Tuesday, June 26, 2012

breastfeeding.

avery

avery1

avery4

avery3

since avery hit the 6 month mark we've slowly started introducing solid foods.  we're doing the baby led weaning approach to introducing solids and although i can't say for sure that we won't be doing any purees, we're not starting with them.  part of why we decided to do baby led weaning was based on the decision to exclusively breastfeed for the first 6 months.  i never really talk about breastfeeding here because i think it's an incredibly personally decision and while i definitely have my opinions i think people get too involved in the decisions other people make about their kids.  anyway, i had a few breastfeeding goals that i made before avery was born.  the first was to exclusively bf for the first 6 months.  and the second was to breastfeed for at least a year.  while there's some control i have over breastfeeding, it's definitely a relationship that avery and i have and how long we continue will depend on whether or not that relationship is still benefiting both of us.

all that to say that looking at her fatty rolls and chunky thighs i can't help but feel a little proud that i contributed to that.  i have loved breastfeeding:  the convenience (i fed her the other day as we were shopping at ikea), the snuggles that i get during it, the extra sleep that it gets all of us, and the fact that it just feels like the natural thing to do.  i know a lot of people who have hated how tied they feel to their babies during these first few months, but personally i have loved it.  aside from all of the nutritive benefits there's definitely some physiological and phycological benefits.  i have loved having nursing as a tool to use when she's really upset or tired and that's definitely one reason i hope to continue the relationship.  it's also really nice on those days that i feel like i'm ending where i started and nothing has gotten accomplished, at least i know that she's getting what she needs and although she's tiny she's still trucking along the growth charts and doing just fine.    


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