Parent Time

I couldn’t believe how hungry I was when I started breastfeeding. Eating for two had been one of my favourite parts of pregnancy (once I got past my nauseating first trimester) and almost made up for my swelling girth and continual need to pee. In contrast, when I started to breastfeed, eating for two became a chore, a trial, a bodily necessity that I couldn’t seem to satisfy. Gone were the days of eating mindfully and savouring the taste of food; instead I discovered I could cram an entire muffin into my mouth, that yogurt was just as good eaten straight from the container, and that I could eat cheese and crackers, talk on the phone and rock a fussy baby all at the same time. It wasn’t until a Sunday dinner with my extended family that I realized how far I’d fallen. As I sat at the laden table, I felt as if I hadn’t eaten in months. By the time everyone had sat down at the table, my plate and mouth were full. I stopped chewing only long enough to mumble through my food, “Sorry, Mum, I couldn’t wait, but this is really good!”

Originally published in Today's Parent, June 2007