Kindly

I would like to thank folks for their kind words of encouragement. I have gotten over the initial shock of my visitor and her friends Tammy and Patty. :) A co-worker introduced these names to me and it was too funny not to share. I do feel that Addie and I have done a great job despite difficulties and separation while I'm at work. There are so many ways to do this whole mom thing "right", and I love and respect my sweet friends for every stage of life they are in and how we manage the tasks we've been given with grace, strength, and caution! So, I thought about all the worries I had about feeding that turned out to be no big deal.

Pacifiers
Bottles
Nipple Confusion
Reverse Cycle Feeding
Night Nursing
Supplementing with Formula
Sibling Resentment/Jealousy
Starting solids

There are more, but honestly, all of these things caused me anxiety and our family sailed through them. I know this is a blessing, because there wouldn't be all this literature out there warning about problems and disasters if they never happened.

Addie Belle has only recently started liking a bottle a little more than me, just because there's more in there, she can do it herself, and she can play with it and bite it with no adverse reaction from Mommy. Her pacifier never interfered with her suck reflex or caused nipple confusion. She never cared what type of bottle she had and didn't refuse breast or bottle. She eased her way into daycare at first without drinking much of her bottles and then did this reverse cycle thing and nursed like crazy at home, but within a month or so she was fine and I didn't mind the extra time to nurse and see her. I co-slept with her for her first three-four months (well, it took me about a month to discover this awesomeness) so that she could nurse on demand at night and I could get some sleep. I worried she would never get to the crib and I'd have a horrible time. It took about a week to get her transitioned into her own room and the worst part was that I missed her! Her trouble with sleeping came later and had nothing to do with night nursing!

She's hardly had trouble with constipation from formula, the doctor approved of supplementing so she gets flouride from the tap water (which I think is baloney or bolagna), and she likes it just fine. Addie loves food and it rarely ever interferes with her appetite for milk. She is not one of those babies that stops eating when she's full, she's eaten until she throws up before...specifically at daycare, but the whole common sense there can be lacking at times. :) Finally, Freddy LOVES her so much and he loves to help me with her, and Freddy accepts breastfeeding as her meal time. He likes to ask questions about it and despite my better judgment, I have used the word "boobies" way too many times....and it sounds really funny when Freddy says it. For awhile he went around just saying it in this weird growl, but luckily it sounded kindly like "babies."

All of this is to say that I have counted my breastfeeding blessings, thanked My Lord and Savior for such an amazing opportunity and a perfect design for moms and babies, and told Addie to just keep on truckin' with me. I am not giving up on breastfeeding yet. My good friend, Amanda, and I talked and she encouraged, and I really do feel that I have made a commitment to breastfeeding. My commitment won't falter under these strenuous times. My goal is a year, but my smaller goal is Thanksgiving.

Anecdote: During Addie's refusal to nurse and frustration last night (on the first attempt at going to bed) she would just bury her face in my stomach and give me raspberries. She would laugh afterwards then dive in again. I had to giggle at her and then I took her to Jason and made him let her to it to him. She clapped! She finally agreed to nurse about 30 minutes later and got some zzzzzzs.