Breastfeeding journey β this special piece from @heather_b_moore commemorates 8 months (8 scattered diamonds) of breastfeeding Gino. One of the toughest, most arduous, rewarding, incredible elements of motherhood.
Everyoneβs journey is different and mine started out optimistic and as with most things I do in life, I didnβt read much or learn much about breastfeeding before starting (plus everyone always says it βshould just come naturallyβ) so I winged it. About 5 weeks in I developed mastitis β which felt like I got hit by a truck, had 104Β° temp yet had the chills where I was visibly shaking and my entire body ached in a way Iβve never felt before. This wasnβt the hard part for me, I can deal with anything. It was seeing helpless Gino develop a huge red rash on his face from reacting to the medication I took for mastitis. I havenβt shown many people the photo of him and I contemplated posting it, but if thereβs any new moms out there that are dealing with anything similar, I just want to say it gets better. He had that rash for 2 1/2 weeks, which seemed like an eternity when you donβt know if heβll wake up the next morning looking better or worse each day. These photos are v emotional for me, esp the one with me holding him β you can see how distraught I am.
Iβm surprised I pushed through all that; looking back itβs all a blur, but I continued breastfeeding until Gino was 8 months. From pumping in random closets or the back of a car, to going to Tucson with the worst clogged ducts Iβve ever had. The things we do for our kids! I never understood it until I became a mother.
This charm means a lot and finding a piece of jewelry to commemorate breastfeeding β well, letβs just say thereβs not much out there! Have you seen where you can mail in your breast milk and itβs turned into a hard ball that gets set into jewelry?! I didnβt know until I googled βbreastfeeding jewelryβ but yes thatβs pretty much all I found. So creating this with @heather_b_moore was a dream. Thanks for your input Heather and creating pieces that are extremely sentimental. ππΌ ...
