About two weeks ago, I quit breastfeeding. I would have confessed earlier, if I had told my superstar sister-in-law! I withheld from her because she is amazing. My nephew will be one on November 5th (woot!) and she is still going strong!!!! I like to call her super woman :-)
It's funny, when you tell people you're done, most will ask why. I guess that's a normal reaction?? There wasn't one specific reason I stopped, but a whole bunch that when I put them together I decided it was time. My supply was going down, he wasn't eating nicely, he was gassy no matter what I cut out and he wasn't sleeping at night. So, I stopped. And honestly, I think I'm a better mother because of it. I'm happier, I'm lighter (ha ha ha), I don't have to wear nursing bras, I can feed him comfortably in public, and many other reasons! And I don't miss breastfeeding one bit.
I'm on a board for other moms with June babies and it's amazing what they say to each other as well as what strangers will say to them about formula feeding vs. breastfeeding. Now that I've been on both sides, I'd say they both have their negatives and positives. I just don't understand why people feel the need to look down on others that formula feed OR breastfeed. Either way, the child is being fed!! So, if you see a mom formula feeding, tell her good job. Or, if you see a mother breastfeeding, tell her you're proud of her. Either way, we are being good mommies!!!
Did anyone ever say anything to you about formula feeding or breastfeeding??? And, when did you stop breastfeeding??
You do what you can...and what's best for your family.
ReplyDeleteJordan was a preemie, so by the time he could come home he was already on bottles and the breastfeeding thing didn't work out. I felt like I was missing out on some awesome mothering experience.
So when I had Celia, I was militant about it. Unfortunately, I was never a great breastfeeder! Never made enough milk, no matter what we did. It was always SUPER painful, even after several months and several lactation consultants. She was hungry and fussy all the time, I was in pain and crabby all of the time....and I stuck it out for 8 very long months. Talk about stubborn.
The important thing is that you're feeding your baby. :)
Do what's best for you and Jacob, girl! I'm proud of you! Don't let anyone look down on you because of this-- this is what was best for you guys! Breastfeeding is freaking hard... and I feel like a 24 hour buffet.
ReplyDeleteWho knows how long I'm going to be able to keep it up... I only have just enough milk for him to eat and have no extra to store for when we go out, so I'm not sure what's going to happen when we do go out or have a sitter. I've been trying to pump after he eats, but of course I only get like .5oz, which is totally not worth trying to store. I say all of this to say, breastfeeding is complicated and tough. And although I am a breastfeeding advocate, it doesn't make it any less difficult.
Let's set up a phone date soon- love and miss you, friend!
Thanks guys!! I appreciate the stories and encouragement. And, Kate, I understand that 24 hour buffet feeling! It's so humbling! And yes, phone date SOON!!
ReplyDeletewell...i am with you. your sis in law IS a rockstar mommy and breastfeeder!! she makes it look so much easier than it is. i quit at 5 weeks. it all started when she wasnt regaining her birth weight for the first few weeks...we found that i wasnt producing enough. so after starving my poor girl for 3 weeks-finally started supplementing with formula and continued to do both before officially quitting at 5 weeks. breastfeeding is not for everyone!!!! you are a wonderful mommmy lizard!
ReplyDeleteOk so I'm just reading this one...thanks for the compliments everybody- but I'll be the first to say that breastfeeding is definitely not easy so I don't blame anyone for moving on from it especially when it's been this difficult. From the first week of breastfeeding I quickly found out that I was blessed with a better supply than most people have. I called my cousin to tell her how much milk I was pumping out (granted my lactation consultants had me pumping 10 minutes after every feeding in the hospital and when I got home even when I just had colostrum- in order to increase my supply so that's a tip for anyone who wants to try it, but I still don't think it works for everyone)...so anyway I called my cousin to ask her when you just decide to stop freezing so much milk and just dump some of it away. She was shocked and said "Um, I never had that much." I felt terrible and so began the many times when people told me they couldn't believe how much milk I had. I was very fortunate. I am slowly dropping feedings close to a year now and only using formula that we got as free samples....but it's not like this is something that I did- I'm just very fortunate. I mean, I did all of that extra pumping-but there was something there to pump. I was dedicated, but I also had things go well for me. But now that I'm making some bottles for Shane I'm wondering if I'll be so dedicated next time around. Ha!
ReplyDeleteI'm proud of every Mommy who gets through the day caring for her child (of any age) well!