I’ve got so many friends and family who have recently had babies or are expecting soon, and they are either currently breastfeeding or plan to breastfeed. I wanted to compile a brief list of lessons I’ve learned along the way. I just celebrated my 3-year anniversary of CONSECUTIVE nursing: my sweet Claire weaned herself with some gentle coaching from me on New Year’s Eve. Together we chanted “new year, new you!” She had nursed for 33 months by that point. When she was 33 hours old, I wondered if I was going to make it to 6 weeks, let alone 6 months (my initial goal)…

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I had never heard of APNO, or All-Purpose Nipple Ointment before I started breastfeeding in 2015. It’s also called Newman’s APNO, Newman’s Nipple Ointment, or some variation of that. It’s named after Dr. Jack Newman, a breastfeeding advocate and specialist in Canada.

I struggled a lot with breastfeeding in the beginning, and since I was too ashamed to ask for help, I found myself searching online for help and answers to my questions. One of the things I came across was the magical elixir of unicorn blood that is Newman’s APNO, and it’s supreme healing powers for sore nipples.

Easy 31-Day Workout Schedule

I’m 8 months postpartum, and bathing suit season is fast approaching. I HATE working out, I hate being sore, I hate being tired, and I hate sacrificing time to make it happen. But, I also don’t like looking like a toothpick with no muscle tone, so I had to come to terms with the fact that if I want to look different, I have to do something about it.

My goal is to work out every day in March. I know in general that doing strenuous workouts without a rest day every few days isn’t good for you, but I also know how I am, and in order for this to become a habit for me, I have to do SOMETHING every day. I’m titling this “Let’s March,” because in addition to liking positive life changes, I also LOVE a good pun.

Our first birth experience was a long, natural, hospital delivery of our rainbow baby, Claire. It was amazing, hard, and beautiful. Before becoming pregnant with Claire, we suffered a miscarriage at 10 weeks. I was devastated by that experience, so when we got pregnant again, I was grateful but extremely anxious. All pregnancy loss is sad, but there’s something especially tragic about losing your first because it forever taints your experience. When your only frame of reference up to that point is a loss, even a healthy pregnancy has an extra layer of fear and anxiety.

Three years later, I can still remember the most vivid details of this eventful day. Things like what songs I sang, what I ate for dinner, and where we parked at the hospital.