The Big Latch On... Or not.

He was not having any of this...

When I heard about The Big Latch On a few months ago, I absolutely knew I wanted to go.

I have become such a lactavist (I love that new word, hehe) over the last few months, and in honor of World Breastfeeding Week, I naturally wanted to be a part of it. The Big Latch On is an event in which breast feeding women come together at the same time, in different locations across the globe, and nurse at the same time- 10:30 am- in an attempt to break the previous Guinness World Record for most women nursing at one time. It is truly empowering. That being said, with my goal in sight, I have been planning for weeks that this would be a great way to celebrate my 6 month goal of nursing.

I should have know it would not exactly go as planned. Levi had his shots yesterday, which set the tone for the next 24 hours. Let me give you my time line of last night:
9:00pm- Kids bathed, bedtime routine finished, Micah conked out. Levi nursed, and snoozing.
12:30am- I stumble to bed after finishing up my cloth diapers and laundry for the night. Can't sleep because Jose is working, and I don't sleep in the bed well alone.
1:00am: Levi wakes up to nurse, mad as a hornet, and HOT. Thank you, vaccines, for giving him a fever. 
1:45am: Baby changed, tylenol'd up, nursed, but fussy because his fever is breaking.
2:30am: Levi falls asleep. I move him to the crib, where he freaks out.
3:30am: Levi nurses again, falls asleep, and I move him successfully. Now, I finally hit the sack.
5:30am: Levi wakes to nurse, I put him in bed with me and snooze while he nurses. He falls asleep as the sun is rising.
6:30am: Micah wakes me up.

Yikes is right. Jose let me sleep about an hour and a half once he got home, but of course woke me up a half hour late to leave for the event. Luckily it's right down the road, and I got my self gussied up and left.

So there I am, Levi wrapped up in my Moby, getting my goody bag and registering for the event. I joined about 50-60 other moms at the event, most with their entire families in tow. The air is charged with excitement. A record is breaking around the world! We are part of it! The 5 minute warning sounds: get settled with your babies, find a quiet spot, and get ready to latch. Basically the breastfeeding mom's version of start your engines. Then, one minute and counting. Latch your babies and raise your hand when they are latched so we can count...

Babies are excited everywhere. FOOD TIME! Nursing bras coming unhooked, skin out everywhere, the clock is ticking...And does Levi have any interest in nursing?  NO! OF COURSE NOT! Not when his mom is so excited about being part of this. He is quite content to look around at all the OTHER mom's milk makers, smile and laugh, and have nothing to do with mine.

The minute is up, the count is done. My hand never raised. My baby never latched. But I still felt so awesome to have been there, supported, and witnessed so many moms doing what is the best for their babies.

And so what if it didn't all go as planned. I won a raffle :)