Bewb obsession!!

Breastfeeding has made me obsessed with my boobs.  There.  I said it!

I am always looking for new things to try to make them work better, to make the milk richer, to increase the supply, you name it.  I pump whenever I can & get so excited about the amounts of milk I get.  I tweet something breastfeeding related frequently & try to not miss #bfcafe every Thursday night at 10pm EST on twitter.  I take pictures of the milk I pump & share it on my twitter way too often probably.

One pumping session in the van.

Another pumping session in the van (see the difference in my right (small amt) and left (larger amt)?

The most I've ever pumped, just after starting goat's rue!

I plan my days around when I will be nursing next, what to eat or avoid to help my supply, how comfortable I will be nursing in whatever I'm wearing & how long until I can take my next supplement.  I bring my pump along during every car ride & power pump while driving thanks to my Pump Ease hands free pumping bra.  It feels weird to NOT pump and drive now.

I nurse in public whenever I can without a cover to show the world how proud I am to nurse my baby boy & to help destigmatize it.  I have a few onesies for Noah that say things like "Boob Man" & "Jesus was breastfed" that I love wearing on him.  I try to nurse at family functions since I know I'm the only one there who has breastfed & I get secret thrills from watching them squirm at the very idea of breastfeeding.  I even go out of my way to find extra pumping sessions during the week leading up to a family event, so they can watch me feed my son a bottle of breastmilk to supplement instead of making formula.  I've taught my uncles, aunts, cousins and grandmother about how breastfeeding doesn't need to be restrictive & it's ok for me to have those sips of beer I just drank. (which btw-I think I thoroughly impressed my uncle by that!)  Afterall, your body will filter alcohol out of your milk, so there's no need to "pump and dump" from having part of a beer (just like you don't need a blood transfusion because you had part of a beer).

I covet the milk I have chilling in my fridge.  I don't want to waste it, so I ration it like it was gold.  I rinse the pump parts in filtered water after each pumping session and save that milky water to use for making Noah's formula supplements.  I even have a Milkies Milk Saver to catch whatever milk lets down on the opposite breast while nursing.  Every drop counts is my motto.

saved during morning nursing session

adding all of it I get each nursing session to make a bottle...

Just what I saved with my milk saver in 1 day is worth one whole supplement!

I am obsessed with reading books, articles, and movies on breastfeeding.  I am always looking at new nursing shirts, bras, and clever contraptions that make breastfeeding easier.  I love to talk about breastfeeding, why it is far superior to formula (saying this as a mom who has to use breastmilk & formula tends to give me more cred), how easy it eventually becomes & how different it is with each baby.  I get excited when I hear of someone famous or someone I know deciding to breastfeed & sad when they don't even give it a shot.  I've joined countless breastfeeding (and natural parenting) Facebook pages that have faced the dreaded deletion because they violated a term of service by showing a picture of a mother breastfeeding a baby or child.  I share links, books, and my own experiences whenever I get the chance.  I've even just made a very small breastfeeding care package to give to my cousin at her babyshower this weekend (a few reusable breast pads, some mom's milk tea, & nipple cream).

And, I share all of this with my poor, sweet, supportive husband.  I have turned him into quite the lactivist & I know that's why I am still nursing Noah at almost 6 months old!  His support & desire for our son to get the best of the best rocks!  He was glad to accept donor milk from my friend Lauretta for Maddy to thrive on when she was a preemie.  He's even supportive of my decision to find more donor milk again from Eats on Feets, so we can reduce the amount of formula Noah receives.  Awesome man that hubster is!

1st donation of many from Lauretta (yellow milk is colostrum).

I teach my girls that babies should be eating breastmilk first and bottles later only if they need them.  I encourage them to play with my empty pumps if they want and to nurse their babies/barbies/bears/etc when they play.  They think it's a no-brainer that milk for babies comes from mommies boobies and I aim to keep it that way!

I am amazed & feel blessed to still have milk-making super powers after almost 6 months & thank God every time I accidently leak because that means I am still a milky mama!

So apparently, I am obsessed with boobs (in a good way) & I wouldn't change a thing!!!!!