Yes, I'm a mammal.

I am nursing two babies. The older one might be 27 months old, but she's still a baby, relatively speaking. The other one is nine months and his only source of nourishment is my milk.

Yes, I realize it's not the societal norm to nurse even one baby past a year, but I don't care what society thinks.

My babies are receiving human milk from their mother, the way nature intended. They are being allowed to nurse as long as they desire to do so, per the World Health Organization's recommendation of two years or longer, as long as mutually desired.

Any other mammal nurses and nurtures her offspring. She also keeps her young close. I co-sleep with my babies, and learned quickly on night one with my oldest that he didn't want to be away from me. Every time I would put him in the little bassinet in the hospital (with heated blankets even), he would begin to whimper/cry within minutes. I finally decided to just bring him into the [gasp!] hospital bed with me and I snuggled up with him and he slept very well. I did the same with #2 and #3, right from the first night in the hospital. The staff never said anything. And if they did, I would have told them it was my choice to safely co-sleep with my baby.

I have let loose of society's pressures to separate and create an independent child from the beginning. I don't believe that society follows Mother Nature's intentions. I follow my mama instincts and so far they've been spot-on. What I have created are children who are so secure and safe that they are not afraid to step away from me when we do go out because they know I am right there for them with open arms should they need me. I will always be their mama.

Positivitiy breeds positivity.

I like helping people. It makes me feel really good. My mom talked to me yesterday and said that my sister-in-law (my brother's wife), who just had a baby on Saturday (my new little niece!) was having some struggles with breastfeeding and she could probably use some encouragement and help from me. Of course, I jumped up to the challenge. I used my knowledge base to find out what I could say/do to best help her, I grabbed my "breastfeeding Bible", The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding, and we headed over to my mom's house. My mom was providing good eats anyway.

I gave her just a few helpful tips. She had been to the lactation consultants at the clinic the previous day, and the baby had lost a pound. Now, almost all babies will lose some weight in the beginning. This is normal. I told her this. I also told her that she was doing a very good job and to look at output (that is wet and dirty diapers) to guage how much the baby is taking in. Her output was great. She stated this biggest thing was having problems with her taking both sides. I simply suggested she use the cross cradle hold when feeding her on the left side -- that way, the baby would feel like she is laying the same way. My sister-in-law said, "oh, that makes sense". I gave her some tips on how to keep her newborn awake during the feedings. I suggested she strip her down and use some baby wipes on her back, and also, taught her about breast compression. I am going to lend her my pump so that she can use it in lieu of the rental she has now.

I told her that at this age, a baby's stomach is the size of a marble -- seriously, it's true -- a marble, and that because of this, it's normal for her to want to feed every hour or two, and that eventually, it would slow down, but to feed on demand.

Pretty soon, it was time for little Olivia to eat. My sister-in-law is so lucky to have my brother -- he encourages her and supports her and is there helping her every step of the way. When they came out of the room, they said it was the best feeding she had had thus far and that those little tips I had went a long way. She took both sides and ate well. I got tears in my eyes when she told me this, and my heart swelled.

It's times like this that make me feel so blessed. I enjoy helping others, especially with something as important as this. Those first two weeks are the hardest: Baby is learning; Mom is learning -- everything is new -- and I think it's vital to have a good support network -- someone who can help you get through those early days. I'm just a phone call away. Earlier in the week, my poor sister-in-law had been in tears, not knowing if she was doing everything right or if everything was going to be okay. I think she just needed to hear that she was doing everything right and that it was all going to be okay, and that it's normal to have some struggles in the beginning.

I feel this is my calling. And even if I can't do it professionally (yet), my ultimate dream is to someday be a postpartum nurse/lactation consultant. I want to help new moms and all new babies get a good start in life. Sometimes you don't know what one little thing you say or do can do to impact someone's life in a positive way, forever. ♥

The weekend is coming to a close . . .

I'm sharing a few pics today! It's been really hot here -- REALLY hot, so I haven't been babywearing too much because I'm a sweaty beast as it is. However, this morning I did put Elise in the kangaroo carry and she really liked it! See? She looks quite proud of herself! Oh, don't mind me -- I look like crap -- those are my jammies and this is pre-shower on a Sunday morning!



