Three Tweets Thursdays IV-Nursing, Boobies, and Night-Nights

My girls and I love boobies. 

I had the privilege of nursing Jenna until she became uninterested when she was about sixteen months old. I'm still nursing Carissa and I don't really see it ending anytime soon.

With Jenna, nursing began as a money saver because we couldn't really afford the option of using formula. It was extremely hard in the beginning, but anyone who knows me well, knows that when I set my mind to something, I don't give up easily. Nursing the first time around was okay. I didn't love it and after I got the hang of nursing, it was just a part-time job with great benefits for my child. I would sometimes look forward to the day when it was over, yet when it ended it felt like watching the last episode of Friends. Nursing became like a familiar acquaintance to whom I had to say goodbye. I was sad it was over but I moved on, and I have enjoyed watching Jenna grow into the little person she has become.  

Nursing Carissa has been entirely different. She latched on well the first time and she just seemed to "get it" from the start. Most likely, this will be my last time. She loves it and this time for me, nursing has been nice. I don't think I'll ever be one of those moms that says I love it, but I like it. I know this time that nursing will end far too quickly and that children grow up in the wink of an eye. I already grieve that my little baby is two now.

Skin to skin bonding time with Carissa right after birth.

When your baby begins to suckle at your breasts and snuggle against your bare skin, you realize your breasts were never meant to be just sexual objects. God gave women boobies to nurse their children just as he gave cows udders to nurse their calves. There was no such thing as formula only one hundred and fifty years ago. It is beautiful that a woman's body was created to produce nourishment for their offspring that cannot be fully replicated. I know not every woman can nurse or wants to nurse, but it makes me sad when women claim that they don't nurse because they view their boobies as sexual. Because some man told them so? Because society has told them that their bodies are no longer temples but are only sexual? 

At our house, boobies are a source of sweet, warm nourishment. A place where my child feels safe and loved and calm. I am not ashamed of my boobies and I talk to my girls about them and tell them why God gave women breasts.

1. Nursing before bed has become a routine for Carissa, so she calls my boobies "night-nights". When I ask her if she wants to go "night-night", to her it means nurse. Sometimes I forget, and if I ask her to go "night-night", meaning sleep, and don't nurse her, she will get rather upset that I didn't keep my word. So if I want her to go to sleep, I try to remember to say, "It's sleepy time."

2. Carissa has started noticing other women have "night-nights" too. She pointed to my mom, whom she calls "Granna", and said "Do you have three 'night-nights'?" Over my shouts of laughter, Granna matter-of-factly said, "No, I have two." Carissa looked at me satisfied and said, "Mommy, Mommy! Granna has two 'night-nights'." 

This is Jenna a week after she was born, snuggling against Granna's chest.

3. After nursing two children for almost four years total, one can imagine that my chest area is beginning to look rather sad. Under wire and straps are a must. My breasts have also somehow shrunk rather significantly. I figure it must be because, literally, the life has been sucked right out of them. A few days before my milestone birthday, I was getting dressed and Jenna looked at me and asked, "Mommy, why are your boobies so small and saggy?" I laughed and told her it was mostly from all those years of nursing her and Carissa. "Oh," she optimistically replied, and looked down to continue coloring. I looked at my boobies in the mirror and smiled and then rolled my eyes at God.