Breastfeeding – Page 2 – a hippie with a minivan

And then there was one…

I have been nursing non stop for almost 8 1/2 years… and nursing 2 or 3 for more than 6 years of that..

Xavier nursed through my pregnancy with Colin and then again through my pregnacy with Khéna and weaned himself at around 5 1/2… Colin did the same, though he weaned just before Wilhelmina was born, a few months after his fifth birthday as well…

I thought Khéna would do the same and nurse until at least 5, but in the last few months he has pretty much weaned himself. He will be 4 in two weeks. Though he still asks once in a while he nurses only for a second or two and can go a week without asking… so pretty much I am back to nursing just one again… It is a bit of a shock. With the way Khéna loved to nurse and the frequency that he was nursing during my pregnancy, I never would have thought that he would be the youngest to wean..

So here I am… one last baby, one last nursling…

EC and Babywearing…

This summer a friend passed along my name to a new and amazing Montreal buisness called Melons & Clementines for the potential of giving babywearing classes. This little shop in the NDG district of Montreal is all about breastfeeding. Clothes, accessories, pumps, babywearing shirts and carriers. Not only that, but while you shop, you can sit down and have tea and a lunch while the kids play in the kids corner, all in a very breastfeeding friendly environment. They also have a private room and a schedule for lacation consultants for moms that might need help.

I talked over the phone with two wonderful women that started this little shop, Renee and Marie-Maude, and I went to meet them soon after to talk about what they needed and soon after we set the date for the first workshop. Not only am I giving a babywearing workshop but also an EC one, and not only is it great to meet new people and talk and share about two subjects that I love, I am also making a small amount of money (at least to cover my transporation… lol)

If you are in Montreal, do go and have tea and hang out, you won’t regret it… and if you are looking to learn more about EC and/or babywearing, come to one of my workshops… the next one will be this saturday, with EC in the morning at 11am and babywearing at 1:30pm… (the schedule on their site will have the next workshops when we set the dates)

First days…

Wow… I am in love…

Not only do I love my new little girl, but seeing her brothers love just makes my heart melt. The boys are completely amazed and enamored by her… they want to kiss her, hold her, touch her…

Xavier spent at least an hour holding her hand and looking at her while she slept the day she was born..

Colin had to come kiss her at least once every 15 min..

Khéna is just in awe and wants to stay close and always wants to hold her…

Khéna is also adapting to being a big brother amazingly well… I have to admit that I was a bit nervous about how he was going to take not being the baby of the family anymore… having to share mama with someone who needs her more, losing his coveted place in the family bed in front of mama… having to share his “Maju”… but he showing me that I was wrong to be nervous… he is taking it better than I would have hoped for, he is so proud to be a big brother!

My mom came by today to bring me a chicken she cooked this morning so we can make some sandwiches with and she left with Colin and Xavier and brought them to where she is saying near the cabin for two nights… the boys wer excited to go and honestly having the house be a bit more quiet will be nice… Khéna would have wanted to go also but it isn’t the best time, so instead he is doing special things with Daddy alone which he thinks is a great alternative…

As for life with baby… she is amazing… her first night was a bit rough until she had a big poop at around 2am and then finally she relaxed and slept… nursing about every 3 hours or so until morning and then throughout the day… she reminds me so much of Colin as a baby.. she looks like him also, the resemblance is quite amazing..

It was because of Colin that I tried EC for the first time.. he hated being wet, even for a second and would get worked up inconsolably… so letting him potty somewhere else than a diaper was exactly what he wanted and needed…

With Khéna we started when he was 4 days old…when the meconium poos were finished… this time I was hesitating on doing the same, but after seeing her reaction to having a BM and being in it for a few minutes, it reminded me so much of Colin that I decided to try right away… and she has been dry all day… she gives a clear signal that she needs to go and the within a few seconds of putting her over the potty bowl she eliminates… she does cry for a few seconds before going but once she lets go, she stops crying immediately and is quiet and content again… though I have seen it before, it is amazing to see how natural it comes…

I have also fell in love with the prefold belt that I bought… and I am going to be sewing up some of my own very soon… it is such a simple concept but makes things so much easier and it looks so much more comfortable than any newborn diaper cover or diaper that I have tried on my babies…

Wilhelmina is also an amazing nurser… her latch was perfect from the start and she is efficient and just so easy to nurse… my milk is coming in also and it amazing to hear her gulp and drink and be content…

As for me, I lost a little more blood than I would have liked yesterday but I am feeling better today… still a little weak, but better… I am also in pain all over my body… my SPD is better but labour was rough and my body is definately feeling the consequences of that… All I can tell myself is that everything will be better soon…

And Simon… well he is still tired from the night I laboured and is doing so much for everyone and is being an amazing husband and father… I think he is feeling a bit overwhelmed and stretched out but he is taking it in stride… I think that having the older boys with my mom for the two nights will make things easier for him also.. he is also happy to be starting his paternity leave which gives him until August before returning to work…

So, yes, we are all in love and enjoying life with a newborn… It is amazing… she is amazing…

may be weird to say…

but after 6 1/2 years of non-stop nursing I am realizing that I am venturing into unchartered territory…

I have never nursed a 2 year old by himself… (or in this case with only his older brother and not a new babe)… both Xavier and Colin were 2 years and 2 months when their brother was born… both of them had experienced the change of my milk in pregnancy and were nursing a bit less at the end because of the belly and the milk…

but this time, there is no belly, no change in milk and no change in nursing habits… nursing often and for longer periods of time than his brothers at the same age…

and it is not only the nursing that is different, but the fact that he is still the baby of the family. That at 2, he is not becoming a big brother so he doesn’t have any of the “responsibilities” that big brothers have… he still has first dibs on nursing or having his needs met… especially now that his brothers are getting older and can do more things for themselves…

I do want another little one… but I am happy that we are waiting… I am enjoying having the kids get older and having things get “easier”… there are challenges of course but doing things as a family and getting out the door is getting easier and when the baby that we have now is doing things more for himself I will be ready to have a baby again…

So for now I am enjoying the uncharted territory of the 2 year old whose only role is being little brother and the baby of the family…

The book is official…

The launch was on sunday and It was pretty amazing…

The turnout was more than anyone could have expected… about 150 at the least… and 75% of the authors that shared their stories in the book were there…The editors even had to go back to their office and get more books because they were selling so quickly…

It really feels great to be somewhere surrounded by people with the same views.. and so many of us not only have the same views on birth and breastfeeding but automatically for many parents homeschooling, baby wearing and other ideals follow easily…

Another great thing was to meet Michelle and her two little ones… I hope to meet again!

I feel quite priviliged to be part of the book and part of the community that realized it.