by Tara Shafer posted in Parenting

I had to learn to like breastfeeding. I never succeeded in learning to love it. That said, I nursed all of my kids for an extended length of time. I even nursed toddlers when I was pregnant.
I never really got the hang of it, though.
That is to say, that it never felt natural to me. It looked natural to them -- and when I looked down at my babies with their suckling little mouths I was emboldened. So I kept at it.
I am not an overt breastfeeding advocate. I think it is a personal choice. I have no issue with formula. I think babies should be fed in any way that makes for a happy family unit.
This is no humble brag, nor do I wish to cast myself as a martyr.
I am writing this only because I think it is okay to have an ambivalent relationship to breastfeeding. And I want others to know that. There seems not just a lot of pressure to breastfeed, but also a lot of companion pressure to love it too. Me" Kind of. Aspects, of it, yes. But completely" No. I think you can breastfeed without any obligation to love it. I love my children. That is enough. Babies thrive when they are loved and cared for. I, for one, do not think it matters whether sustenance is delivered through a bottle or a boob.
I remember the early days of breastfeeding. They were hard. They were quite stressful. I counted and weighed diapers obsessively. I still remember the lurch of my stomach when a diaper was dry. Breathe. I?d feel again for moisture.
I am avoiding,...