Suddenly, eight months of breastfeeding came to a screeching halt. I know it doesn't make me a bad mom and I've done nothing wrong. But it was just going so well! And to have to abruptly stop is just like a quick punch to the gut.
So here is how it is playing out. Xander was already up to two solids a day. I was going to up it to three, but that hasn't actually happened yet. I kept two sample tins of formula I received in the mail, so I'm covered in that area. I had some frozen milk, but after barely using any I just let the stock deplete. I'd give him a bottle of milk before bed and we ran out of that last night. For my own sanity and to keep up the supply, I am pumping a couple of times a day and then dumping it.
I've got to say I don't like formula. It smells funny and I have to clean bottles. Every day. Xander did not take to it at first but he's better about it now. He knows what the bottle means and grabs for it.
The hardest part has been bedtime. Nursing was part of the routine and apparently a bottle, even if it is milk, does not fit into the routine. So we've had a couple of rough bedtimes. And I'll admit that when he wakes up at 4 am, I'll still nurse him. The medicine should have been mostly pumped and watered down and I'm too tired to get another darned bottle. I'll probably blame every problem he has in the next year on doing this though.
Yesterday I was able to feed Xander homemade pureed peas by mixing them with some cereal and water. He still tried to make raspberries, so sprayed green goo everywhere. One big splat landed on his tray. X saw it and tentatively reached for it. He wrapped his fingers around the spot, slowly closed his hand and raised his hand up to eye level. And looked thoroughly confused as to where the spot went.
2 comments:
So are you planning to pick nursing back up after the medication is over? Just a word of encouragement (either way, really) that you certainly can if you want to. Twice during our BF days I went a week without nursing when I traveled for work and then picked it right back up when we got home. Every kid/mom/family is different, of course, but it worked for us. And if you take this chance to wean, that's all good too.
I meant to comment before on making homemade food. We did a LOT of it--in fact, all of her food was homemade except for prunes and pureed meats. Green beans were definitely the hardest to get the right consistency for me. They were so watery and fibery! We had the best luck with carrots, sweet potatoes, pears, apples, peas (although those were a little textured), and broccoli. Good luck and have fun coming up with foods!
Julie-
I'm still wondering what to do myself. I think I will still nurse at night. We'll see about everything else.
I need to try making some more foods for him. Did you mass produce or just puree whatever you were having for dinner?
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