boobs & a wedding

First off- I hope everyone was able to attend the “Big Latch On” events held across the states!

Wedding in Oct 2012! Look how little she is!

Secondly- we were out of town this weekend for a fabulous wedding (Chet & Krista Aliga’s wedding). Estella did amazing the entire weekend from the long road trip, dancing the night away (extended her bedtime a little), the drive to Rockford to pick up Oliver and then home, and walking around briefly University of Iowa (my undergrad).

I apologize for my lack of blog yesterday. As you can tell, we had an extremely busy weekend!

The first wedding that I nursed Estella was in Michigan when she was 3 weeks old. Yes we traveled with a 3 week old newborn and it was ... well exactly what it sounds like. DIFFICULT. I was new at this whole thing at that point...my nipples still hurt so badly and Estella was not use to breastfeeding yet. I was also breastfeeding on demand (which I still do) but we didn’t have the “rhythm” we do now. I hid away in a different room to feed her and still remember feeling so stressed....being there in a wedding (pretty much by myself because Ryan was in the wedding) with loud music, loud people, a newborn who nursed for 30-45 minutes every two hours....oh man oh man. How times have changed.

 

This was Estella’s second wedding. We were out in the open! I nursed her to while walking around during cocktail hour! Yup! I had the cover on because she fell asleep and it helps to keep her from looking around....it also helps build my upper body strength because she’s quite heavy now.

Well, I wasn’t sure how people would react to the situation but I didn’t care. My baby needed her nap (so mama & dada could have a chance at enjoying the reception) and she was hungry! Within the first 5 minutes, a woman came up to me and said “GOOD FOR YOU! I love seeing moms still nursing their babies.” It was a great encouragement. We then talked about how our goal was to nurse until at least 2 years old and then she said, “Oh you don’t even want to know how long I nursed my babies till...you’ll think I’m crazy!”

Ryan and I thanked her for the encouragement and both were stunned to receive such a positive reaction! It made me feel so good. I mean, yes, I know what I’m doing is great and I love it! But it’s always nice to get recognition from complete strangers...other than the common reaction, “Oh my gosh, you’re still nursing?!”

Then about 5 minutes after that, another woman came up to us and said “I am so proud of you...to see mothers still nursing. You feel comfortable to nurse that beautiful baby whenever and wherever you want. Me and (she listed other moms) started the breastfeeding support group here so be comfortable because you are in GOOD COMPANY! Heck, you don’t even need that cover if you don’t want it. We will support you!”

I was speechless. Ryan was too. We thanked her over and over again for the encouragement but we really didn’t know what to say or how to say it.

It made my heart smile...it made my eyes water. Wow. She wasn’t just encouraging but she uplifted us. We know what we’re doing is for Estella’s best interest. It’s for MY best as well. Well, and even for Ryan’s wallet too! It saves us so much money (haha). Sometimes, getting the stares and dirty looks gets frustrating but this one moment really takes all those frustrations away.

So although, I checked off a location from my bucket list (*a wedding) a while ago, this time around, it was much more positive and memorable. The wedding was beautiful and the atmosphere was filled with love. So many mothers we passed smiled at us and I knew what their looks were saying.

They all went through it with their multiple children. They were proud of me...it made me feel like a superhero.