A few days ago, Kaia achieved a momentous task - she took a bottle of pumped breastmilk from her Daddy! I don't know who was more excited - me or Jason! Sitting with her on the couch, Jason couldn't contain his enthusiasm and adoration. "It's OUR special time now", he kept saying to Kaia with a child-like grin on his face. He insisted I capture the moment with a photo, even commenting "Get a picture from the angle I get to see - of her face". You cannot measure moments like these. I love that he relished in some splendid bonding time with her. It also reminded me once more not to take simple pleasures like nursing my baby for granted. Indeed, it IS special time between us. I DO get to gaze into her quiet and searching eyes and witness a number of hilarious and wonderful facial expressions. Knowing my body produces nourishment for my daughter makes me both proud and in awe (once again) of the incredible, unstopable power of our bodies. It's quite funny how thrilled I get about breastfeeding - you'd think I was the first woman to ever discover this "talent". The amount of pride I possess about breastfeeding is akin to humans creating fire - exilirating! My friend Megan used to describe that some of her fondest memories of Motherhood was nursing her children. At the time, I truly didn't undersand this - in fact, it almost baffled me how something so seemingly simple and "un-fun" like that could hold so much meaning to someone. Now, I understand. Perhaps it is the simplicity of it all that makes it even more enjoyable - the ease that Kaia takes to the task, the (usually) quiet setting, the instinctive way in which my body responds, the creation of a moment in time between just two people, her downy soft head in my hands, and the fact that there are no additional "tools" needed.
That's not to say that nursing isn't exausting, and seemingly endless, and messy, and sometimes frustrating. At times, it can feel like I'm constantly attached to my baby - literally! Now that Kaia has demonstrated the ability to take milk from a bottle, I've been exploring all the exciting possibilities in my mind - time for emails, times for naps, time for actually eating breakfast, time for TV watching, time for a bath...Alas, out of laziness, I haven't pumped any milk since then. Until I do, I think I'll stick to the "simple" way of feeding her. After all, I know I must savor these times with her. Five weeks have almost come and gone since her birth - do that about 11 more times and she'll be a year old!!!
1 comment:
Creating a life, loving and nourishing that life; there is nothing simple or mundane about that - it is divine! We each connect to our children in different ways (Jason with a bottle, you at the breast) and yet those connections are powerful and lifelong. Just wait until your feeding sessions are injected with long eye contact, smiles and belly laughs! (and the spewing milk that comes with laughing with a mouthful!)
I love sharing your experiences - this is cool.
Your Friend Megan
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