Growing the Boy

I don't think I've mentioned much about the breastfeeding. I always assumed we'd do it and that there would be some bumps in the road along the way because, well, everyone seems to have some problems or challenges breastfeeding, especially at first.
Henry and I have gotten really good at nursing. It was never as hard as some have it for us. I never had any pain or blisters or any problems getting him to latch on. Our main difficulty was my inability to sit comfortably and subsequently my inability to figure out how to nurse lying down.
Henry hasn't had any formula and I'm pretty proud of that. He has learned to take bottles of expressed milk at daycare but at home he only nurses. In the last 2 weeks, he has gotten distracted by the other happenings in the room. For his first 3 months of life, when I put him to breast, he was focused and completely absorbed by the eating process. Now he's learning that there is a big exciting world around him and sometimes he is as equally interested in his surroundings as the eating task at hand. He will pull off and look up at me, look over at Rob, look at the dog or the lamp or ceiling fan, or sometimes he just pulls off to grin at me. That melts my heart, but sometimes we are in a bit of a time crunch and I need him to eat. That is precisely the time he will decide to check out the room around him.
I really have grown to enjoy feeding him. I find it a quiet, peaceful time even if in the middle of a chaotic day. He clasps his hands together and then tries to stuff both fists against my skin or under my shirt where it is warm.
I also have to spend quality time with my pump at work. This is not so quiet, peaceful, or sweet. Fortunately, I have been able to get enough milk each day to get H through daycare the next day and at the end of the week I've had a little milk leftover to freeze. It would seem that breastfeeding would be intuitive, but there is a lot to learn. We seem to have it down pretty well now, though. I hope to keep it up with nothing supplementing him until 6 months. Then we will reevaluate whether he might be ready for some solid foods or not. I want to breastfeed him for a year, but will take each month that he gets my milk as a huge success. I really love that time with my boy. It is something no one else can give him.