" if breastfeeding offends you, put a cover over your head!"

BREASTFEEDING................

A hot topic... And strangely, the NICU nurse keeps asking "Bottles, bottles?" A few nurses have been extremely kind and supportive of my whole outlook on this SNS breastfeeding experience. I'm hoping to pave the way for future mummy's in my shoes. I will be first to tell you that if this was my first baby, I probably would have given up. Shoot! I could be sleeping rather than pumping every 2-3 hours,the nurses could do all the feedings and I would feel way less exhausted. BUT, I had a little blue boy named Davidson almost 3 years ago and we actually just stopped nursing in August/September of 2012. To bad we stopped; maybe I would have had more milk for Alexander,but we can't go back in time. Gosh, I wish I could go back some days. For me in this wholebreastfeeding journey has a lot to do with my baby being in the care of so many different nurses for the first 2 months of his life. He has never met his brother, sees his dad on weekends for a few hours and has had surgery before the age of one. The one thing that only I can do with him is feed him. He knows me, he knows my voice, knows my scent and knows I am his mummy and I feed him. I talked a few days ago with a friend about the struggles she wentthrough trying to breastfeed, and as moms we know the feelings each other feels because we are moms. If you aren't a mom or haven't ever breastfed your baby, you wouldn't get it. A lot of the nurses and doctors say to me that they admire my efforts and my determination. I'm basically just doing what my heart is telling me to do. I'm praying about it and God is helping me understand patience. I have been staying over night and during the day at the hospital since Thursday, it is now Monday morning, and I really want to go home. :(Alexander is doing great. He is improving but still needs to keep up on the feeding. I will end this post with this...

“I ALWAYS LEAD YOU FORWARD. When you are going through hard times, you tend to look back longingly at seasons when your life seemed easier, less complicated. You daydream about those simpler times—looking at them through rose-colored lenses. Even your prayers reflect this yearning to go back to earlier, easier circumstances. But this is not My way for you!

Because of the nature of time, there is only one direction to travel, and that is forward. Your life on earth is a journey—beginning at birth and ending at the gates of Heaven. I am your Guide, and your responsibility is to follow Me wherever I lead. Sometimes I take you to places you would rather not go, but this is My prerogative as your Savior-God. I am also your Shepherd. I always lead you along the best possible path—no matter how painful or confusing it may be. When your path takes you through a dark valley and you are struggling, look to Me for help. Follow Me obediently, trusting Me in the midst of darkness and confusion. I am tenderly present with you each step of your journey. As you stay close to Me."

Excerpt From: Young, Sarah. “Jesus Today.” Thomas Nelson