Milk


My sons have seen my boobs way more than I'm sure they care to. It comes with the territory of having a baby brother and a nursing mom that doesn't give a damn.

 It wasn't always this way.

 I'm not shy, but I'm definitely a prude. As someone who wears one-piece bathing suits and knee-length dresses, modesty is definitely my usual go-to. I tend to cover my eyes when things get too sexy in movies and on TV, a holdover from my prepubescent days no doubt.

 Somehow, having a hungry baby and a full load of household and motherly duties has made me not care about exposing myself. I still cover up in mixed company, or when I'm out and about or at someone else's house. If you're in my home though and you're in the circle of trust (you know who you are) all bets are off.


 I think it's important for nursing moms to openly nurse in front of their kids, regardless of age or sex. I don't think that I'm scarring my 8 and 11-year-old sons for life because they are seeing their moms body. Trust me when I say that they do not look at what I'm doing in any kind of sexual way. I openly nurse, in part out of personal comfort level and convenience, but also so that they will see that women's bodies aren't just to be sexualized. My boobs have a function. I do it in hopes that if one day they become fathers, they'll remember the importance of nursing and will support and help encourage their partner. 

It's good to see the progress of normalization that breastfeeding is going through in our culture today. It wasn't so easy when I had my first son almost 12 years ago. I love it that politicians like Krish Vignarajah and Larissa Waters are stepping out as proudly nursing mothers. All mothers need more support in caring for their newborns in our world, regardless of how you decide to feed your baby, and it makes me feel hopeful to see at least a little progress being made at government levels.   

 I had to fight to nurse all of my sons. It didn't come easy, and it hurts. Call it vanity, call it pride, but nursing is the one thing that I can give them that literally no one else can, and so I fought hard to make it happen each time. I'm glad I did, but now as Max's canine teeth are bursting through, it may be time to call it quits. As long as he looks up to me and makes his baby sign for "milk" though, it's going to be hard to tell him no. 

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