I've been thinking about nursing a lot lately. I am still breastfeeding my little meatloaf.
I didn't set out to breastfeed for this long. My original goal was to nurse until Ember was 12 months old and after that I'd address it. That milestone has come and gone and here I am, still milking it. Basically, Andrew and I felt that with a daily feeding, Ember was getting a great multi-vitamin that she wouldn't get anywhere else. I wasn't returning to work so it wasn't a hindrance in my life.
Ember began to wean herself in January so I thought I'd let her do the work; we were down to nursing for nap time only. And then she got sick and she reverted. She was nursing several times a day again. Considering she was dehydrated and wasn't interested in food, I was more than happy to oblige. I'm so grateful that I hadn't weaned because I believe it played a HUGE role in Ember recuperating so quickly from the RS virus. Since being sick, we've taken some time to get back to where we were but we're back to nap and bed time nursing only.
No more night time feedings at all!!
Now that Ember is 15 months old, my new goal is her second birthday. If Ember weans herself before then, great, I won't discourage it. However, I would continue to pump for her to have a sippy cup once a day.
Sometimes I'm surprised by myself and this decision. But for our situation, I feel it's the right one. I'm home, it's easy to pump. And, with Ember's allergies, I believe that breast milk can only serve as a benefit to her immune system and fat intake.
I'm curious to know your experiencing with breastfeeding. How long did you nurse? Did you have a goal? Mums to be - what are you thoughts, do you intend to nurse?
I didn't set out to breastfeed for this long. My original goal was to nurse until Ember was 12 months old and after that I'd address it. That milestone has come and gone and here I am, still milking it. Basically, Andrew and I felt that with a daily feeding, Ember was getting a great multi-vitamin that she wouldn't get anywhere else. I wasn't returning to work so it wasn't a hindrance in my life.
Ember began to wean herself in January so I thought I'd let her do the work; we were down to nursing for nap time only. And then she got sick and she reverted. She was nursing several times a day again. Considering she was dehydrated and wasn't interested in food, I was more than happy to oblige. I'm so grateful that I hadn't weaned because I believe it played a HUGE role in Ember recuperating so quickly from the RS virus. Since being sick, we've taken some time to get back to where we were but we're back to nap and bed time nursing only.
No more night time feedings at all!!
Now that Ember is 15 months old, my new goal is her second birthday. If Ember weans herself before then, great, I won't discourage it. However, I would continue to pump for her to have a sippy cup once a day.
Sometimes I'm surprised by myself and this decision. But for our situation, I feel it's the right one. I'm home, it's easy to pump. And, with Ember's allergies, I believe that breast milk can only serve as a benefit to her immune system and fat intake.
I'm curious to know your experiencing with breastfeeding. How long did you nurse? Did you have a goal? Mums to be - what are you thoughts, do you intend to nurse?
With our first I wanted to at least breast feed for the first year. However, around 8 months old he didn't have an interest in it anymore and weaned himself. I was so sad about this! But, it worked out because I was returning to school in a couple of months. With our second, she was very needy with the boob! And she used it as her pacifier all the time and it was wearing me down! She was 7 months old and still woke every three hours at night to get her feeding time in. I tried for about a month to wean her - she was not having it, she wouldn't take certain bottles, she hated formula. So, I pumped for a while and then she discovered real food and got mobile and ended up happy with her bottle. I still feel a little guilty about weaning her when she wasn't ready, but I was losing my mind with her demands about it, I started to feel trapped and stuck. I think, in the end it did us both some good. She's still a sweet cuddle bug at 2 and a half though and I am loving it! I plan to nurse any future kids we may have also - and I will continue to nurse for as long as they enjoy it (and as long as momma doesn't go nutty).
ReplyDeleteHi Sarah :)
ReplyDeleteI nursed Sadie until she basically weaned herself at 9 months. She was a busy baby and was just too distracted by the world around her to calmly breastfeed for too long. I had planned to breastfeed for 12 months, but I have to admit I welcomed the earlier wean.
With this next babe, I hope to nurse for at least 6 months to a year. I am actually really excited about breastfeeding a little one again! Although, the pain of those first latches is not completely gone from my memory!
P.s. I have a blog award for you! You can pick it up at my blog :)