That's Your Breast, That's Your Baby

After getting a total of four hours sleep in two days, our six
week old son was finally sleeping and so was I. In the middle of the night I had to
go to the bathroom. My husband was awake and working in the studio. He asked
me where the baby was. I said, "He is right here!" as I tried to pass him
my breast! He starts laughing, and I came slowly out of my sleep induced haze to
realize I was cradling my breast. When I went back to bed my husband tucked me in,
patted my breast, and says, "that is your breast," then points to our sleeping
baby, "that is the baby."
When my daughter Jessica was six weeks old, I visited my
brother who had three small children. The children were very curious and interested in watching me
breastfeed their new cousin. Shortly after our arrival, as 4-year-old Andrea watched,
she pointed to my breasts and innocently asked, "If milk comes out of that one, does
juice come out of the other one?" It was a priceless moment of childish wonder.
by Pamela Bayles

My toddler has a habit of standing in front of me and sticking
his head under my T-shirt to nurse. Most people who see the little legs and feet sticking
out from under my shirt are amused and/or curious. My two year old niece, who was
bottle-fed and never before saw a baby nursing, observed my son nursing this way and she
sat there transfixed. We have no way of knowing what she thought he was doing under there
and my sister-in-law and I nearly died laughing when my son popped out from under my shirt and my niece piped up "Okay
- it's my turn"!
When I was about seven months pregnant with my second child, my 4-year-old daughter and I were out to lunch. The well-meaning waitress chatted with my
daughter about the impending arrival of the baby. The conversation ended, however, when
she asked my daughter if she planned to give the baby a bottle when it arrived.
"No," my daughter stated while matter-of-factly patting my breasts, "these
are drinking boo-boo's!"
by Cindy Foster
Central Point, Oregon, USA

My 3 year old has become quite a "nursing mom" since
I had our second child last year. Heather nurses her dolls and carries them in her own
baby sling, as most toddlers of nursing moms do. She has often hiked up her shirt and
leaned over Isabella to let her nurse, but fortunately Isabella hasn't latched on.
The other night, my husband Mark was laying on the floor playing with the girls, and
Heather thought he smarted off to me. She made a scolding noise, walked to the other side
of the room, crossed her arms in a huff, and said, "That wasn't very nice to talk to
mommy like that. I can't play with you if you are being mean. "Then she continued her
barrage as she crossed the room to him. "What do you need to say to mommy?"
He played along and apologized. She knelt next to his face and said, "That makes me
so happy. Do you need to nurse?" and hitched her shirt up and leaned over his face. He said, "That's okay, I don't need to," and she said, "Nurse!" He
pretended to and said, "Okay I'm finished." Heather sat up, pulled her shirt
down, patted his face and said, "Now, don't you feel better?"
by Shannon Rizzo
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