Seven Years

Seven Years.

I spent 7 years of my life breastfeeding. 4 babies. Sometimes tandem. Sometimes pregnant. Sometimes I loved it. Sometimes I did not. 7 years is a very long time. If my guesstimate is correct I breastfed for approximately 2000 days. I donated probably that many ounces. I exclusively nursed, pumped, and just about everything in between. My next two blogs are going to take a walk down memory lane about the past 7 years.

When Grace was born, I had no intention of breastfeeding ( The First Latch ) Then she was here and I did. For almost 3.5 years. We went from numerous times per day to quickly singing the alphabet in an effort to wean her when I was done. Nursing is a mutual relationship after all.

My son was born, and I spent a little over a year tandem nursing. I call this time period chaos. It was just constant chaos. Someone always wanted milk. Which meant a lot of touching. I was relieved when Grace weaned. She was ready, I was ready. I continued nursing Brendan until I became pregnant with my third child.

Along came Meredith. I intended to nurse Brendan for much longer but hyperemesis creeped in and I just couldn’t keep up. He weaned quite easily and the transition worked out well. After 4.5 straight years of nursing, I was ready for a break. When Meredith was born, I picked right back up. Actually, not entirely true. Each kiddo is so different and nursing her was different. https://rumina.wpengine.com/different-baby-different-journey/

I nursed Meredith until I became pregnant with my fourth child (notice a trend?).

Felicity is my fourth and last child. I nursed her for just a very short time before her medical issues required us to stop. I pumped for several more months until we switched her to IV nutrition.

After almost 7 years of nursing and pumping, my time was cut short in a way I still don’t know that I’ve come to terms with. But what a ride! I’ve nursed all over, I developed a voice and learned to use it, I became and still am a vocal supporter of breastfeeding and pumping moms.

Breastfeeding is about nutrition but it’s also about so much more. For me it was and still is an outlet. It provided healing. It gave me strength. A connection. Community. Breastfeeding my children feels like an accomplishment. Donating to others feels like an honor. My time is over but the benefits will linger forever.

You see, we start off breastfeeding and none of us truly know how long it’ll last. We don’t know what obstacles we may face. Whether you nursed or pumped for 7 minutes, 7 days, 7 years or beyond, you are an incredible mother. Not because of the act of breastfeeding but because of the love, devotion, and care it takes to bring new life into this world.