Oh yeah, and I am now 8 lbs. below my pre-pregnancy weight! Go breastfeeding (because I really haven't exercised in this horrible heat we've been having all summer)! Here is Elise enjoying some yummies.



In other awesome news, I have finally gotten in touch with my wonderful midwife! I didn't know her last name because she was the student midwife but if you remember my birth story, you will see that she's the one who helped me through my waterbirth the most. I sent her a letter (to the OB/GYN department) a few weeks back with a copy of the birth story and a few pics that she was in and I got a letter back from her Friday so now we've been talking! She rocks. I just had to thank her for making the experience so wonderful -- for my whole life I will be ever grateful. ♥

I am protected by the new law!

There is a law that went into effect (Amendment to FLSA in the Act signed by President Barack Obama on March 23, 2010) that protects breastfeeding women in the workplace, whether they pump or feed their babies directly at the tap. It states that the workplace must also provide pumping/feeding breaks in addition to a private space (which is not a bathroom) in order to do so. The breaks do not have to be paid.

While I do have my own office with a door that closes and I have my pump, Elise has not been taking the bottle so well, as in only about 20% of the time. It was so frustrating on my first day back to get a call from the husband that she wouldn't take it (he tried, she cried, fell asleep, she woke up, and he tried again). If you have been a long-time follower of mine, you will remember that when Andrew was this age, I had a temporary accommodation to go home twice a day (at 10:00 and 1:00, the 1:00 being my half hour lunch anyway) to feed him. I was actually going to quit my job until we came up with that solution. It worked marvelously for us and once Andrew got a little older, around 9-10 months of age, I was able to spread out the feedings to every 4 hours so I could just go home at noon.

Anyway, fast forward to the present. I type up my formal request for accommodation and it gets approved and my supervisor (who also happened to breastfeed all 5 of her children) was more than happy to approve it and said that I was covered until 1 year after the birth of my child under Federal Law.

I am just so happy that the stress of this is gone. I don't have to sit here and wait for a call to see whether or not she has taken the bottle. Stress definitely affects how much milk one can pump -- I can attest to that. On Monday (my first day back) I was so full and by 9:30 I had to pump. I had just gotten a call 15 minutes earlier that she was refusing the bottle, so I was all stresses. I got 4 ounces out but I knew there was more in there so I stopped the pump, massaged the breasts, turned it back on and I managed to get a little bit more but I could tell there was more. Just then an e-mail from the hubby popped up on the screen and he stated that we would just have him bring the baby to me twice a day. I'm not kidding you, as soon as I read those words, the holy geysers of milk opened up and I got 5.5 more ounces (for a grand total of 9.5 ounces; I mentioned in the past that I have oversupply!).

Anyway, my supervisor said it didn't make sense to have him bring her here twice and have to feed out in the car (since my 2 1/2 year old is extremely hyper and just wants to run around) and that she'd feed better in the comfort of her own home. I concur, so that's the arrangement. :)

And it's nice that if anyone gives me slack at work, I can now state tht I am protected under Federal Law. I am also happy that I work someplace that was happy to accommodate me before even though the law wasn't in place.

Weaning...

The dreaded word. Andrew turns one on August 25th. That's a little over a month away. My GOAL was to have him finished with his daily breastfeeding from me (because currently his schedule is: 7:30a, 12:00p, 4:15p, 8:00p, 3a) so I realize that it might be hard to cut some of the evening/night feedings down. I want him to be on breastmilk until he is one, and maybe a tad longer. He knows the sippy cup brings drink, but I really don't know if he's going to sit and down 4 ounces of Momma milk from it in one sitting. He usually just chews on the nubby part (and yes, I have the valve out because Andrew isn't interested in sucking out of the cup and I want him to learn that cup = pour not cup = suck).

Any other breastfeeding moms have advice for what worked for them? Oh, and I have a ton of milk in my deep freezer, so I have that to use up (I'd like to use up what I can, whatever is still good, and then switch to whole cow's milk).

All of this garble translated: my baby is addicted to the boob. Help!