More than
Feedings
By Lori Hall
Hagerstown MD, USA
From: NEW BEGINNINGS,
Vol. 17 No. 6, November-December 2000, p. 226
Our family has been through
many stresses in the past five years. I have been pregnant and /or nursing
for more than six years. Dave and I have made many adjustments as we
parent our three boys, Josh, Jason, and Jesse. Recently, Dave came home
from work with the news that he had been told he could choose between
being fired and resigning. We had been warned ahead of time, but it
was still a devastating blow. Without money in savings, and with me
home raising our boys, we were nervous about the future. It was fortunate
that he had been dabbling in web design in his spare time and had started
a small business. That evening, while he was talking with his friend
and business partner in the web business, I overheard the most wonderful
conversation.
His friend said, "Well, Lori
can get a job."
Dave answered, "No, she breastfeeds."
"Well, can't she pump?" the
friend asked.
My husband answered,
"It's just not the same."
This conversation showed
an evolution in my husband's thinking. He went from insisting it was
time to wean when Josh turned one year old, to accepting me sleeping
in the children's room, to watching his three-year-old, Jason, nursing
alongside our third child, Jesse. Not only does he not pressure me to
wean, he really understands that breastfeeding is more than "just feeding."
I especially love when he says, "He needs you. He needs to nurse." Hearing
my husband use the word "need" validates my feelings and gives me one
more reason to feel proud.
Page last edited Sun Oct 14 09:29:27 UTC 2007.
