As World Breastfeeding Week 2017 draws to a close, I want to continue telling Part 2 of my breastfeeding journey (click here for Part 1). It’s amazing how just the act of breastfeeding can vary so differently between two kids from the same mother. Personalities, latch, schedules, pattern of weight gain, sleeping habits, you name it. This was something I had heard, of course, but it wasn’t something I could really relate to until Nora was born!

August 1-7 is World Breastfeeding Week 2017 (aka International Breastfeeding Week), and this is my third WBW while nursing. I’m here to share with you Part 1 of my breastfeeding journey. I hope it’ll be a source of information and encouragement for others. I know not everyone chooses to or is able to nurse their babies the way I have nursed mine, and that’s quite all right.

When I first got pregnant, I read a ton of books (including the usual What to Expect When You’re Expecting), and got a few more as gifts. I appreciated the knowledge I gleaned from each one, so I now recommend them to new moms on a regular basis.

These books make great shower gifts for the expecting or first-time mom, gifts for second- or third-time moms who don’t need anything, gifts for the mom who didn’t register or already has everything, or last minute gifts for really any mom!

Also Known As, “The Day I Flooded the Laundry Room and Broke My Husband’s Toe”

I’ve always been easily distractible, but being the mom of a 27-month old and a 2-week old bumped me into a whole new level of distractible. I call it “momnesia.” I think I took for granted how good I’m feeling: getting decent sleep at night for having a newborn, not in pain or feeling too uncomfortable, and generally in good spirits (contrasting birth and postpartum stories to come). The newborn is so chill and besides some (understandable) jealousy, my toddler is the same amount of work as before.