I'm Not Ready
Monday, May 19, 2008
I always told myself that I would breast feed for 6 months and then assess the situation and go from there. I'm not sure where I came up with this number. I must have pulled it out of the air. Well, Hadley turns 6 months old in 7 days and even though my milk has substantially subsided, I am really not ready to be done. Yes it would be easier for me to stop because I could finally go on a diet, stop pumping every couple of hours, and take my body back. But emotionally, I'm not ready to give up our bond. When I feed her, and nourish her from my own body, and she stares up at me, it's like nothing I have ever felt. I don't mind getting up in the middle of the night to be with her because it is our special time together.
Ok, and there's one other thing, and it's kind of selfish. It's my one trick in the bag that no one else has. If she's over tired and having trouble getting to sleep, pop a boob in her mouth. If she's fussy and nothing seems to be working, pop a boob in her mouth. It's like magic calming juice. If I don't have the magic juice, I'm afraid I'll just be that old broad in the corner with her shirt pulled up.
Labels: baby, breastfeeding
By AllBeehive Monday, May 19, 2008
9 Comments:
oh good lord, if I can nurse for 32 months of my life, you can go for at least 6 more months --the APA recommendation (but IMHO can the middle of night feedings asap--trust me, i'm still making up for lost sleep). It will taper off substantially once she eats more solid food... say down to 3-4 times a day, so pumping is less and less necessary.
note: I'm not saying *anything* about my body after nursing or birthing 2 kids. nothing. not one word.
And she will keep getting all that goodness and health from the boob. I cannot wait to experience that kind of feeling - the special time together.
At this point, there is only one middle of the night feeding and we are unable to discontinue it because we are still working on catching up on the weight she lost. Also, my body is giving up on milk production and I am barely making enough for her to snack on at this point. Every day it is a struggle trying to produce more milk. I'm trying to pump more, take fenugreek and drink lots of water, so we'll see if I can last even another month.
nursing or not, you're still her mommy, she needs you more than ever, and you're a great mom at that. They grow up so quickly!
It is amazing isn't it. After bottle feeding Nathan, I was thrilled that Claire took to breastfeeding so well. It tapers off a lot when you can start giving solids, but you're right that it's an instant soother. There's nothing like that look she'd give me while lying in my lap in the middle of the night.
I hated having to give it up at 10 months because of my medication.
Doesn't six months fly by? I know how you are feeling. I love being the only one that can make my baby so happy and relaxed. Now, he disconnects and stops to look up and grin. Soooo cute!
I've been formula and breast the whole time because I couldn't keep up. He is okay with it so therefore so am I. I'm glad to know I'm not the only one in the world smelling like a big pile of maple syrup covered pancakes.
Relax and enjoy!
Hey Christy,
It's Lottie here. I know, I know, I never comment on your blog (which I LOVE, by the way), and so first I'd like to say how happy I am that Hadley is doing so much better. I really did pray for her and for you and Dave.
I nursed my son for 14 months and for many of the same reasons you've mentioned. It's not called "nursing" for no reason--when your child needs something to calm them, there's nothing better than the breast. When my milk seemed like it was drying up, a lactation consultant told me to drink dark beer every night and it helped a lot. Nothing like a Guiness to make the milk flow. Also, there wasn't enough alcohol content to affect the milk, so there was no dumping. I started Weight Watchers after 8 or 9 months (when I no longer had to get up in the middle of the night) and I was able to lose some of that weight that seemed like it hung around.
In any case, I'm so glad I stuck it out. I'm 15 weeks pregnant now, and I hope I'll be able to do it again.
xoxo,
Lottie
Lottie, Thanks for chiming in! I'm so glad you wrote. Congratulations on being pregnant. I miss being pregnant and I hope you are enjoying it. You should email me pics of your son too. My email is my full maiden name at yahoo dot com. Craig and Lisa and the boys are coming over this week-end. I'll have to tell them you wrote in.
I know how you feel. My breastfeeding goal was 3 months (also a number I pulled out of my butt), altho when I first started, I changed that goal to 3 weeks (it was pretty hard for me to get in the groove of it). But now Madison just turned 3 months last week and I am still doing it. It's hard to imagine not having that middle-of-the-night bond, and I wonder what it will be like. I guess babies can get used to anything, but I know I will kind of miss it! And after all my bitching!!
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