breastfeeding past 6 months

I am still breastfeeding Nate and yes he is over 6 months old and no I don't plan on stopping quite yet. I am returning to work in June though and by then I would like to have stopped breastfeeding during the day to avoid the pumping at work scenario; but I enjoy nursing and plan on continuing at night and first thing in the morning for as long as Nate and I want. 

The other mommies in my weekly group have all already stopped nursing their children and many have asked when I will put Nate on formula. I don't quite know how to answer their question.

I never thought I would be the last one in the group nursing. I don't consider myself to a hardcore "attachment parent", though I do agree with (and loosely follow) many of Attachment Parenting's core principles. And I certainly don't think I will still be nursing Nate into his late toddler years, though it's hard for me to know how I will feel when that time comes. 

All I do know is that after a difficult start to breastfeeding where I had to pump every 2 hours around the clock while Nate was in Special Care, and had to use shields until he was 2 months old, I am enjoying nursing now.  I don't want to stop just as I have really gotten the hang of it. And also, if I do stop, how will I be able to enjoy after-nursing sleep cuddles snuggled on the sofa like this?

nathan - 4 weeks

Today Nathan turned 4 weeks and wow have the last 4 weeks been insane. I'm not going to lie and say it has been easy because it hasn't. I have had to get used to less sleep, less independence, and raging hormones. In addition I have been recovering from a horrible delivery so it has been a rough ride. I think I have cried everyday so far at least once, but each day seems to get slightly better and when Nathan smiled for the first time a couple days ago it all of a sudden made all the stress and craziness seem worthwhile.

Nathan weighed 8 lbs 1 oz on Wednesday so he is gaining weight well. Considering I am exclusively breastfeeding this is very reassuring. The breastfeeding is difficult mainly because I am the only person who can do a feed so can't get any assistance from my husband. There have been moments where I wanted to throw in the towel and start formula, but something inside me has forced me to persist with the breastfeeding. Hopefully it will get easier as Nathan's tummy gets bigger. Currently Nathan is sleeping at most about 2.5 or 3 hour stretches throughout the night. This means I am up at least 3 times during the night and it's exhausting! I am going to set myself a goal of breastfeeding for 6 weeks and then see how we are going. 

I have still been meeting up with my antenatal group and it has been great to be able to vent and speak about any issues we are having informally. All the new mum's seem to be struggling with one thing or another, and it's really comforting to know I'm not alone in trying to figure out this motherhood thing. 

product review: bravado silk nursing bra

About a month ago I got to the point where I sadly outgrew my under-wire bras and needed to invest in a couple of good quality maternity and nursing bras. All the books I had read strongly suggested buying a couple of these due to all the changes my body will go through over the next year. As I am planning on breastfeeding I thought I would get a bra that I can use during my pregnancy and after the baby is here, because, let's face it, bras are not cheap and I wanted to get the most use out of them as possible. 

I searched high and low for the right bra, searched websites, read lots of reviews and I finally decided on the Bravado Seamless Silk Nursing Bra. The reviews I read were nearly all positive so I went for it and bought 2 from the NCT website for £29.70 each; I have not been disappointed so thought I would share my own review here. 

I must admit I was hesitant to buy a bra without any under-wire. I have been wearing under-wire bras since the age of 16 and was afraid of the bra lacking support and of getting uni-boob (you know, where "the ladies" get squished together into one). The material used is super stretchy which means the bra feels very secure and the material is different in the center and on the side giving a good shape and preventing the dreaded uni-boob - hooray!

The bra is so comfortable and one of my favorite features is the removable cup inserts that come with it. The inserts are slightly padded and smooth all the lumps and bumps out. I wear quite snug stretchy shirts to work and these inserts hide everything - it's great! 

The only negative I can think of is the sizing. They only come in small, medium, large and x-large. I wasn't sure whether to get the medium or large (I went with the medium and it's snug but in all the right ways).  The bras come in a lot of really nice colors. I got Black and Pink Ice to start, but I'm thinking of getting the Teal as well, maybe in the large just in case. 

In all, the Bravado Seamless Silk Nursing Bra gets 2 big thumbs up from me. I love how comfortable it is and the great silhouette it gives under shirts. The nursing clips seem easy to use, though I will have to wait until baby is here to fully test how the bra performs as a nursing bra. 

*I purchased this product myself and really liked it so decided to write a review to share my thoughts. I have not been paid by anyone to write this and all opinions are completely my own.*