Confession #1

I've got some confessions to share about our family. I'll just hitcha with them one at a time so you can get a good list going for when you call CPS.

Confession #1

I nurse my kids.

I really like to nurse my kids.

I would feel really bad if I didnt nurse my kids.

I don't think there's anything odd about nursing or extended nursing, but I *WAS* raised by hippies.

I let my kids self-wean. (Just using that phrase should tell you a lot about me.) I nursed Sunshine until she was 23 months and I was five months pregnant with TLM. He stopped nursing when he was only 12 months. *tsk, tsk* And dear little Pocket is 15 or 16 months old and she's still going strong. But, I kinda wish she would stop because she's starting to cramp my style.

Part of my attraction to nursing is that I'm lazy. I love being able to sleep while I feed a newborn. I love not having to carry around supplies to feed a baby. I dont want to have to wash bottles or check the temp of the milk before I feed them. Too much work. I'm lazy.

Nursing is my ONE true talent. It comes easily to me and it works super well for our family. If you've ever had trouble nursing, you know that I'm lucky that way. So when people ask about talents, I tell them that. Some people are natural musicians or great athletes. I nurse.

I use nursing to solve my mommy problems. If I want a snuggly baby, I nurse her. If I want a happy baby, I nurse her. If I want to have a conversation on the phone without a baby screaming at me, I nurse her. If I want a baby to fall asleep but am too sick to deal with all that, I nurse her. If I want to check my email without a baby hitting my keyboard, I nurse her.

I lie to doctors about nursing. When Pocket's pediatrician said that I should try not to nurse on demand after 12 months, I agreed and went home and did whatever I wanted to anyways. What does he know? Medicine isn't a science. It's just an educated guess, right Elizabeth? *wink*

My aunt nursed me once when I was a baby. It's true. She says that why I'm practically perfect in every way just like her. Told ya - hippies.

Once, I tried to give one of my kids a bottle of formula from those samples they send you in the mail, but they wouldnt take it. I tasted it and almost gagged. So I threw it all away and never tried again. Lazy.

When Polly Pocket's pulmonologist, ENT, and the hospitalist pediatrician talked to me about moving her to a bottle, I lost it and went off on them. I screamed at them about sending out mixed messages to parents about nursing. When you're pregnant, it's all "Ra, ra, ra! Nursing is best!" But now they wanted me to stop at the drop of a hat and change something we'd been doing for months. Then I burst into tears. The poor ENT just stared at me. English is his second language and I think an angry black woman screaming about boobs really confused him. The pediatrician got nervous. She just kinda stook there. The pulmonogist laughed at me and said, "You're crazy! It's not a big deal. We'll work around it." We were great friends after that and argue about things every time we see each other now. He's from Long Island. I think he likes spunk.

Nursing is a great excuse to get out of things. It's almost as good as being pregnant. Really! Can I get a witness on this one?

Unless you're my aunt, who grabs the wrong child to nurse while she's on the phone, nursing is something that someone can't do for me. I like it because it's MY thing. It makes me special and you all know how much I like attention.

And for my saddest confession yet....my very best friend in the whole wide world doesnt nurse her kids. Not one of those four darling children was nursed. I try not to judge (*cough*) and just hope that some of my kids' extra months of nursing will rub off on her poor little neglected kids. You know, like telepathic nursing all of the way to Florida. I think it's working because her kids are just as cute and just as bad as mine. And we pray for them every night...really hard. I know I'll be blessed for my telepathic nursing in heaven.

So to recap...I like nursing. Don't judge.