My husband has named me a breastfeeding "crusader", but so much credit is rightfully his.

As some may (or may not) know, my dear husband had a job interview in Morgantown this Wednesday...we are praying and crossing our fingers, as it really seems like it would be his dream job, but we won't know anything until Monday.

Anyway, making our way back to the title of this post, the people he interviewed with were very like minded to us...big on walkability, angry at corn (and therefore high fructose corn syrup) subsidies, and pro staying at home with kids (when it's feasible). Somehow, the issue of breastfeeding came up, and my husband remarked that I was a "breastfeeding crusader". I, at times, refer to myself as a self proclaimed "lactavist".

However, this brings me to a separate point. Breastfeeding and the importance of a woman's role as a mother are two of my biggest "crusades" now. In regards to breastfeeding, I have managed to convince my grandmother-in-law, an individual who saw no purpose in it, that it was without a doubt the best thing to do for my baby, and any baby. As far as mothers, I find that the fact the United States has no program to compensate mothers of children to stay at home and provide for them down right disturbing. Then again, we live in the only country that allows such rampant prescription drug advertising...so, should I really be surprised some things are a little off kilter?

I keep digressing...the real point to this post is actually to praise my dear husband, and emphasize that I would not be the mother, or type of mother, I am now without his support and love. Would I have made it through exclusively breastfeeding for 15 months without his diligent help through the night, changing the baby and asking if I needed things like water or something to eat? I wonder - at the very least, it would have made it indescribably difficult. Would it have been more convenient to hand Xave a bottle in the back seat, rather than pull off in a parking lot and nurse? Yes, and through this, my husband was loving, patient, and above all understanding. Now, my husband will say that he never would have realized the full incredible difference between nursing and bottles without my research, but that he listened to me, and was the kind of father that wanted what was best for our baby, even when it might not have been the easiest road to hoe, really counts for something. I take that for granted, honestly, that my husband is good father that I didn't always know that I always wanted. (You know, in all my high horses and soap boxes about women staying at home with their babies, there was a time I thought I was going to be a raging career woman with no need for family, least of all children.)