Saturday 14 January 2012

j a n u a r y t h i r t e e n t h

After 9 years of thinking I would only have one child, and feeling sad that my first born self-weaned at only 10 months, I am thoroughly enjoying my extended breastfeeding relationship with my daughter. Breastfeeding is a joyful and effortless experience for the both of us, and we're clinging to it.
When my tiny daughter tucks into me, on my lap and nuzzles into her warm milk, I feel like all is right in the world, and that good things happen to good people. This is a dream come true. My miracle baby is here.

I hold her close and say "This is your milk, Opalina-Ballerina, I made is just for you." And she pulls off my breast, looks me straight in the eye with a big, contented smile and then latches back on with a sigh, and I know I'm doing the right thing for the both of us.

I imagine all the love I feel for her, beaming from my soul into the cells of my body. The love then travels into my blood, and from there makes it's way to my breasts, and into my milk, and from my milk to my baby's stomach, and from her stomach to her cells, and then to her soul.

7 comments:

  1. Beautiful photo. Beautifully written. LOVE everything about this post!

    ReplyDelete
  2. This is so beautiful! I also love seeing Opalina in some of K's old hand-me-downs that we LOVED! Can't wait to see you all! xo

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. MJ, we LOVE that purple suit with the sparkly heart. It's worn all the time. You just can't find stuff like that anymore, with the thick sweatshirt material. It's so cozy! The only other thing I have made out of that fabric is from when Mustard Man was a baby!

      Delete
  3. I feel the same way about how the breastmilk comes from your heart into their soul <3

    ReplyDelete
  4. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Yes, Opal! Yes! Nursing a toddler is everything that I thought nursing would be. (Compared to nursing a tiny baby, which is neat and all, but not really the same kind of experience.)

    Great picture, too. The curtain turns your living room window (?) into a huge light-box. Perfect, diffused light.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Reagan! I loved the light in this photo, too. The sun was beaming that day, which NEVER happens, so I probably won't see a photo like this one again in a looooong time.

      I was just thinking the other day about how much sweeter it feels to nurse a toddler vs an infant. It really is a totally new experience. No need to get them properly latched on, or support their bodies in the same precise and delicate manner. It's more like I'm sitting down for a rest, and she is too now that she's older.

      Delete