I think we've just about closed the door on the nursing saga. Lately it's been a battle of wills when I nurse Vincent. Not because he doesn't want to, but because he gets really impatient and lazy. I've done all I can to keep up my supply, which had dipped. I really don't think my problem was lack of a supply but rather a baby who'd rather the milk flow like from a bottle nipple. It makes my heart ache to close this chapter. I really wanted to see it through some date in the future determined either by medical necessity (me going back on my MS meds) or him not gaining enough weight. I never imagined that mother nature was going to give me milk that drips rather than flows. I think I'd be impatient too. And before you comment with a ton of advice, believe me, I've tried it all—or I feel like I have. I know that many sites suggest taking away the bottles until he can get used to nursing again, but as a working mother, that's impossible. Thanks America for providing a way for mammas to provide the very best for their children. I hate how you rob us mammas of so many opportunities to be with our children.
Maybe this won't be the end. Maybe it will be. I just hope I'm ready for whatever is in store.
If it causes more stress than happiness, it's not worth it. You will be a liberated woman when he's totally a formula baby. You can drink adult beverages and not have to pump and dump. You won't have to spend your free time pumping. He might sleep through the night more...or JL can take a night feeding. You can leave the house and not be required to return by a certain time. This momma thinks breastfeeding is highly over rated. I think this is a new beginning rather than a sad ending. Don't just let it go, kiss it goodbye and celebrate your new freedom.
ReplyDeleteJob well done regardless of how long it lasted!
ReplyDeleteI felt liberated but also sad when I stopped too. I was angry that my husband pressured me to stop (he thought it stressed me out...what stressed me out was how he sat on his ass while I breastfed and then I had to clean up the kitchen and get everything ready for the next day!) and that a vacation is what made my milk supply dip. I blamed myself because when I stopped BFing my kid got really really sick all the time...although it had probably nothing to do with no BFing, it was just the season to get sick (winter). I thought I would miss the quiet cuddle time but then I realized how much more we could do when we weren't chained to a chair for over an hour each night...we can read, play, take a walk, build something.
Like everything it's a stage; hard to imagine life any different, but then once you give yourself a few months hard to imagine ever going back.
Like Chance said, enjoy your freedom and celebrate what is ahead!