dear boobs, thank you for the milk

dear boobs,

we'd like to say thank you for the milk.

and for keeping it flowing, even when we're a little under fed, under the weather, overly tired, and overly unsure about how this breastfeeding thing really works.

thanks for working with us when we're working on those early latching days.

thanks for knowing what to do when we really don't.

thanks for a million reasons to sit and be still with our baby.
(even if we act like we are dying to get going, we will one day look back and treasure every second of those little sucks.)

thanks for sticking with us. for holding on when we're stuck without a place to pump. for the extra ounce when we think we just can't stick with it one day longer.  

thanks for nourishing both our sweet babies and our souls at the same time.

thanks for the extra looks here and there. (and no, not the judgey ones, the second-glance-at-our-womanly-beauty ones that enable us to forget the leaking and mastitis and exhaustive 3 a.m. feeds for a moment and remember how gorgeous and healthy and sexy we are in motherhood.

thanks for the biology lessons. you've sure taught us a lot about mammals and made us newly consider the monkeys at the zoo and the cows on the farm field trips and pretty much every other kind of animal with a nipple.

thanks for that little thing called the let-down. who knew it would be our favorite part of the day?

thanks for actually working like you are supposed to some of the time and thanks, even more, to all the lactation consultants and mamas ready nearby when you and I are just not working it out.

thanks for not holding it against us when we have to break up.

thank you for allowing us to be a source of strength, a soft pillow, and a center in many a storms. thank you for being there for us so we can be there for our children.

we've been through quite the relationship throughout pregnancy and nursing and we are here to say we appreciate you. deeply.

we'll even try and remember that more often.

we'll try not to curse you so much when you spray, stop producing, and shrink more than we'd like you to. we'll remember that you are worthy of our love.

we know we don't always show you the gratitude you deserve, but we think making milk is pretty miraculous, and know that we are so very thankful for the journey and our beautiful, milk-making, baby-feeding boobs.