At a family get together last weekend, my cousin commented that Lily was a little Ginny. She favors me, while Emmy seems to favor Ed. The decision to have children was easy for me; as I have mentioned before I always wanted to be a mother. But I do worry that I have passed on the breast cancer gene to my girls, even though I haven’t had any genetic testing. (After my mom recovers from her latest bout of cancer, she plans to be tested, and then I will be tested when we have her information.) This news story gives me great hope that by the time Lily and Emmy grow up, breast cancer will never be a reality for them. Check it out: Searching for a Breast Cancer Vaccine. Both my mom and I have/had hormone receptive cancer, which I believe is the cancer that this experimental treatment attacks. I’m so excited about this latest medical research!
What is Nipple Confusion?
The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding describes nipple confusion like this:
“A baby can become confused by the use of any artificial nipple, as it requires a different type of sucking.” About a year ago, I had nipple confusion of a different sort. I think you’ll understand why I was confused….
After I weaned Lily, I needed a new [i.e. smaller] breast prosthesis. I bought a breast form and followed all the procedures my old insurance company required: a doctor’s order and a receipt. I spent a lot of time on the phone with my new insurance company trying to get them to pay for my breast form, and they refused unless I bought it from a specific store. (Ed finally got results…long story.) When I was newly nursing Emmy, I once again needed a new size [i.e. bigger!]. I was searching the Internet for a less expensive breast form as I didn’t want the hassle of dealing with the insurance company, and I thought, “Hey, breastfeeding has left me with a prominent nipple on one side. I bet I could find something online to help both my breasts look the same.” Sure enough, there was a website that looked promising. I noticed that they sold all sizes of breast forms and other products, more than a woman like me would need, actually. Then I noticed this website was not for women. Which brought to mind the Aerosmith song “DUDE looks like a lady…”