Breastfeeding:before and after

It's weird how your perspective changes on situations based on the side of the fence you are on.I always knew that I wanted to nurse my kids but my thoughts on nursing before I did it and now once that I am doing it vary a great deal. So, I have compiled a list of my thoughts on breastfeeding now that I am in the saddle!

1. While I do believe in being discreet, I do believe that it's my right to nurse wherever the heck I want. For the first two weeks I nursed, I was terrified of doing it in public and didn't want to leave the house. I would go back to the car and nurse the baby for fear of what people would think. Then something clicked and I realized a couple of things. First, I am the only one who can feed my little one and he is depending on me. If he wants to eat, I am going to feed him-end of story. Secondly, in case society has blurred your vision, God made boobs to feed babies-not to fill full of saline and squeeze into tiny triangular shaped bathing suits. I shouldn't have to be embarrassed because I am doing what I was created to do.

2. The bond that it creates between you and your child is immeasurable. This is something that my little boy and I share that no one else shares with him and I love the closeness nursing provides.

3. I recently bought nursing pads made my Gerber that had no sticky adhesive on the back. Whoever made these pads couldn't have been thinking. As I am nursing and trying to be houdini so no one gets a free show, my nursing pad comes flying out. Great. Or, if it doesn't come flying out, it bunches all up so it doesn't do it's job and it makes me look like I stuffed my bra with a lumpy sock. So, don't buy nursing pads without the little sticky. It makes a BIG difference.

4. Did you know nursing burns an extra 500 calories a day? That my friend is why after only three months, I weigh less than I did before I got pregnant!!

5. When you are a nursing mother, you have to give consideration to all the items in your wardrobe. In the morning a shirt may be more than appropriate but as the day goes on and you are away from your little one, it may grow less and less appropriate! You may end your work day looking like Pamela Lee Anderson if you aren't careful!!

6. I feel the rewards greatly outweigh the inconveniences of nursing so my advice to all mothers is- Go for it!

School of Hard Knocks?

So I am just a few weeks away from my ten year high school reunion. I can't believe it's been ten years. I don't feel as old as I thought people my age were when I was young. And, as I have been on the committee planning the reunion, I have had alot of time to really think about how I have changed since I graduated. I have learned so much. I wish someone would have told me all the stuff that I had to figure out on my own but then again, get real, as a teen I wouldn't have believed them anyhow. So, here is my two cents about the last ten years:

1. Whether you are popular in high school in no way effects whether you are successful and popular in life.

2. If I would have been as ambitious about my studies as I was with being in every single extra curricular activity, I wouldn't still be paying on my student loans because I would have had scholarships

3. I spent way too much time worrying about what other people thought. Who the heck really cares if your jeans come from Wal-Mart of Abercrombie?

4. In high school, I spent all my time trying to convince everyone-mostly my parents-that I knew everything. I have spent these past ten years discovering just how much I still have to learn.

5. Small schools and small towns aren't bad. When I was in high school, I wanted nothing more than to get as far away from this town as possible. Now ten years later, we've moved back here.

6. When we were kids, we didn't have to walk through metal detectors to get into school and kids didn't get in trouble for carrying pocket knives. My goodness how things have changed in ten years.

7. I wish I would have been less afraid to stand up for my faith. People knew that I was a Christian but I am sure that I could have done a better job acting like one.


So...those are my thoughts about high school. Holy crap, time flies...