I wanted to take a moment to celebrate something else. I am not one to pat myself on the back or toot my own horn however this is a moment for me to do just that. With Sam turning 1 I celebrate the fact that I have successfully BF my children to the recommended limits (Hannah was cut a little short b/c of Sam's surprising arrival) but Hannah stopped at 10 months and Sam will meet the APA recommendation of a year. Now this may be TMI for some and result in eye-rolling from others but I am pretty darn proud of this!
Now let me stop and say that my enthusiasm is not a judgement on any women who couldn't, didn't, didn't want to or for whatever reason hasn't made it to the 1 yr mark of BFing their children - every mom has to make their own decisions on this one and it isn't for me to make anyone feel badly about choices they have made or were forced to make - there is enough judgement already shared by women and moms to go around on all aspects of child-rearing.
But just for a second - as sad as I will be to see this milestone pass - I am pretty darn proud of myself and thankful to God for the opportunity. I certainly had the support of Brent - helping with bottles and managing stored supply, taking care of Hannah in the mornings when I needed to take care of Sam. I also appreciate Brent and Nana for helping to are feed the babies during times when I was out of town on work. I must say there were a few times it felt a little like the Bible story about the woman who's oil supply never ran dry even when she thought it would - there always seemed to be enough when I was away at work.
Speaking of - this was a challenge - I have to say I will celebrate parting with the BP - we have traveled long distances together :) - on business trips, on airplanes, in bathrooms, in cars, wherever and whenever I had to make it work and work it was! It was certainly eye opening to learn that very few of the airports I went through had facilities for nursing women and that is also true for just about all of the places I have worked - I was lucky to find a bathroom. And of course all the night-feedings that Brent just couldn't help with (although he tried - but in the time it took to prepare the bottle I wasn't sleeping anyway and could have taken care of the child and been back to sleep). The most recent stats say that only 13% make it past 6 months of BFing - so for all those BFing moms that are able to and choose to make the commitment for the year - you are the exception rather than the rule.
To all those working moms out there that are able and choose to commit to BFing for the year (or any time) - I say hang in there - it can be done! And when the time comes to bring this phase to an end feel free to pat yourself on the back and celebrate the great accomplishment you have made!!
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