Happy Valentine's Day!

Incase anyone has ever wondered, I am incredibly lucky to be married to a wonderful man that I love very, very much. I don't go around shouting it to the world, but I am so thankful that God blessed me with a wonderful husband who has turned out to be a fantastic father. (as I knew he would be!)

Nelson and I have now been married for 3 1/2 years and I've loved every minute of it. We've known each other since April 4th, 2002, where we met in PLUS team class. (orientation team at our university) We clicked instantly and he announced to our entire class, "I'm going to marry that girl some day!" (If you know Nelson, you will know that this is sooooo out of his character. God was already intervening there folks!) We got married July 22, 2006 and it was one of the single greatest days of my life. I cannot wait to have more babies together and grow old together. The longer I know Nelson and the more that I learn, the more I realize that God brought us together and that we are meant for each other. We compliment each other so well and look at the world in so many similar ways and want to raise children the same way. All who have met him know how incredibly kind, thoughtful, sensitive and just darn hilarious he is. This year I have also learned just how selfless he is.

Now, I'm about to share something that I (we) haven't told too many people. Mainly because this is now a private blog read only by women. I should say that this information has to do with intimate issues between my husband and I, so those related to us may get slightly uncomfortable. (though it's not really that bad) So, here goes.

Since my daughter was born, I have had to choose between intercourse and breastfeeding.

Now, those of you who have ever seen my child or read this blog know that I am an avid breastfeeding mama, so I think you can easily guess what choice I made. Yup. 9 1/2 months of practicing abstinence. Not since the night before she was born.

I found out that this was an issue around that magic 6 week mark, when we were given the go. We waited a couple of weeks more, because I was still having pain at my incision sight. I learned that I was having major dryness issues and nothing was working to help with the challenge, at least nothing that could be purchased at the drugstore or otherwise. I went to my doctor and she said it was very, very common and that many nursing mothers experience this. She prescribed a cream, told me it would solve the problem and sent me on my way.

I should insert at this point that I don't like to put anything in my body that can alter the quality of my breast milk. I'm not on ANY hormones for birth control. I don't drink anything with caffeine. I don't have any alcohol at all. No pop. I avoid product with high fructose corn syrup and most other processed foods. I eat organic as much as I can. I avoid red meat. I eat a lot of fruits, vegetables, whole grains and dairy. I don't take any meds unless I know everything I can about them. I've only taken pain killers 3 times since I got pregnant and only for major migraines.

That being said, I got home, read the warnings on the cream and discovered the sentence (written in all caps) WARNING: THIS WILL GET INTO BREAST MILK. PLEASE CONSULT A PHYSICIAN BEFORE USING. It totally freaked me out. I called and talked to the nurse advice line. I called my doctor. I looked online. I talked to my doula. I talked to everyone who could tell me anything about the prescription. No one could give me enough confidence that it was completely safe to take the product. It is hormone based and no one could assure me it wouldn't get into my milk or affect my milk production. I didn't want any hormones going into my baby that I could avoid.

So, I told all of this to my husband. I cried and told him how guilty I felt about my "duties as a wife" and that I love him and want to be able to share that expereince with him. But, I was worried about my milk. And since I want to nurse until she self weans, that could be 2 or 3 year without sex for him.

He didn't even flinch.

He just said, "I'll wait, we have years to do that. Breastfeeding our babies is far more important."

Just like that.

And, he gave me the most romantic gift he ever could have.

I love my husband.


PS There are many OTHER ways to be intimate with your spouse. : )