Overshare

The following is a frank discussion of breastmilk. It's gross. You've been warned ;)

I've decided that one of my most very favorite mommy-things is nursing a newborn. I don't know what it is, but even in the dread of night when you're counting the number of hours of sleep your missing because the baby is waking up to eat, nursing still gives me that warm and fuzzy feeling. 

Of course, it's not all fun and games, and sometimes it's downright hard and painful. In the past three weeks I've been reminded of all the good, bad and ugly things I've conveniently forgot about nursing. Determined to nurse successfully a second time around, but still "keeping it real," I'm airing my dirty, milk-laden laundry to the world. As googly-eyed as I am over all this nursing business, I'd be crazy if I didn't admit it doesn't come without a price.

Let's start with the obvious: laundry. Add one nursing newborn and quadruple your laundry loads. Baby's blankets, onsies,  and jammies all get soaked in spit up, multiple times a day. Then of course, there's that breastfed baby-poo which never stays in the diaper like it's supposed to. Mark, while incredibly helpful, can't manage keeping baby's feet out of the way while changing diapers, so let's add some socks to the laundry, too. 

The baby isn't the only one going through his clothes. Let's not forget that I soak through my shirts at every feeding if I don't take prophylactic measures, and there was that incident yesterday when I wore a V-neck shirt and the entirety of baby's breakfast ended up down it. 

Then, there's some not-so-obvious-unless-you-share-them-with-people-while-they-look-at-you-like-they're-totally-grossed-out perks to nursing your newborn. First, I'm always sticky. Think of what the kitchen counter would feel like if a bowl of Frosted Flakes and milk spilled on it. Yeah, that's what my hands (and frankly, any exposed part of my body) feel like all the time. Also, I should probably put a slipcover on our couches, because that milk can spray in every direction and with remarkable distance.

Now, while I want to go on, I'm stopping because it's too hard to type while, you guessed it, nursing. With both mom and baby a bit projectile, I probably shouldn't be this close to the computer anyway! 

I can't believe I'm posting this...someone put me to bed...