About two months ago, we welcomed a healthy baby girl into this world (she is the main reason I’ve been quiet here for a while).
It had been a very much wanted, anticipated and planned pregnancy. Being a second-time mum, I prepared myself mentally and let go of any expectations surrounding the birth.
I just wanted her here safely.
However, one thing I was determined to do differently was breastfeeding. Given my experience with my eldest (a story for another day), this time around, I enlisted help.
But WOW, I did not expect breastfeeding to be what it was.
Those first two weeks were brutal. Not because she was feeding around the clock, but because it was so excruciatingly painful.
I had to do focused breathing exercises EVERY single time to overcome the first couple of minutes.
In addition, we had to supplement initially, make a plan to increase milk supply and then just as things were getting better… boom – mastitis 😱.
Throughout this time, I kept hearing similar tales from my friends, all ending with but “we got there in the end.”
At the time, I thought maybe breastfeeding is NOT wonderful after all, how could anyone do this for six months, let alone two years.
But I also thought maybe it’s a lie, perhaps I won’t get there in the end, and all this effort has been for nothing.
And even though I wanted to quit, I reminded myself of the reasons for my decision, I kept at it, adapting and trusting that things would get better.
Then one day, “we got there.”
She latched on quickly, there was no pain, and she was gaining weight healthily. It certainly wasn’t the end, but we got there.
The same thing happens in many aspects of our lives. So many of us quit before “we get there”. Perhaps because it’s:
- boring
- hard
- taking too long
- overwhelming
- tiring
I tried meditation several times many years before and quit before I got “there” – to that sense of peace and relaxation that I had read about.
Until one time, I decided to keep at it, learn, adapt, and trust that it would all be okay. And I stuck with it long enough to “get there in the end”.
Perhaps you are in the middle of the grind now, wondering whether it will work out… remember that it will. If you adapt, keep at it and trust, you WILL get there in the end.
