems such as clogged ducts (been there, it sucks) and mastitis. And let's not forget: nursing is also very time consuming. I don't remember feeling as tied down with Adam as I did with Miles in the early weeks/months. With Miles, sitting down every 2 hours for 45 minutes or so while he nursed seemed like an eternity in part because I was also responsible for keeping Adam occupied at the same time. I remember feeling very trapped while nursing Miles, as it's hard to nurse when your toddler is getting into things he shouldn't be (he would frequently get into the fridge and bring me items like the eggs and fruit. Talk about testing my patience!).

Like most things, the good outweighs the bad. I am happy to nurse my kids because I believe it is the right thing to do, and for the most part, I enjoy it (Did you know that as the baby nurses, Mom's body releases endorphins that help the her mood? Isn't that amazing?).

It's not for everyone, but I do believe everyone should at least try. I was at a baby shower recently and was chatting up with two girls - one of them had a 3 week old, and the other was single and childless. As the one was pulling out her bottle she made several comments about nursing that made me sad. She remarked that nursing is "So annoying" because it takes so long to feed a newborn, and that her husband was upset because he couldn't help feed the baby. She quit nursing after a few days. Sadly, this is often the case. You cannot be selfish commit to nursing- it will not work. Nursing a newborn can be difficult in the beginning, but annoying? Yikes. What is annoying about cuddling with your new baby and knowing that at this stage of his little life you can give him everything he needs? And, husbands can help with the feedings - just make up a bottle of breastmilk. I felt sad for her, because I want her and every new mom to know what I know - that breastfeeding can be so great. Oh well.

I'll step off of my soapbox now and close with saying that God created a woman's body to do amazing things. I'm very thankful to be able to breastfeed and hope to continue doing so for a while longer...

Morning

"Standing by the window watching his father go off to run the world." - Storypeople

If Adam is awake, he watches Jeff get ready for the morning. Standing on the stool next to him in the bathroom, he peppers Jeff with questions: "You scruffy, Daddy? Are you shaving, Daddy? All clean now? You brushing teeth?" On and on, until they move into the bedroom where Jeff gets dressed, Adam pointing out that yes, he is wearing a tie, and yes, it is time to go off to work. "You going to the office today? To earn some money?" Yes, and yes, Adam. Daddy goes to work because he loves us...

And finally, Jeff kisses all three of us goodbye and Adam says "Honka horn, Daddy? You going to honka horn today?" Then he runs to the window and waits for the Subaru to drive by (Jeff has to go the opposite way up the street to do this every morning, so i'm pretty sure it's a goodbye that they both enjoy..). Jeff honks, they both wave, and Adam surely thinks that his Daddy is indeed, off to run the world...

Fireworks and the 4th

Thursday night, Jeff took Adam out to my Mom's house to watch the fireworks display from the boat. Feeling a tinge of jealousy that everyone was going to see the fireworks, and that Jeff was taking Adam for another "first" without me, I stayed home with Miles. I reminded myself that soon enough, Miles will be running around with the rest of the gang, but for now, what he needed was his mommy and his crib - bedtime for him is 10pm at the latest these days.

Adam loved the fireworks. I hear he covered his ears the entire time, which is so typical of his personality - very cautious, and not a huge fan of loud noises. He also enjoyed eating the chips that were up for grabs on the boat. So I hear.

For the 4th, all of us went back out to the lake and had a great time. As usual, Adam and Carter ran around like banshees both inside and outside. They sure have fun together! We had a great lunch, took a boat ride (both Adam and Carter attempted to swim in the lake with Grammie, but quickly opted back into the boat after deeming the water too cold. Brave boys nonetheless), went in the hot tub, and lounged around. Everyone was thankful for gorgeous weather!

We got home late, but Adam was still up and asking to do sparklers. Jeff indulged him, and thank goodness he was the one who burned his fingers on the fireworks and not Adam. Covering his ears once again, he stood back as Jeff lit off some bottle rockets and Roman Candles. I'm sure our neighbors apprieciated the noise...hee hee.

3/4ths of us were in bed by 11pm, exhausted. A great day spent as a family, with family, indeed.