Boobs

Back when I was around 13 or so, I guess, I remember when I had to go with my mom to buy my first training bra. I remember feeling so grown up; I was passing into a new part of my life going from little girl to young woman. It was a Saturday and my mom took me to Penneys because she used to work there. She would get a discount any anything she would buy. We headed to the women's langerie department and I remember seeing so many different styles, sizes and colors. Thankfully, when you are looking for a training bra, there really isn't a huge selection to decide from. You have your basic colors; ivory, tan, white. I remember the lady measuring my body to see what my measurement was around my chest, on the outside of my clothes, of course! I remember trying a couple on, I didn't know what they were supposed to feel like. We bought a couple and went home. Immediately I went to my room and put one one. I remember the feeling I had, like a said, I felt like a real woman. I thought for sure everyone would have noticed and approved. All I could think about was how I was feeling, but come to think of it, I'm sure everyone else was just glad I had my girls taken care of. I mean, nobody wants to look at a 13 year girl that obviously needs a bra but doesn't have one. Then they probably look at the mother standing next to her, glaring. "What's the matter with you? Can't you take her to get a bra? Can't you see that she needs one badly? She looks like she has miniature evergreens growing out of her shirt!"

When I had my first child I decided to try and breast feed. I was scared to try but believed it was very important for the baby. I remember coming home from the hospital and the nurses coaching me before I left explaining how the milk come in. Sometimes, the nurse told me, it could take a few days and she assure me not to worry, it would happen. Well, while I was waiting for this to happen, my breasts became more and more sore each time I tried. It got to the point where I actually had blisters on my nipples! I'd actually put a piece of ice on them to help cool them down and numb them. In the meantime I kept growing more and more concerned wondering if my baby was getting anything at all and worrying he would waste away to nothing. My husband would call me barren, which didn't help. Then to top it all off Jonathan would only sleep for a few hours at a time so I was exhausted constantly. So the combination of no milk coming in and my concern about that, the pain of the blisters and the lack of sleep, well, you know what I did? I went and bought some bottles! Problem solved!

I'm thinking of mammograms and pancakes.