Life in the Sling


Life doesn't slow down so you can stop and nurse when you have three older children.


When I was taking mother and baby yoga, after Soren was born, I got teased for being able to breastfeed while practicing certain poses. I'd never do it in a way that would endanger my son, but feeding him on demand seemed to be a notion he wanted to test, and there were days when it felt like I would get to do no yoga at all if I didn't do it while breastfeeding. It just felt like the natural consequence of all the other things I did while breastfeeding, reading, emailing, playing boardgames, washing dishes, working on world peace... Today I did one better and breastfed while playing miniature golf (and I got a respectable score!) Rainer, bless him, is comfortable in the sling in a way Søren never was and happily suckles away in relative privacy, and once I figured out how to swing the miniature golf putter around his bulk hanging off my shoulders, I was quite able to keep up with the rest of the family, including Søren who showed a definite inclination to meander across other people's games. I do recognize the limits on this behavior, and will probably be in the market for a great massage therapist within a couple of weeks, but it was important for our family to have this time together doing something fun. And once everybody is in bed and I finish this entry I can breastfeed with my whole attention and bask in this time that is just him and me.

Posted: Sun - August 29, 2004 at 09:40 PM        

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