The True Beauty of… Breasts – Beauty of Woman #BOAW16

Wow. May 2016. Where has the time gone? It has been almost a year since my last blog post. Okay; it has been a year. I guess life gets in the way sometimes—a lot of the time.

Motherhood has really changed my life—for the better—but changed, nonetheless. Everything has taken a backseat, especially my writing (and household chores). My Little Dude is a month from his second birthday and…shhhh…we’re expecting our second. That’s my first public admission of this pregnancy.

Despite my social media life, I am a very private person. But between the preparation for our new addition AND August’s 5th annual Beauty of a Woman Blogfest, I knew I had something to say.

I know – people who know me say this is nothing out of the ordinary.

But seriously. Time to blog.

My perspective on a woman’s beauty has changed. Maybe not so much changed, but grown by leaps and bounds.

By definition, beauty is the quality present in a thing or person that gives intense pleasure or deep satisfaction to the mind, whether arising from sensory manifestations, a meaningful design or platform, or something else.

I’ve always seen the beauty, both internally and externally of a woman. However, having undergone the many changes I have the past two and a half years, I now have a deeper appreciation… a deeper understanding… and a deeper love—for myself, other women, and the female body. More specifically, boobs, or the scientific terminology, breasts.

Men have always appreciated a woman’s breasts. But have we as women appreciated our breasts as much as the men? Probably not. We’re our worst critics. I bet as a whole, we complain a lot about the pair we have… much like our hair, our thighs, and any other body part we deem imperfect. Notice I said we deem…

But guess what? Our breasts are AMAZING!

Small, large, super-sized, droopy, perky, it doesn’t matter.

All boobs rock!

I certainly didn’t appreciate my “girls” until experiencing breastfeeding firsthand. Our breasts aren’t just an aesthetic body part to improve our physical appearance; although they don’t hurt it either. Our breasts serve a purpose—to feed our young. Having not been breastfed (well, I wouldn’t remember anyway, would I?) or being around breastfeeding prior to having my son, I didn’t really grasp just how amazing breasts actually were. I guess I was kind of like a man—I saw a “good pair” and thought WOW.

Not anymore. I truly get it now.

From the moment our body completes the mind-boggling and precious process we know as childbirth, our breasts produce the food necessary for our offspring. As our babies grow and change, our milk supply grows and changes with them, giving them the exact, THE EXACT nutrition our child needs. No two nursings are alike—breastfeeding is constantly evolving to our baby’s needs.

Amazing, right? I need a new word for amazing…

It doesn’t stop there.

Our breasts produce the antibodies our kiddos need to fight off ailments. Without getting too scientific, their saliva enters the breast through one of the many milk ducts and our body recognizes when something is “off.” The female body then produces exactly what the baby needs to help fight whatever it is that is wrong. All through the boob.

Amazing, right? There I go again with that word… but it is. Truly.

Now, breastfeeding isn’t for all mothers and that’s okay. My mother didn’t breastfeed me and I personally think I turned out fine and I love her to death.

However, I knew I wanted to try for my Little Dude and I wanted to go for as long as I could. When I first hit the six month mark, I was thrilled, but I wasn’t ready to stop. Next we accomplished twelve months, which was fantastic… but my husband and I made the decision to keep going. When it’s all said and done, my son and I made it to eighteen months before calling it quits.

And guess what? We had ZERO non-well visits to his pediatrician in that time. No ear infections, no nothing. If he happened to get a runny nose, I nursed more and his tiny little common cold never progressed.

Simply amazing. Forget it—I’m not looking for another word any longer. Amazing says it all.

For whatever reason, some people are offended by women breastfeeding in public. Why it’s okay for a woman to show cleavage and be sexy, yet it’s not for her to feed her little one the best nutrients he or she can possibly receive is beyond me.

But society freaks. While I’m for it (I’m a BIG breastfeeding advocate), let’s all be mindful of others.  On both sides. Always.

And remember…

The true beauty of breasts… it’s AMAZING!

My Little Dude and Me
(copyright Tiffany A. White)

PS.  Stop by August’s Blogfest page to participate in the #BOAW16 fun!

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Tiffany A. White is the author of the YA mystery Football Sweetheart series available on Kindle and Nook.  She is available for contact via Twitter, Facebook, Google+, or via email at tiffany {at} tiffanyawhite {dot} com.