You are a good mother.

This is a little post I'm sending out to someone, and I'm sure she'll know who she is when she reads it.
As you are in your early stages of motherhood, you're learning all the time. You're learning how to change diapers, you're learning sleep patterns {of you and your baby!}, you're learning how beautiful the smallest things can be {tiny little baby breaths on your chest, a little baby scratch , how intoxicating the smell of a newborn's head is!!} you're learning how to read your baby's sounds, you're learning about feeding your baby, and how your body works. But...you have to remember, you're also recovering from the biggest event in your life. You sustained an injury {mummy who this is intended for!} bringing that beautiful baby into this world, and baby appreciates that. Baby knows the ordeal, because baby went through it too- but it's only the two of you, who truly get what you're feeling and what you're going through. Breastfeeding is a wonderful thing, and it's worth the fight if you're able and willing to fight for it- but if you're not...don't think it makes you a bad mother. It doesn't mean you're choosing the easy way out, it doesn't mean you're not giving your baby the best that he deserves. I'm not writing this post to tell you how to feed your baby- I'm writing this post for all the new mothers out there, to tell you all that nobody can tell you the perfect way to nourish your baby. The only person who can tell you how exactly you need to feed your baby, is you. Listen to your heart, listen to your body, listen to yourself. Become best friends with yourself, if you aren't already, and listen to her! SHE is the only friend who can tell you what to do in this time. If you want to give breastfeeding a shot- do it. Try it out, pump some milk, see how it pans out for you. If you're finding you really want to continue but just can't figure ________________ out, then seek the help of a lactation consultant. They make housecalls even! But I warn....make sure your lactation consultant, has an open mind. I found, in my many journies into breastfeeding that the support systems were sort of skewed. As long as I was breastfeeding, the local LLL leader was amazingly supportive, friendly, kind and full of advice. When I needed to switch to formula {for my 3rd, this was } I felt unwelcomed , thrown to the curb, and made to feel guilty. I didn't deserve , nor did I need to feel guilty. And because it was my 3rd, I didn't feel guilty. I didn't justify- I just, did what I needed to do in order to make my child healthy. When I ran into similar problems with my older two, {the switchign from breast to formula} I had similar experiences with the LLL {they are very supportive and a great resource to those who ARE breastfeeding, currently} but I felt so guilty, I felt ashamed, I felt worthless, when giving my baby a bottle of formula. I felt even when I had breastmilk in a bottle- I had to justify why it was in a bottle, and that it was infact breastmilk. But...... WHO CARES?!! your baby cares that he/she is fed. Plain and simple. The only time someone can rightfully make you feel like a bad ,inadequate mother...is if you're feeding your baby vodka and potato chips, for breakfast. {...or..well...at any time ! ha} So if you're not doing that, and you're either feeding your baby breastmilk, from the breast or in a bottle- or you're feeding your baby formula, don't feel bad.

Hang in- these first weeks of motherhood are exhausting. They are a challenge on relationships, you have to figure out your whole dynamic with your husband once again, you have to really listen to yourself or learn to, and you have to take care of yourself and that sweet, precious little being that came out of your vagina.

*grin*

now, cut yourself some slack, go take a nap, and just know- that you are an amazing mother, you're doing an amazing job, and that your baby is very lucky to have been born, to you.