Friday, May 27, 2011

Closed for Business

It's the end of an era. On Monday I breastfed my boys for the last time. It was definitely a bittersweet moment. As mentioned in a previous post, breastfeeding has had its ups and downs but overall it’s been a really wonderful experience. I’m still pumping for the next few weeks to ease the transition on my body so they’ll get some breast milk up until the week of their first birthday. I’m really thankful to have made it this far and although I considered continuing, I decided that I’m ready to be done. Making milk for two babies takes a lot of energy. Just how much, I don’t think I really know as I’ve done it from the start, but apparently I will be getting a new wave of energy soon? I hope so. It also takes a lot of calories. I was eating all the time, or at least attempting to. I had the luxury of not worrying about how much I consumed. The more the better. That’s not the reality anymore, but my habits have not caught up yet. Must work on that one!

What will I miss? I’ll miss the closeness and bonding, I’ll miss two pairs of eyes looking up at me as I tandem fed, I’ll miss the convenience and the cost (who doesn’t love something free?). What won’t I miss? I won’t miss rushing home in time for a feed and having to pump if I miss one. I won’t miss ugly nursing bras. I won’t miss using my heating pad and electric toothbrush as weapons against multiple blocked ducts. I won’t miss the 8+ hours a day I spent feeding in the early days. But it was all so worth it and it’s such a small fraction of my boys' lives. I would do it again in a heartbeat. I’m thankful for the twin moms who showed me it was possible and helped me with my many questions along the way... Adrienne, Tamara, Sarah, Lisa, none of whom I think read this blog but they were all awesome breastfeeding moms of twins. Although at times its felt like it has consumed all of my time and energy, it has been one of the amazing privileges of my first year of motherhood. But for now I say so long, farewell, see you next time!

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