Outdoor Café with Comfort and a View
Becky Lieb
Denver CO USA
From: NEW BEGINNINGS,
Vol. 20 No. 6, November-December 2003, pp. 211
I am blessed
to be successfully breastfeeding my first child, who will be one year
old in a few weeks. I feel that I could not have made it without the
support of a lactation consultant, reading THE WOMANLY ART OF BREASTFEEDING
while I was pregnant, attending La Leche League Group meetings during
my pregnancy, and the consistent support of my LLL Leader, Laura, after
birth. I've had repeated plugged ducts and three bouts of mastitis.
All of it has been worth it. I love our nursing relationship.
The sheer fun and convenience
of breastfeeding have more than made up for the challenges I have had.
It's always easy to have a meal ready when Grace needs it. I am a stay-at-home
mother who doesn't stay home much! Grace and I love to explore in the
outdoors. She thrives in new settings and meeting new people. We walk,
hike, and go to lots of parks. They are our mini field trips each day.
I have a photo from our March
2003 blizzard in Denver where the snow piled up to three feet in some
places. We were itching to get outside, so we braved the snow. The temperatures
were quite comfortable despite the frigid appearance. Grace needed to
nurse halfway through our trip, so my husband cleared off a space on
a park bench. The snow was all around us, but we were warm together
because Grace's tiny red nose was nuzzled at my breast.
The next week we went on
a road trip to Utah. The road trip would have been impossible without
the convenience and consistency that breastfeeding provided for our
family. Once again, Grace got to nurse in some of the most amazing places.
In Moab, we took her on a bike trip off the trails and she nursed halfway
up the hill. My husband loved the break from pedaling up!
Later in the week, we hiked
in Arches National Park to Delicate Arch as the sun was setting. The
bright orange sandstone, with the blue sky and snow-capped mountains
in the background, made for a spectacular sight. Grace fussed a little
and needed a snack and comfort. Of course, I nursed her and all was
well. I kept staring at her and looking at the amazing scenery and feeling
that I was the luckiest mother in the whole world right then. I was
awed by the natural beauty of the arch and the wonderful design of women's
bodies that allows us to comfort and nourish our babies so naturally.
The other people that hiked
to Delicate Arch that evening probably didn't notice that Grace was
dining in such an amazing outdoor café. If anyone did notice,
maybe they also realized how lucky Grace was to be feeding amidst such
beauty. Little did they know that I was the one who felt luckiest of
all.
Last updated Tuesday, October 24, 2006 by njb.
Page last edited Sun Oct 14 09:30:53 UTC 2007.
