Who Knew I'd be Shopping Like This...

Woo Hoo, our tax return came yesterday!!! So last night we loaded up the family and headed out to eat. That was a blast, we went to Nakashima, a hibachi restaurant, for a nice meal. Well, ok maybe not a blast as it was a Meinnert family night out. Ajay was crying because he didn't want to see the fire, Zola was laughing because she is so excited to see the fire, Taj was intrigued by all of the fire at the other tables and little Peylyn couldn't care less. Oh well, I always enjoy a night out when I don't have to worry about cooking for two meat eaters and two vegetarians. Then there is Taj who just wants to play with the food and throw whatever he doesn't want at my head.

Anyway, after we left Perry asked if I wanted to go to Kohl's. Well, since I am down to one pair of jeans that fits me (post baby) and three tunics that I bought at the hippy store downtown, because they are great for nursing, I of course was all over the thought of having a few new items.

Items purchased included 2 pairs of jeans, 2 tank tops (the ones with the spaghetti straps and the boob shelf also serving to hide my tummy when shirt is pulled up to nurse) and 4 cotton tunic type tops. As we are checking out, Perry is looking at the items I chose. He asked "is there a reason you can't ever choose something that actually sits next to your body and shows your curves?" My reply was "How the hell do you comfortably nurse two babies in tight fitting clothes?" The cashier was loving this conversation.

It hit me then how much everything I do is centered around nursing a baby. It doesn't matter if you are nursing one baby, two or even ten, when you decide that this is the path for you and your child/children it is amazing how you will alter your life to do just that. When we discuss going out to eat, I only go to places where I know I can nurse Peylyn comfortably, the women I surround myself with are all so supportive, the clothes I buy are all about comfort while nursing and even the church the kids and I started attending, I chose to continue going there after the second time we attended and a woman approached me to tell me how beautiful it was to see me nursing my baby.

It is a beautiful and amazing thing! When I look at my two precious babies I can not believe that there are people out there that think that a mother feeding her child with her own milk is unnatural.

Patience, What's That?

It is pretty funny to see a 2 year old trying to wait his turn to nurse! Lately I have been having them "take turns" because I was concerned about the fact that every time Peylyn "needed" to nurse Taj wanted to. I felt bad that Taj and I had 19 wonderful months of having our special time together and started to feel that Peylyn was being short changed. So now for the most part (unless I really don't have the time or the patience) Peylyn goes then Taj.

So now with the new rules, while I am nursing Peylyn I have an eager child sitting next to me trying to convince me that it is his turn. It is hilarious!!! He has even gone as far as pulling my breast out of her mouth and saying "done mama." One of these days Peylyn will be taking it back saying "no!"

All the while the older two think all of this is so funny, which only encourages a 2 year old even more!

I am sure some people would freak out over stuff like this but I think it is funny and it makes me count my blessings that I am able to stay home with my babies and nurture them in a way that no one else could. It is hard, money is very tight on one income, but in the end it is all worth it to me. This time passes so quickly, I would give up anything to be here with them and witness all of their magical moments.

How Long?

If you are close to me then you probably already know that my husband isn't really on board with a lot of my choices. He was getting antsy at the end of my pregnancy wondering when I was going to wean Taj. I think that he thought that my 2 day stay at the hospital after having Peylyn was going to put an end to it. Boy was he wrong! Once I realized that I was in my third trimester and still nursing I knew we would keep going for as long as it is still what Taj and I want.

Perry no longer has the disgusted look on his face when he walks into the bedroom and I am nursing both of them, but like clock work he is now asking "how long?" Sadly, I stopped way before Ajay was ready because my husband wasn't comfortable with me nursing him past 2 years old (I didn't know then what I know now so Zola and I stopped when I was 5 months pregnant with Ajay). It was awful trying to wean him, he became very aggressive when I wouldn't let him nurse.

Now that I am about 1 month from Taj's 2nd birthday the question is coming up yet again. This time I am a little older and wiser. I told him the other day that if he wanted me to stop nursing he would be the one that would have to wake up and comfort Taj in the middle of the night. Yes, that shut him up real quick! He has it so easy, even if he is the one to wake up first when he hears Taj at night he know he can go get him and hand him over to me to nurse him right back to sleep. If they both wake up at the same time (usually Taj is still crying on the way to our room and he wakes up Peylyn) he knows I will nurse them at the same time and they go right back to sleep. Please, if there is a man that has it any easier let me know.

My question is "Why do men care how long we choose to nurse our children when we aren't asking them to do it?"

2 at once?

Having the great breastfeeding support that I have here in Appleton, the discussion of tandem nursing came up while I was pregnant since I was still nursing Taj. Some one had brought up how nursing 2 at once was just too much for them. I had the thought in my head that this was just too much for me as well. I was still trying to wrap my head around nursing two babies, I couldn't even imagine doing it at the same time!

Then reality sets in! Here I am at home alone with two babies crying because they want to nurse. One is crying because she is a newborn and I imagine fussing out of hunger and the other just woke up from his nap and wants his usual nurse after nap time. I tried to go with the infant first, but my toddler starts screaming like a mad man!!!! What choice did I have but to nurse them at the same time?

I have never seen two happier babies. That moment was the beginning of what I am so proud of now. My two babies, one days old and the other about 19 months, both bonding with me and with each other. While they were nursing Taj reached over and held Peylyn's hand, that was a moment that will stay with me forever.