The school bus stopped outside my house today and honked the horn.  (Why, I have no idea - since my kids are both already registered as home-schoolers )  I rolled over in bed and flipped it off.

Ahh...it felt great! 

I read somewhere that a woman decided not to attempt to breastfeed because she was afraid it would be sexual.    It's not.

There's a disconnect in our society between intimacy, sensuality, and sexuality.  Sex is both intimate and sensual, but it's not the only relationship that contains those two qualities. 

Breastfeeding is very much sensual.  There is the taste of the milk; the smell of the milk, mother and child; the sound of suckling and swallowing; the touch of the two as the child nurses, and those beautiful eyes that stare up at the mother in bliss.  There are also nursing acrobatics, occasional bites, and those fun times when the baby desperately needs to be changed but won't unlatch.

Breastfeeding is also intimate.  On average, a new baby nurses 8-12 times a day.  On average, a newborn takes about 30 minutes to nurse.  When you spend 4-6 hours EVERY day in close physical contact with a person, you form a close bond with them.  Breastfeeding mothers need to be there in order to nourish their child.  When you HAVE to be there and HAVE to give of yourself in order to keep the child healthy and happy, you will create an intimate relationship with your child.

Intimate relationships are good things.  Sensual relationships are healthy for babies - they learn through their senses.  Breastfeeding promotes both of those things.  Sex has nothing to do with it.