I've been thinking about how lucky I am to have been able to spend this much time at home with my baby. Her brothers are 6 and 8 and was back out to work early on with them. I tried to breastfeed them as long as possible, but I just couldn't make the logistics work once I went back to the office after maternity leave. :-) With her, I've been able to nurse her for going on 11 months. As determined as I was to go to a year with her, I probably wouldn't have been able to if I wasn't laid off. That's not a complaint. I've been able to enjoy my little girl's babyhood. And enjoy it I have.
My mom got me a baby sling early on. It was wonderful. She wasn't a fussy baby, but if she did I'd get her in the sling kangaroo-like and she'd fall right into blissful sleep. Later on, when she and I were home alone I'd tuck her in and carry her on my hip, so both my hands were free for whatever I was up to. What a relief for us both when we were home alone and I couldn't leave her alone unsupervised in a far-off room. As she gets closer to her first birthday, I realize I'm going to be using it less and less at home and really only when we're out and about.
Maybe we'll starting being out and about more. :-)
Our out and abouts have mostly been limited to really short trips to the grocery or pharmacy or longer visits to the homes of friends and family where she could roam a little on her own, or be held to get lots of love. I have had to nurse her in the mall, but it was a creepy experience where a man came and sat across from us and stared. I was totally covered the entire time, but it was really creepy and unnerved me.
So we stayed home a lot. When I nurse her I kiss her feet. She plays with my hair.
I will treasure these moments always.
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