Yesterday marked Foster's first week on the planet. Although it was not his birthday, we will call it his unbirthday as the Mad- Hatter did in Alice in Wonderland. It seems like each day he grows and changes. He has become much more aware of things around him and has even started tracking with his eyes occasionally. I really look forward to the moments of the day when he is awake and able to respond to sounds and light. He is just so cute!
However, as a new mom let's be real for a second. I would like to take a moment to make a statement to all other mother's in the world. You are all LIARS!!! You know, when you decide that you want to procreate and then "lo and behold" you find yourself pregnant with the greatest joy that will ever enter your life, everyone has advice to give. Even self-pr0claimed bachelors seem to have advice on birthing, and rearing children. Everything is so wonderful and everyone is so excited and the advice seems so wonderful at the time.
No one ever mentions the absolute agony of giving birth, the healing, or the breastfeedng that follows. I expected that birthing a baby out of a very small opening would hurt. And...it did. I can tolerate that kind of pain, because it ends...fairly quickly (in my case 32 hours, but still...it ended!) What I was never told and did not anticipate was the extreme and prolonged bruising of the rear section of my body that has made it difficult to sit on any surface, or the constant feeling that I have on a wet bathing suit that I am unable to remove.
Now...on to breastfeeding. Although much of the world looks down upon women who breastfeed even in the modern world of super-moms, I was determined to do it. It is economical and seemed easy enough. Baby opens mouth, closes on nipple, sucks, and presto...milk for baby! Hooray! Many of my friends had breastfed their young ones without any mention of pain soreness, tears, etc... Even after having a lactation consultant on call, catering to my every whim in the nursing realm, I am at a loss to describe the self-inflicted torture that nursing has been for me. I am on day 8, and not only have things not gotten better, they are actually worse. I honestly have to practice breathing techniques to make it through the 15 minutes on each side 6-8 times a day! Perhaps many women simply don't share my experience...who knows? All I know is that describing the pain as a knife being jabbed directly into the center of your breast and then twisted in circles for minutes at a time cannot even begin to describe the feeling I have while nursing. And yes ladies...I have checked the latch, had the latch checked by a lactation consultant, my doctor, and I constantly check it myself. I am just hoping there is an end to this agony...an end that does not mean my throwing in the towel and shelling out thousands of dollars a year on boring, commercialized formula.
I hope I haven't turned any of you future mothers away from the process. I just wanted to share my experience. As you all know I am just about as honest as they come, so there you have it. The truth about bringing a bundle of joy into the world.
And you know what? In the end...it truly is worth it. Foster is amazing! Here he is after his very first bath. Now, I ask you...Would you go through all that for this end result? I would absolutely do it all over again.
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