Nursing Central

by Cecelia A. Cancellaro

Nothing, really nothing, could have prepared me for the hours upon hours that I would spend nursing my little girl in the days, weeks, and months following her birth. As I sat in my special rocking chair, most of the time unshowered, half-dressed, looking longingly across the room at a half-full glass of water, or a partially eaten banana, or my glasses, or some reading material, or the remote control lying on the floor in front of the television, I soon realized that our marathon nursing schedule would be greatly improved if only I were better prepared.

Yes, of course, it was also wonderful just to sit and watch her nurse but believe me, we nursed so much that there was no lack of precious moments. As a result, I transformed that little corner of our living room into what came to be called "nursing central." You can do the same thing. Here's what you need:

1. Nursing pillow. The right pillow provides good support to the kidlet and and if you're very lucky, can even free up your arms (crucial). In this department I recommend the unfortunately named "My Breast Friend" model.

2. Beverages of choice. Several small bottles of spring water did the trick for me. If you're feeling bold and have some money to burn, some of those Fresh Samantha smoothie drinks can really liven things up. Nursing can make you very thirsty, and it's always good to keep hydrated.

3. Snacks that can be eaten easily with one hand, including nuts, various kinds of bars (I like Health Valley Moist & Chewy Wild Berry Granola Bars or when in need of some heavy-duty nourishment, Source One Nutritional Food Bars especially the chocolate roasted peanut flavor), raisins and other dried fruits, pretzels, and some M&Ms, preferably peanut. Warning: proceed with caution when eating in nursing central. Once, in my daughter's early days, I was just about to call the pediatrician when I realized that the brown growth in my daughter's ear was actually a little pretzel fragment.

4. Reading material (again, it's best if it can be easily read and manipulated with one hand so smallish books - no wider than 5 inches, no longer than 8, and no thicker than 1 1/2--and not-too-thick periodicals are best). Anne Lamott's "Operating Instructions" (which all new moms are required to read) is perfect for this as are a few choice magazines (HipMama and Mothering among them). It's also not a bad time to reread some of the classics (as long as you get the small mass-market editions). Marge Piercy's "He, She, It," Emily Bronte's "Wuthering Heights," and Mary McCarthy's "The Group" really worked for me.

5. An extra pair of glasses (if you so require). It is essential to keep an extra pair at nursing central at all times.

6. Remote controls for the TV (cable channels like the cooking network, MTV, and even C-Span were lifesavers), the VCR (a little trickier, of course, since this assumes you'll have a video in it waiting to go, and one which you won't mind watching repeatedly. In this category I was a sucker for 80s teen films, Say Anything, Sixteen Candles, and Breakfast Club among them), and the stereo (obviously a multi-disk CD player is the way to go here so you can alternate between Aretha, Enya, Courtney, Sinead, and Lauryn, depending on your mood).

7. Telephone (a hands-free headset would be great, but it is possible to get by without one).

8. Laptop computer. With some practice, it is possible to set up and use a laptop while nursing. This will require that you have extremely good balance and that you excel at one-handed typing. Although most of the time you might feel too brain-dead to write anything, there are times when amazing ideas will pop into your head and if not recorded immediately will recede into your always too-full mama brain, not to emerge again for a very long time.

9. A box of thank-you cards and something to write with. I wrote many a thank-you card atop my trusted nursing pillow and although my daughter's sudden jerks or kicks made them a little less neat than I would have liked, people were getting thanked for their various kindnesses, and that was a major accomplishment.

10. Various catalogues. Spit-up, liquidy yellow poop, and another version of a body we're no longer sure is really our own may stop us from buying anything new to wear for quite some time after we give birth, but browsing through catalogues can still be entertaining. In the very-fun-to-look-at category I recommend The Land of Nod (kiddie stuff), Back to Basics Toys, and Martha (Stewart) by Mail.