Fallout Girl

I am in love with a sucker. And with sucker, I mean this little tiny baby who feeds off me whom I adore and will do anything for. I have been breastfeeding since November of last year. And really, all those ads in magazines with a mom sitting in a rocking chair serenely feeding her baby wearing a dainty nightgown was NOT me. Breastfeeding was painful, traumatic and sooooo time-consuming. It induced a weird sense of claustrophobia in me. I felt a tremendous amount of pressure to provide nourishment for the adorable little parasite I pushed out of my unmentionable.

And for the past few weeks it has brought me another misery to me. My hair started to fall. First, I didn’t mind, because calling my hair thick was an understatement (thank God for whoever invented rebonding). When I take showers, I would find small clumps on the bathroom floor but I just shrugged it of, thinking “There’s more where that came from”. But recently, after I grabbed all my hair to put in a ponytail, I was caught off guard. I lost about 30% of it! Yikes!  

So I consulted the great modern oracle, aka Google, and I was comforted to know that the hair fall usually stops when the baby reaches about 6 months of age. And it rarely gets to the point where bald spots can be seen.  Major sigh of relief. 

I can't rock the baldy look like you did, Sinead.

 Don’t get me wrong, I love being able to “make” sustenance for my baby. She was born premature. She was only 3 lbs. when she came out so her doctor and the NICU nurses strongly emphasized that breastmilk really is best for baby. Breastmilk is king. And giving birth too early, I wasn’t lactating yet. THANK GOD for the kind souls who so generously donated their breast milk to me. Those donations tided me over until I was producing milk on my own. I saw my tiny, skinny baby literally grow before my eyes. She was like an inflatable doll that kept getting pumped with a little air at a time and now she’s a whopping 12 pounder with leg and arm rolls to speak of. Think Stay Puft Marshmallow Man:) Her pedia assured us that she’s nowhere near being overweight, it’s just the proud momma talking. So,thick head of hair or not, I will soldier on. That’s what wigs are for, right?

P.S. Breastfeeding doesn't hurt anymore ;)