oh yeah, i guess those little helpless things do. but if they didn’t…well hell i certainly never would have done it!

many many many will disagree, but what’s beautiful about leaky nipples, mammoth breasts, that unnatural pumping apparatus, being CONSTANTLY in demand and staring at the walls of your living room for the millionth time?

yes yes…beautiful moments…blah blah blah. there are so many beautiful moments with your children, why put more value on those experienced during feeding time?

it is ‘great power’ and it does bring great responsibility. i suppose my struggle was that it also brought with it an enormous loss of independence. when i finally met my own breastfeeding goals and weened, that’s when i began to feel empowered again.

Anyway, yes the one breast doing all the work is real, happened with me. I enjoyed nursing the second time around, not so much the first. I remember how when the milk let down, how calm you felt, stuck on the couch unable to get up and go. To me at times I felt so frustrated, seeing the house collect with crap here and there, feeling like I should be up cleaning, doing. I felt like some days I just stayed on the couch unable to move, each time finding the baby crying to be fed. The second time around I was more relaxed less uptight.

As for power related quotes, I always think of Margaret Atwood (I had to look it up to get it exactly right) “We still think of a powerful man as a born leader and a powerful woman as an anomaly.”
(Insert feminist diatribe about misogynistic society’s expectations, definitions and norms…)

Of course, the other power quote that sprung to mind was “Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely” which may have some relevance to the parenting experience as a whole, though not necessarily about nursing!

the looking right at you…. and not looking elsewhere?

well, i wont spoil the ending but the eyes do tend to shift at times. that’s all i will say for now on that subject!

but for the future…. that will be a fun entry to read!

i thought of just that comment “two breasts, two babies” – because, i know, i was one of the many to encourage you – on thursday. we paid a visit to a farm in yamhill (the town, not street). i was surprised to discover cows only have one calf. my mind whirred. the images of piglets suckling in a pile-on ran through my head. i looked again at the cow and the four teats. nope, one calf. they just need that much milk. hmmm, i said. so, people? twins? i repeated for the farmer my concept that three babies unusual, two babies bleh! (two breasts!) not so much. it’s about rotation. whoops.

i wonder if there is always a “favorite” side. i have heard of this. baby b seemed to favor the right side in the beginning. i’m sure there’s some book out there (or twenty!) that has these answers and more if only i could keep my eyes open long enough to read them.

thank you for writing about your nurslings. that milky look of satisfaction that you know only comes from you (is it the milk or you?! or both?!) is such a complete joy. i never get tired of it. along with the belches. and the lip-smacking. i am tired, oh god yes. but never tired of that satisfied feeling.

and it is such a complex situation. i look forward to further developments!

this last month of no entries has dragged on. and it hasnt even been a month since you last wrote!

thank you for writing!

love to you all.