The first blog post I wrote, I was inspired by the breastfeeding class I was listening in on, taught by Kristine Keller IBCLC. She was talking about how when babies latch incorrectly, IT HURTS, and she said one of the best ways to fix this problem, was to hug your baby! I thought it was the coolest thing I had heard in a while. Pulling on your baby to get them to stop, successfully gets you hurting nipples. This struck me as such a sweet thing, and there was something very powerful about it.
Maybe it was because, as mothers, we are probably going to be hurt by our baby at some point or another. Unintentionally of course. They might pull our hair too hard, or scratch our face, and bite our nipples. We are human, we feel things, we feel pain, more than most. Our first reaction when hurt could be multiple reactions, and they vary from person to person. Growing up anytime I got hurt, I would get angry, when I was little I would lash out at whoever did it. Some people, when they get hurt, cannot talk to anyone for a moment, they need to calm down. They take a step away and take a couple deep breaths.
When you are being hurt by your baby, the tiny person you gave birth to, you can't exactly lash out at them, how would you even still feel like a good mother for allowing yourself to be angry at them? Even for a second? Oh, you're a great mother, you're just human too.
I feel like this idea, hugging your baby when they latch incorrectly to get them to let go when they hurt you, in a way, explains motherhood. Your children are going to end up, some day, hurting your feelings, their feet are going to get bigger and they might jump on your big toe, or worse. Your little toe! If you're like me, you walked so closely to your Mama that you constantly stepped on the back of her flip flop at Wal-Mart.
A Mother's love is loving your children through all of these things, plus more. It's about always forgiving them for the things that hurt you, or someone else, and at the end of the day, even in painful situations, giving them a hug!