I’m still nursing…
I went for an appointment with my midwife yesterday. I’m 24 plus weeks right now. She said, “Well, this is the visit where we typically discuss breastfeeding.”
I smiled and said, “Well, since I’m still nursing my two year old, I don’t really have any questions.”
It is nice that I have a lot less worries this time. I know where my resources are for breastfeeding questions. I have at least four books at home on the topic and have a couple of websites that I still frequent when I have any questions. In my home library, I have a copy of The Nursing Mother’s Companion, which you can find cheaply at McKay’s bookstore here in town. I give them out as baby shower gifts. I have the Womanly Art of Breastfeeding, Bestfeeding: How to Breastfeed Your Baby, and Mothering Your Nursing Toddler. As for websites, I still go to www.kellymom.com and a great site that I haven’t looked at much but others recommend is http://www.drjacknewman.com.
I read a lot of books before Liam came and didn’t find out about www.kellymom.com until after he was born. On the Dr. Jack Newman website there are a lot of videos where you can see how to properly latch your baby on. The latch is the most important thing about breastfeeding. I think a lot of women don’t do enough research before the baby comes and expect that breastfeeding will just happen. It does take work and a lot of practice. During that first week, every time I went to feed Liam, I thought of it as practicing. Now, after 26 months of nursing, I feel somewhat like a veteran. I’m not sure whether I will have any time in between babies of no nursing.
I look forward to nursing a baby again and mainly having a full milk supply. Nursing a toddler has been more difficult for me, mainly since I became pregnant. My desire to nurse is less, and fortunately Liam only wants to nurse to sleep. However, that can bring on tears for Liam at night when I have to make him stop because I can feel his teeth when nursing and it drives me a bit bonkers. Some nights, my tolerance is infinite, others it is just minutes. I’m thankful that he is only upset for a bit, but he cuddles up next to me and goes to sleep so at least I can offer him some comfort.
March 12, 2010 at 5:00 pm
I was surprised that my second baby nursed differently than my first. In a general sense, it was still a nursing baby, but I loved the fact their little personalities came through even in the quiet moments of nursing sessions, even in the wee hours of the morning. Have fun learning how your newest nurses—whenever the baby gets here :O)