Patience

Nursing teaches patience.  In my opinions it's one of the ultimate tests of patience.

It starts from the day baby is born and we patiently work with them to establish a good latch.  And it continues into the next few days as we wait, ever so patiently, for our milk to come in.

I came to realize this over the last few nights as I lay in bed nursing Monkey.  My to-do lists are running through my head and yet I had to lay there and feed my baby.  Unlike bottles or a plate of food you have no way to judge how much longer a nursing session will last.  Sure there is no guarantee that baby will finish the bottle or that a second helping may be asked for, but you can see what has been eaten and what needs to be eaten when you feed these ways.  With nursing you don't know.  Sure you can look at the clock and think "well he's nursed for 10 minutes and he usually nurses for 5 minutes"; but many times those last 5 minutes turn into the last 30 minutes and vice-versa.

I noticed today at my breastfeeding group that the moms of the older babies and toddlers have amazing patience when it comes to nursing.  Nursing a distracted baby takes patience.  Nursing a baby who wants instant milk but has to wait for let-down takes patience.

Nursing takes patience.