My Own 6 Month Celebration

Three days ago I smiled and shared a snapshot of E on Instagram and Facebook as well as texted a picture to the grandparents because she turned 6 months old. {6 month post to come} As exciting as it is that my baby has been with us for 6 months, I was also celebrating 6 months of exclusively breastfeeding my little one.

Before we began our breastfeeding journey I would have never thought that continuing would be cause for me to feel proud of myself and my baby. I know it's not for everyone and some people have too many issues to continue or it's physically impossible and that's fine; I am not trying to start a debate about any of this or make anyone feel bad. However, it is important to me and I take pride in the fact that for half a year I have given my daughter all the nourishment she needs.

It has not been easy. We had some challenges in the beginning, it is always tiring and a bit time consuming and we may even be up against thrush at this point but...I wouldn't have it any other way.

I guess I may sound a bit like I'm tooting my own horn here which I kind of am--so I can look back later and know this little feeling of accomplishment. The emotions that have come with breastfeeding were definitely not expected. I did expect to feel the extreme closeness with the baby and those types of feelings but a lot of times I have felt stress, exhaustion, frustration and many more. I have learned also to deal with and understand that these are all normal feelings and that I am not a bad mom for feeling any of these feelings. My amazing husband has helped me through a lot of these emotions, bless his sweet heart. He has put up with a lot from me and all of these feelings and he always reassures me that it is okay to feel overwhelmed at times. I think even he has been very surprised with all that breastfeeding brings with it.

My daughter also does not take a bottle. I learned to be fine with that too. It really isn't that big of a deal. I guess sometimes it would be nice to be able to plan out an outing a little better but we are getting better at doing that too. So basically, feeding E on the go is quite easy too. I don't have to bring anything along, no mixing or warming which is quite convenient. I learned to accept the fact that although the days and nights may seem endless right now sometimes, this is all just such a short phase that we will fondly look back on and wish it hadn't gone so quickly.

Breastfeeding is an amazing thing and I didn't realize how committed I would be to it and our continuing success and mother and daughter {and father, really, let's face it, it's about all of us!}. I am still in amazement that my daughter has gained about 10 pounds since being born 6 months ago and that is all because of my body. Cuh-razy.

So, onward we go and will continue for as long as we can and for that I am thankful. Again, thankful for a husband who works hard and for our life that we tried so hard to set up for me to be able to be at home and nurse around the clock. I am also thankful for finding the La Leche League in our area and for the women who are willing to share tips, advice and their company.