Yesterday was 37 weeks. Woo hoo! Nothing like being super pregnant in the heat of the summer.
If you know me personally, you know I’m often over prepared. Pregnancy and this kiddo are no different. I plan on exclusively breastfeeding (EBF) Little Baby Graziano (LBG) so for several weeks I’ve been stalking an amazing Facebook group of EBF mommies called “Dairy Queens” (Yes, I chuckle every time). Today I took the plunge and posted:
Hi! I’ve been stalking this page for weeks now as we prepare for our LO to be born in the coming weeks (37 weeks today). I’m a first time mom (FTM) and plan on EBF for a year. Do y’all suggest I bring a nipple shield to the hospital? Any other BF supplies I should bring or buy? What nipple shields do you suggest? I have a medela pump in style and NUK hand pump for use after about a month. Any suggestions or guidance is very appreciated.
So that’s not the thing I’d never thought I’d say. There are over 40k women in this amazing group. I’ve posted words of encouragement on other people’s posts but never posted my own post. This page is very active and I received information and advice instantly. It was amazing. I was trying to keep up and responding to people with thank you and additional questions and at one point I posted this:
I think I have pretty good nipples, but who knows. (Add that to a list of weird things you say only on a breastfeeding forum of 40k women)
I started this post last week and then, apparently, fell asleep for a week.
The forum was super supportive and I received a lot of likes for my awkward comment about my own nipples. Amazingly, this is one of the tamer things on that forum–there are a lot of boob pics with babies attached AND IT IS AWESOME. This week is world breastfeeding week and I want to high-five all the women. I’m now 38 weeks and 4 days and can’t wait to meet our kiddo. We are super ready– there’s even a checklist of things to make sure we throw in the car when labor starts. The only thing I’m scared about is breastfeeding. What gives me hope is our amazing pediatrician who said “unless there’s something physiologically wrong with you, you can do it.” I also know that having a spouse who is supportive of breastfeeding (and mine is super supportive) ups your chances of success by nearly quadruple! I got this (and I’m also ready to start saving for a boob lift once this is over).
Ok here’s another random thing I heard and I can’t stop laughing:
Scene: Me, waddling through Target. Mom with toddler aged boy in classic Target red cart, five year-oldish girl walking next to cart.
Toddler boy: STOP!!! LOOK AT THE DILDOS AND ICE CREAM!!!
Me: [eyes get super large and have to turn down frozen pizza aisle to keep from snorting laughing and rolling on the ground in hysteria]
I still have no idea what he meant.
