Homeschool Gymnastics

Have you ever tried to teach nursing manners?

My 11 month old baby girl is the CLASSIC gymnast nurser I read about when I first started nursing Will. "Some babies will even try to perform a summersault without missing a suck" states Dr. Sears in The Baby Book. Ummmm.....yeah. I would say that is just about right. In fact, I am pretty sure Natalie has performed the feat.

Yes, she is a multi-tasker at a young age. She gets her workouts in while eating, and I pay the price. She literally stands on her head, kicks her leg over her head, twists her body around 180 degrees and changes legs all without stopping sucking. You would think this would hurt! I am a little frightened by the fact that it doesn't. I mean, what does this say about my body and the potential that it will ever go back to normal? I think we all know the answer to THAT question!

My mother saw Natalie performing these antics at Christmas and said, "Oh, I don't KNOW, honey! It was right about the time your sister started doing that I had to wean. I could not take it!" Now, I have to laugh that she was speaking of my little sister Amy because this is not the only way Natalie has been compared to Amy. I even constantly call Natalie "Amy" because she reminds me so much of Amy when she was little.

INot only does Natalie frequently perform Olympic Gold Medal worthy gymnastics while feeding, she also has very strongly stated a preference to one side. I could be comforted by the fact that only the right side of my body is being demolished. Instead, I am frequently complaining to anyone willing to listen about how lopsided I currently am. Really. It is not a pretty picture and I am about to go invest in one of those fake inserts to balance myself out.

In spite of it all, I am not planning to wean anytime soon! I really do love nursing my baby and she won't be a baby too much longer. It does make me wonder though, how exactly do you teach nursing manners? She is not a good pupil on this subject!