We have spent the last week resting, healing & loving our sweet Ava. She is adjusting to bottle feeding quite well........and I love being able to feed her on demand and in public and letting Clint take some of the feedings. It is so freeing! I know the five weeks I breastfed were good for Ava, but some women are not made to breastfeed........according to my doctors I am one of those women.....and I am okay with that. I think our society puts too much pressure on first time moms and we put too much pressure on ourselves to do everything right........including breastfeeding. 
Mommy hood has been a challenging and healing experience for me. Challenging in that I am seeing my many imperfections and weaknesses. #1 is my drive to be the perfect mom. I had read 10 books or more on babies prior to Ava's birth and was trying to implement EVERY tip in the books. The ironic thing is that trying to implement EVERY tip means that you miss out on just enjoying your baby. SO, I have decided to stop reading books about babies and just roll with the punches. Ava is her own person and she is not going to reach every milestone at the exact time the books say. She will reach them in the time God has planned for her. 
Clint trying to make Ava smile
Ava stretching as she wakes up
This means Ava is ready for the photo shoot to be over!
11 comments:
She is a little doll! :)
Good for you for setting the books aside! We try so hard to follow the books, but unfortunately our babies don't read them :) They have a mind of their own. And when Ava gets a brother or sister one day, it will be a whole new person with a totally different way of doing things. Babies are funny and challenging like that! Just enjoy every minute of your sweet little girl. Don't worry about bad habits...just do what works for her right now. And when Ava goes to college, or even Kindergarten, it won't make a bit of difference when she sat up unassisted, walked, spoke her first word, or slept through the night. She is perfect and a gift from God. Besides, He already has planned when she will reach milestones :)
One more thing...coming from someone who had breastfeeding issues with both kids, bottle feeding is WAY more freeing. There are many advantages and Ava will be just fine. Take care!
Good post, Gina. I'm glad you're not stressing over all the things the books say and just going with the flow. It's so much easier and enjoyable that way! I'm glad you're feeling better and able to enjoy life again!
Welcome to mommyhood :)
I was thinking of writing a book called Breastfeeding is from the Devil... want to co-author with me? I AM KIDDING. I can totally relate though to where you are right now. I had a very challenging time with breastfeeding. (I will fill you in on the details later!) After entering motherhood very idealistically, it was very hard to let that go, even though I didn't have a choice. You are the mom that God ordained for Ava! Hang in there, and let me know if you need anything!
Gina praying for you, Clint and Ava for precious time together and for you specifically for continued and complete healing! She is SO beautiful!!! What a gift from the Lord!
Amen! I vowed after Grant's baby stage that I would not read any of the books about raising a toddler....I got myself so confused and frustrated when all of my books said different things, and disagreed with each other (esp about sleep). You're right....just enjoy her and ask for advice from moms of older kids when you run across a particularly hard issue. And...I breastfed both of mine, but almost our entire generation was fed formula, and we all turned out okay! So glad you're better!
There is so much wisdom behind your words! Good for you!!! I think to pick and choose what works best for you and Clint - then throw the rest out the window. And the next child - it will all be different!!! Glad you are getting healed, and YES - too much pressure - I bottle fed Trev and Ellie - and they are my healthiest!!!! Anyways - sending hugs to you all from all of us!
Good for you for putting down the book, I think there is way to much pressure on mom's these days, especially when it comes to breastfeeding, when I had my kids there wasn't the pressure and I bottle fed all 3 and they came out just fine, take care and just enjoy her.
Hi Gina, I've never commented before but I enjoy keeping up with your family. I knew Clint at A&M! I completely agree with you about the breastfeeding thing. It seems like these days they make us feel like successful breastfeeding= successful motherhood. As we know that is definitely NOT true. I had a difficult experience and switched to formula and suddenly my baby started sleeping better and was just happier because he wasn't so hungry all the time. This post really resonated with me because of that. Well tell Clint hi from Amy (Moore)Dantzler! You're baby is gorgeous!!
love you dear friend... I haven't forgotten you, just been adjusting to life as a new mom too. so looking forward to seeing you soon and reconnecting.
I can tell she's growing! I can't wait to see her again. Hope everything is going well!
Post a Comment