Woohoo!! 12 months today!!
We did it!! It wasn't all clear sailing – engorged breasts, cracked nipples, sleepless nights, self doubt over whether I was giving him enough – from the highest highs to the lowest lows, we hung in there and made it. Twelve months of gazing into my baby's beautiful blue eyes while he fed at my breast. Twelve months of knowing that those chubby little arms and legs (which are just so kissable) where all thanks to what my body provided him. I nurtured him in the womb for 9 months and continued to give him all he needed to grow for another 12.
Until I went back to work fulltime, I let him feed on demand. That meant in the beginning I was up every two hours giving him a feed, I thought it would go on forever and I would never sleep. Some days it felt like my boobs were out all day - getting through growth spurts took their toll. It did end and now we are into a routine of sorts and back to waking just once a night which is practically respectable. I'm lucky enough to have a childcare centre at my workplace so I could easily continue breastfeeding without any worries. They give me a call when he needs me and I wander over to give him a breastfeed and have a play.
My initial goal was to feed for 6 months and I'm just so proud of the both of us that we made it this far. It's been an awesome journey and, one that I'm not quite ready to give up yet. Yes, in the coming months we'll gradually drop the feeds. But for now I'm happy to let him lead me. It will be all too soon before he no longer needs his Mumma and only Dadda will do.
For anyone who is going through a tough time, hang in there. Take all the support you can get (I certainly couldn't have gotten by without my Belly Buddies). I called the ABA countless times, spoke to my CHN and trolled through endless websites searching for someone in the same position as me and I quickly found out that we were perfectly "normal".
