Boob Juice

Can I just brag about me for just one teeny tiny second here?

Ok thanks.

I am so proud of me.

Why, you ask?

Here's why:

Yup, that's a freezer full of breast milk.  Boob juice.  And that's not even all of it.  That's probably not even HALF of it.  I have so much I have to store over half in Chris' parents' freezer because we would have no room for food in our freezer if I didn't.   You know, important stuff like ice cream.

Oh big woop, you are probably thinking.  What's the big deal about a freezer (TWO freezers!) full of milk? 

Well let me tell you.

As you know, the whole breastfeeding thing didn't work out for us.  I was heartbroken, but still wanted the best nutrition for my baby.  So I pump, which is incredibly hard work and a huge time commitment.  And then I had to work even harder to build up my supply enough, and to make sure I had some stored up for when I had to go back to work.  That meant pumping ALL THE TIME, getting up several times per night.  It meant planning my days around pumping every 2 hours.  It meant worrying over my supply constantly. And now that I'm working, it means spending time pumping alone in my classroom instead of socializing with my friends. It would have been so much easier to give up and switch to formula.

But I haven't given up.  And I won't give up.  And I am so proud that I can give my son the most perfect nutrition even when the going gets tough.

And just think of the guilt trips I can put on him later on - "I suffered through hours of painful pumping to give you the healthiest food, the least you can do is to clean your room!"

Parenting is not easy.  Doing the best I can as a parent is not always easy.  But I have so much confidence in myself as a parent by doing this for my son.  It's all worth it, a million times over!