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niamh is a girl who is full to the brim with energy. she's not one of those delciously chubby babies that seems content to lie and watch the world go by around her. she never has been. she's lean and busy, busy, busy. always grabbing, pinching, pushing, pulling, poking, tugging, reaching, biting, wriggling and kicking her way through every waking moment. and when she's not doing that she's fighting sleep because she wants to be doing that.
i love nursing. i love settling down with my babes to connect and nourish, spend some time with my feet up, maybe even doze and of course it's a good excuse to have glasses of water brought to me. i nursed zahra until she was 26 months and i hope to nurse niamh for at least two years. but nursing niamh from the very beginning has been, well, different. she feeds super quick so she can get on with whatever she was getting on with, usually phaffing with the curtain or poking her finger up my nose. food seems an afterthought that just gets in the way of her busy-ness. she doesn't settle down next to me and gaze contentedly into my eyes. she becomes a distracted contortionist.
finding moments of quiet, gentle, tenderness with this busy bee are few and far between. that's why i love this photo of niamh gently reaching out for her sisters hand.
