"Nurse," my son, Kolter, cried. "Nurse!" Much better than the "Booby, Booby!" command I'd heard from another child, but just the same, there was something about a kid being able to articulate this particular need that prompted me to say, "It's time to move on."

In the beginning I was more in love with the idea of breastfeeding than the actual nitty-gritty reality of it. The initial discomforts and inconveniences made me think something was wrong or that it just wasn't going well. Without support from another woman with lactating experience, it can seem easier to give up and dust off that unsolicited baby formula sample you never thought you'd consider.

I had everything from cracked nipples to sporadic flow, where one day my rivers ran dry and the next I was the "fountain of moo." I had mastitis, too, or boob flu, as I call it, when it seemed the only solution to aching breasts would be their swift removal for a detox spa special. I spent precious alone time massaging rock-hard breasts under a hot shower, wishing my tears would turn to milk. At least those ducts were working.

The combination of shock that these physical adjustments weren't allowing me to relax enough to enjoy my new baby, a supportive husband and midwife, and my stubborn insistence that breastfeeding truly is a wonderful, natural experience strengthened my resolve to continue. And I'm so glad that I did. It took about three weeks for my body to get in synch with the demands of a nursing infant, and once over the biggest hurdles, the occasional discomforts were easier to handle.

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