Yep, that is me...nursing and sailing on the boat.
My Experience Breastfeeding and BLW
This principle is near and dear to my heart and soul. My journey learning and understanding breastfeeding came as we entered into it together. Sure I read a few books, however, the bonding and rhythm that we fell into happened together. I nursed and continue to nurse on demand at 15 months and going strong. I love the word demand and I do not believe it has the negative implications that many believe it does. I simply have always felt that she will let me know when she wants to eat and when she is finished. I always loved dropping everything to have our special time together, especially in the beginning. It focused me. I was feeding my baby and there was nothing else in this world that was more important to me in that moment...sure I had to physically remind myself to eat and drink water...maybe because we were so into it... The very early weeks of nursing was so much easier when we stripped down and incorporated skin to skin.
My Took was a nurser...every hour on the hour in the beginning. I trusted her. I knew that she would do her job at telling my body how much milk she needed and when. The more I let her nurse, the more milk would come in. The more I responded to her, the faster she stopped crying and knew that "momma was coming".
I also loved knowing that she might want to nurse for other reasons than hunger...comfort, warmth, boredom, checkin in...I loved it and welcomed it..how cool is that! She knew I was mommy...and she trusted me that I was going to help her! What other lessen in life is more important than knowing that she can trust her parents!
My husband was and always is an amazing support system and I thanked him every day. He probably wasn't as interested in my "AHA" moments while I searched endlessly on the internet to find out and learn about Took's nursing behaviors...but he loved watching us fall into this role of feeding and loved being a part of it. People in my family worried that he was being left out of this bond. I think that is only natural and I did check in with him periodically to make sure that he didn't feel that way. "How could I?" would be his response..."You are doing what you are made to do...and you can do it!"...Oh he is smart isn't he!? He did everything else when he was home from work, every single diaper change with a smile on his face and a song in his heart. The songs he would sing and the ways he would get her to laugh and smile was something only he could do. He wore her as much as he could, did bath time like no other, book-time, snuggle time and his own skin-to-skin time.
They are bonded.....seriously...lovingly bonded. She has so many special things that she does with "daddy" and a single kiss or calling out his name, levels him..each and every time!
I figured I would "get" to six months and see how it goes...We are at 15 months and going strong. She eats everything and anything and nurses pretty much whenever she wants to...which can be first thing in the morning and last thing at night...or several times throughout the day...it all depends on what is going on and whether or not she fell.
Took never took a bottle or pacifier. Never. I would be lying if I said that this never stressed me out. I thought that it was normal for babies to take bottles and pacifiers, this was all prior to my experiences with AP. My view of "norm" was based solely on cultural viewpoints. She would scream like I was hurting her, I would cry out of fear...I was going back to work full time and she was only 3-months old. I hated the idea of the bottle and maybe she knew that. I didn't want her taking anything but me, but I wanted her to eat while I was at work. She took a bottle two times in her life...at 3 weeks and at 2 months. I was going back to work. I had to try it out. I thought I was going to throw up and I watched as my daughter HATED it. I kept thinking that there had to be a better way....and there was! We worked with a leader from LLL who provided us with a few strategies that worked. There were alternatives to feeding my baby and it was wonderful! Took took her first sips of expressed milk from an espresso cup...My classy girl! We then introduced a beginner straw cup at 3-months old and she loved it. She was thriving and drinking my expressed milk when I was at work. I will never forget the stress that this put me under and the relief to know that she will take SOME expressed milk until I came home to her. My husband was and always is on board and he supported anything that we felt was right for Took. This was something that went against the "norm" in our culture and something that needed to be supported by family and friends. They told us that they weren't used to it or comfortable with it...and gradually became accustomed to this "change" in perspective, but they saw how great she was doing. This is monumental when breastfeeding, family support has a direct correlation with breastfeeding success.
It's the most beautiful, rewarding, frustrating, perfect, emotional experience of my life and we will stop breastfeeding when she decides that she is ready to stop. THIS is the hot topic of conversation in the family, where I am constantly asked, "How much longer are you doing that!?". "You know...she got all she needs the first two weeks!", "Don't you miss drinking!!"...etc... Took asks to nurse by saying "Mama" or "Mama me me" specifically for nursing....I LOVE IT and I am NOT stopping. WHEN is not a question that I ask myself..."How much longer do I have to enjoy this!" is what I say...and right now...we are still loving it! She has taught me so much through this entire experience.
We continued feeding her with love and respect as we explored the transition process to solid food. We read about "Baby Led Weaning" by Gill Rapley and felt that this was a fantastic option for us. We entered slowly into the world of "big girl" foods by offering her a variety of what we ate and allowed her to explore it, play with it, smear it, feed it to the dogs, taste it and spit it out, spit it out and eat it all over again or just throw it off of her tray. This baffled family members, upset others...but my husband and I enjoyed the calm experiences of watching our daughter LOVE food. It took awhile before she truly ingested any of it, but she was nursing and we knew that when she was ready she would. We respected her and she responded very well to it. The same family members who thought we were strange will also comment on the types of food she eats. When she signs that she is "all done"....she is all done...When she asks for "more"....she gets more on her tray!
Her favorite: Spaghetti with venison
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