Growing Up

Before this week, Milo had only had a few ounces of formula. It was in the hospital, we were waiting for my milk to come in and the nurses were concerned he was getting dehydrated and turning jaundiced. Probably not the case, but we gave him a few milliliters of formula to tide him over.

Since then he has been totally breast fed or fed breast milk I pumped. I really feel breastfeeding is important to both baby and mama. It promotes bonding, it provides the best nutrition for baby, it transfers some antibodies from mom to baby to protect the baby's immature immune system and it is totally natural. Nothing more natural really and instinctual for both. I realize some nursing pairs have some bumps along the way and there is certainly a learning curve for both baby and mom, but I do think nursing is something worth making the effort.

All that being said, there is also a time when nursing needs to be ceased and the weaning process needs to begin. This could be a different time period for all - some women choose to wean when they go back to work at 3 months and some continue to the golden age of 12 months, while some go past that age. My original breastfeeding goal was 3 months. At that time, neither Milo or I was ready to give it up. So each day at work I pumped enough milk for him to eat the next day. While I knew I was doing the right thing, this started causing a tad bit of stress as I obsessively added up the ounces trying to get to 16 for my big eater.

Once home I thought things would ease up, but it is seeming like Milo now needs or wants more than I can provide. He's constantly hungry and it was disrupting his sleep. So Monday night we introduced a bottle of formula to him. He gobbled it up and quickly demanded more. He also slept better that night.

So I'm starting to slowly wean him from the breast, starting with one or two bottles of formula a day. While I might miss some of our nursing sessions, I am also feeling a huge sense of relief. Suddenly this little person isn't solely depending on me for the majority of his nutritional needs. I think I have served him well, but now it is time to begin to let go and expose him to new tastes and methods of eating. This realization, along with this picture of him make me think my sweet baby is quickly turning into a little boy.