Mitchael Journey: Never Would I Ever...Until I did

Our prompt for this week's Mama's Tell All is sharing those "never" concepts that have actually become part of your life! For example, never did I think I would give my child a paci, let them watch TV, etc.

I tried not to say "NEVER" when going into the world of mommy-hood, because I didn't want to create barriers with other moms or eat my words for spouting off naive assumptions, but I know there are many things that I thought that I would never do -- or they simply weren't on my radar.

Never did I think I would:

be a young mom - I didn't really think that I would be fresh out of college, married and then expecting a baby all within a year! I actually thought I would get married a bit later and wait to have kids, but it's GAME ON now, instead :)

have a home birth - Based on my personality, preferences, and points of reference - I always pictured a drug-free hospital birth to be the way I brought children into the world. However, when we became pregnant before the maternity coverage on our insurance kicked in, we had to look for another plan! Despite a few discouraging opinions shared with me prior to my son's birth, my husband and I felt confident that a home birth was the right choice for our family! So far, we are planning a home water birth for baby #2 if all is healthy and low risk! Who knew?

breastfeed for longer than a year - I thought I would be the typical breastfeed-for-about-a-year type of mom. I had read over and over "at least a year" was the goal, so I aimed for that and felt that extended breastfeeding didn't really fit our culture. Around 1 year, I weaned my son and didn't nurse for about a week. It was frustrating, didn't feel right, I was still producing, and my son was still asking -- plus my hormones were messing with me. I returned to breastfeeding and a couple months later, tried again to wean...same story! I spoke to a wise midwife friend (and mama of 4) about my troubles, and she asked me the simple question, "Why do you feel like you need to wean?" ...reflecting, the only reason was that it was a "society norm". It was an AHA! moment for me, and I began a don't ask/don't refuse breastfeeding pattern. Sometimes I would nurse a few times a day, sometimes once, sometimes none, sometimes more. It became a resource, a tool in my tool-box. Now that I am pregnant, I've nursed less and less -- down to once a day for awhile, and now, I think we may be done -- a few months after his 2nd birthday --and I think we're both okay with that :)
use a screen when I needed a break - My son has his favorite cartoons and knows his way around my phone and camera. I thought that I wouldn't tap into that realm for awhile longer, but it has given me respite when needed. It's a new age -- I will approach cautiously, but not in fear!

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