Stuffed dog bellies make the best pillows... don't they??
If you don't want to read about nursing then you can stop reading here.... (just kidding, it's not that bad...)
I've finally caved and am giving my boy a bottle. I was hoping to last till he was a year, but I figure that I needed to start tapering him off somehow right???
Tru started out being a great nurser. In those early days I felt that like was the one thing that we had going for us was that he would nurse... all day long! But at least he would nurse! He wasn't a good sleeper, he cried all the time... but he picked up to nursing immediately in the hospital. It sort of became the one thing that made me feel like I was being a halfway descent mother.
I did give him bottles in the hospital and at home after I nursed him because he was so hungry, and I felt bad. Everyone told me that if I gave him bottles he wouldn't nurse, but that wasn't true. Once my milk came in he was fine, and I didn't give him bottles after that.
However, as Tru has become older and more active he doesn't have the patience to nurse anymore. There are so many more interesting things to look at and do than lay back and nurse!! So I honestly don't nurse him much. Sometimes first thing in the morning if I'm too lazy to get out of bed and feed him breakfast right that second (ya, he is a little impatient when it comes to eating), and I still nurse him right before he goes to bed.
But that was it.... sometimes I'm a little slow. It finally dawned on me that he probably wasn't getting enough liquid during the day if that's all I'm giving him. I bought sippy cups and tried to give him water in that but he just thinks they are a toy. He rarely takes more than a gulp out of that. So Trent talked me into getting the Costco sized formula pack and start giving him bottles. I don't know why I don't like giving him bottles with formula, but I don't. I feel a little defeated. Not sure where this pride thing is coming from either, but I keep thinking, "I shouldn't be giving him a bottle!!! I should just be nursing him." Until I remember why I stopped nursing him in the day.... distraction leads to biting. He doesn't mean to bite me, I can see that in his poor little sad face and his trembling bottom lip when I pull him off and give the mean mom face. It's so sad. I don't really want this good thing to end like this....
Anyway, I'm rambling here. So he is now drinking more during the day, formula in a bottle. I think that once the year mark hits I'll try harder to move him to a sippy cup, and stop the night time nursing. Trent keeps saying that I need it (meaning nursing) more than Tru does.... and I think that he's right. There is something so satisfying to know that you are supplying life to your child after they are born. Not only that but to feel like he really needs me... something that nobody else can give him!! I'm so glad that I did it and would not change that for anything!! But I guess I need to prepare myself for the end....
11 comments:
I'm still nursing Paige 4 or 5 times a day, and I think she would be just fine if I quit, but I guess I still want to have that connection. Plus, it really calms her down before naps and at night, and its part of her bedtime routine. I would like to wean her soon though. You should definitely try to get Tru on the sippy cup. Its been great for Paige. She would never take a bottle, but she's always done well with the sippy cup. Good luck with it all. Being a mom is harder than I thought it would be because you never really know if you're doing the right thing.
That is awesome you have been able to nurse for this long. I switched Sierra to whole cow's milk at a year at the advice of my doctor which is way cheaper than formula. I had her off the bottle by about 19 months which is way later than they say you should do, but it was a hard thing to do. Good luck getting him on the sippy cup! :) My advice for those is to get the ones with the hard tips, otherwise, they can bite through the soft ones and then they will leak.
Addi was a bottle baby from 2 mos. on. Gwen is a breast baby all the way. It's getting time to do nighttime weaning and it's so hard to even think about for me. Like you said, it means so much to me. I need the nursing. It's the most peaceful part of my life, especially those nighttime feediings when noone or nothing else is around. Addi is still on the bottle ... 2 yrs old. We've tried and tried for the past 6 months + to wean her from it, but it's her comfort and she's still not ready to let go of it. But she's accepting sippy cups and grown up cups a lot more, so that's progress.
yada yada ... long comment. You're doing great. Every child is different, every mom is different. You know what's right for your Tru.
Hello dear friend! I loved catching up on your world today! Glad all is well!
Oh gosh. Nursing really is such an emotional thing. WHO KNEW!!??
I wanted to nurse J exclusively (meaning no formula, I suppose), until he was one. At ten months he sounds JUST LIKE TRU!! He would get so impatient, but still be hungry.
I actually was slightly insane, and pumped a couple bottles a day since J was born. So, I had a great frozen storage... So after I would nurse, I would give him those bottles. Within TWO WEEKS the kid was done with me. He realized the bottle was so so much faster!
Of course, I ran out of milk eventually, and just before he was one, I had to give him (GASP!!!) FORMULA!!! ha ha ha Why do we do that to ourselves?? Formula is wonderful. He loved it. Never had a problem.
Trent is right. It's totally way more emotional for the mom then the kid.
Oh, and PS J STILL USES BOTTLES. He thinks sippy cups are a major joke.
There is your novel.
thanks you guys, glad I'm not the only one emotionally tied to nursing. thanks for the tip Jules, I've been using the soft ones because I figure that is more like nursing, but you have a good point.
Give more credit to the kids....they are sooo smart and in the end they will be fine and do what ever they want too.
We as parents make it harder on them because we are they ones training them to do things. I just gave my kids a sippy and later...then sooner they took it. No bottle!
I know what you mean about feeling defeated by giving a bottle. I realized today that my milk supply is dwindling. Although I've rented a pump and am trying to get my milk back, I've had to give Sam a couple ounces of formula to keep him well-fed. It was really hard for me to do - quite a psychological adjustment. But I know it was necessary - I don't want my baby to starve!
And I'm sure that it's a good thing for you too - you don't want to be bitten by a distracted nurser!
-Kindle
It's different for every baby and every person. You should be happy you made it so long and don't feel bad or guilty. Gavin nursed until he was almost 2 and would never even take a bottle (heaven know's I tried). You are a GREAT mom! BTW, I can't believe he's almost 1 year!!
I've just gone through a similar situation with Joshua and it was, and still is difficult. I don't like anyone else feeding him his bottle because I still want to be able to hold him while he eats. I nurse him in our bed in the morning and his room at night to minimie the distractions or he wouldn't nurse at all!
Don't give up on the sippy cup! Joshua's been using it for 4 or 5 months and he's still learning.
Post a Comment