Today is the last day my little girl will have breast milk. Can’t believe it has been just about 8 1/2 months since we first started on the day she was born. My goal was to make it as long as I could. Before Capri was born, I was hoping to make it 6 months. When she was born though I really wanted to breast feed for full year. Especially since I had to have a caesarean. But my supply seemed to start running low around 7 1/2 months and more teeth began to come in.
I feel like Capri was ready to be weaned from breastfeeding. We follow her cues as best we can. She was teething again and I was so fearful that she would decide to use my boobs as teething toys. Ouch!! This disrupted our nice quite time together during feedings. This would be more my cue that it was time to go to just bottle feedings. She did this when she first got her bottom teeth in at 5 – 6 months but we made it threw that challenge. At that time though it seemed as it was an accident. Capri didn’t realize what she was doing when she would bite down. But now at 7 1/2 months (I know only a few months later but it is amazing what they learn in just hours, days, weeks) she was biting on her toys and her bottle nipples when she would get a bottle of breast milk. She understood it made her mouth/teeth feel better.
That was just one of the cues that she was ready for just bottle feeding. More importantly she used to be pretty focused during her breastfeedings. But now at 7 1/2 months she was so much more curious, she didn’t want to be still for long. She wanted to be looking around, playing with her toys or just watch anything that was going on. Even if we were in a quite area with low lighting she was just not as focus as she used to be. Not sure if this was because my supply was lower or if she just started to prefer a bottle. With a bottle she was able to eat, look all around and watch what was going on.
Capri was also learning that she could hold her own bottle which gave her even more independence. She has always liked to do things herself if she could. If you tried to help her she would just stop trying. As if to say fine if you do it if you won’t let me be.
Those are the primary reason I decided that it was time to just bottle feed and start into our freezer supply of breast milk. I also continued to pump but I didn’t get as much as I used to. Instead of getting 4 or 5 ounce out of one boob I would get barely 4 ounce out of both after pumping for 45 minutes to an hour. It was frustrating. We also decided to give her one bottle of formula everyday to make my supply last as long as possible. Which was barely 2 weeks I believe.
Capri enjoys her new schedule and does not seem to mind the formula either which makes me happy just knowing that she is just as happy as always. It reassured me that she is strong, healthy and going to be fine when we make the switch completely over to formula.
Capri & my rational side were completely making sense and I was okay with this next stage we were about to begin. However, my emotional side is now running wild since it is the very end. I mean there is no more frozen breast milk in the freezer. I could keep pumping but I am lucky if I can get 3 ounces now. It would take me days to fill an 8 ounce bottle. I am sad that I will be no longer providing her with the awesome powers of breast milk.
I will be asking my pediatrician lots of questions at Capri’s 9 month appointment. Till then we will be all formula as it is the end of the breast. Until the next baby at least.
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