Cupcakes & Running Shoes: WE DID IT!

Now, I generally don’t toot my own horn. Or at least I don’t consider myself the type of person who’s always singing her own praises. But in this moment, I have to toot away.

Cameron Kate and I DID IT! We have overcome many, many obstacles and mastered the art of breastfeeding. Now while some of you may shrug off this accomplishment as no big deal, it is colossal in my mind.

You see, before I even became pregnant I always said, “Of course I’ll breastfeed!” I’d always read how beneficial breast milk is for babies, and of course I want to give my children what’s best for them… therefore, I never second guessed this decision.

But I never knew how difficult it would be.

Now, for some people, other than a couple painful days in the beginning, breastfeeding is a breeze. And I’d never really heard anyone talk about how difficult it can be – so I never imagined the challenges I would face throughout the first 10 weeks of C’s life.

Long story short, we dealt with many obstacles along the way. Cracks, infections, blood, mastitis, two cases of thrush, and an aggressive little eater. There were many, many painful nursing sessions, countless tears, and many hours spent mustering up the wherewithal to keep going. I used shields and even exclusively pumped for awhile to try to maintain my sanity. Sadly, the first few weeks of C’s life were hard to enjoy because every time she ate (which was ALL THE TIME) I cried. I cried in pain and out of frustration – why wasn’t it working for us? Would it ever work for us?

I’m only being completely blunt and honest about our journey because I’d never heard of anyone having difficulty with breastfeeding, and I want future mamas out there to know that it CAN be tough, and it IS a HUGE commitment, and one of the most selfless things you can ever do for your child.

But it is totally worth it.

Here I am, 10 weeks later, and we did it. I now look forward to feeding my daughter, enjoying the bonding and relishing in the fact that every inch she grows, every pound she gains COMES FROM ME. If you think about it, it really is incredible that a woman’s body produces the perfect nourishment for her child in the form of breastmilk.

And I have to send out a huge thank you to all of the people in my life who were my cheerleaders while I struggled to push through – and I have to apologize to my hub who dealt with a crying, frustrated mama for many many weeks while I refused to give up.

Toot toot.

I am so proud of myself, but even more proud of Cameron Kate. She dealt with a lot – my anxieties, me constantly trying to fix her latch, bottles, shields, etc. She is incredible. J

In other news, we’re headed out of town in the morning for a week of holiday traveling. I must say that I can’t wait to show off my girl, while I’m also quite a bit anxious about being away from our “bubble” for so long. But it’s a small price to pay to be surrounded by our awesome families. I don’t think I’ve ever been so excited about Christmas… and it has nothing to do with the presents under the tree. This holiday season has me feeling so incredibly blessed – literally, my heart feels so full of love that I’m not sure how much more it can handle. Since Cameron Kate entered this world, every day is better than the day before. This is what life is all about. J

Speaking of Cameron Kate, she had her two-month appointment last week! Our big girl is now 23 ¾ inches long and 12 lbs, 14 oz – in the 90^th percentile! Her three month clothes are starting to get snug! She had to get all of her two-month immunizations, which was much more traumatic for me than her. Once she got some Daddy Love, she conked out and slept off her shots.

I swear she changes everyday. Each morning when I go in to get her out of her crib, she’s more smiley and chatty, which is the best! Hub and I will do just about anything to elicit a gummy grin from our girl. And speaking of changes, she’s recently abandoned the whole eat, play, sleep routine and now seems to prefer eat, play, sleep, play, repeat. She is definitely not on a specific eating/napping schedule, but her eating and napping times are starting to fall within a certain time range. And this is good because she starts “school” (ah hem, daycare) next month. But we won’t talk about that yet. L I’m down to about four and a half weeks of maternity leave, but I refuse to count down – I’d rather take advantage of every second I have left to soak in my Cameron Kate.

I’m off to try to figure out how to pack for a week for a two-month old! I hope everyone who reads this has a Merry Christmas!