Such a neat moment

I've heard so many other breastfeeding mothers' woes about being bitten by their babies while nursing. Since Abbie's had teeth she's bitten me a few times, but the instances are few and far between. My plan was to be consistant in my response whenever she bit me--I would yell out to shock her and make her realize that what she'd just done was a no-no. It's worked pretty well and like I said, it hasn't happened very much.

This morning I was nursing her in bed--this has got to be one of the best parts of breastfeeding--I get to do it while I doze. Since I was pretty much asleep I don't know if Abbie was drifting off and just happened to clamp down, or if she did it more on purpose. Either way, she bit me. Hard. Without thinking I yelled out "OW! ABBIE!" This shocked her and she started to cry. Not the normal cry, but one that tells me she's hurting inside. I started to cry because it had hurt so badly. In that moment I decided to show her my face and my tears. I thought, hey, she should know that mommy has emotions too.

And then the coolest thing happened. She stopped crying and sort of half-smiled at me, not because she thought I was being funny, but actually trying to make me smile in return. I shook my head and said, "Abbie, when you bite Mommy, it really hurts me." I was still teary at this point. Then she gave me a look I've never seen before--she furrowed her brows and looked deep into my eyes. And then when I gathered her up in my arms she started to cry again. She GOT IT. She understood my heart in that moment. She understood my tears and why I was hurt! It was so amazing. It had nothing to do with simple behavior modification. It was a mother and a daughter sharing a painful moment together--a real human interaction.

This morning gives me so much hope for my family. It excites me to realize that it's possible to be vulnerable in a family and to share emotions together, and to stand by each other and even grow in love for each other through good AND bad times.