Getting Back My Boobs…

After 4 months of exclusively nursing, our journey has ended.  I feel so many emotions while writing this post, some may think I’m a quitter but I don’t see it that way…I see it as a “next chapter type of thing” , there is no rule book on NURSING, therefore no rule on how long you should do it.  Nursing is a full-time job on its own,  and I applaud anyone who has even tried to do it.  With that being said, I felt it was time to wean.  So I did.  I wasn’t eating well, I was losing weight stressing over my milk supply and in reality neither of us were happy (MJ & ME).  She was cranky because she wanted to latch on all day (literally) and I was cranky because I didn’t have a life.  All I did was nurse and pump.  And some may think “Well DUH! That’s how you gotta do it!” But NO!  I stand up for myself when I say I wanted my life back! And that’s completely OKAY!

For a while I googled and asked my husband if I could and should stop and although my husband was 100% honest with me and stated that I should do whatever is best for MJ and I, I still looked for some sort of validation to stop.  And that alone isn’t healthy.  I know myself, my mind, my body and my daughter well enough to know what’s right for us.  And so I decided it was time.  I didn’t quit cold turkey, I cringed when I bought her formula, and I hesitated to give it to her.  I felt like a bad mom, I thought she wasn’t going to like it and throw up, I stood up all night watching her but she took it like a champ!  I did both for a while, I nursed while I was at home and I Formula fed anytime I was out, but then of course my milk supply didn’t keep up and I stopped nursing for good.

It was bittersweet, but you guys couldn’t begin to imagine the struggles we came across while I nursed her.  It got to the point where everyone was cranky, MJ wanted to feed every hour and a half and so if you calculate from feeding, to then burping her, to changing her to then trying to sleep her….by the time she went to sleep she would sleep for a few and then it was time to feed her again.  It just wasn’t something that was fit for us.  Jaiden would always suggest me give her breast milk in the bottle because he didn’t want my boob out and my husband would worry that I wasn’t eating enough.  I lost weight and not the good type of weight.  When I would formula feed we all noticed how content MJ was and that was all that mattered.  I’m glad my family supported my decision on ending our journey even though it was never really up to them.

So in continuation to my first Fed Is Best, I encourage all moms to do what’s best for them.  Other moms that breastfeeding are always going to suggest you try harder or do this or that, but you know what? That is your child and in the end YOU decide what’s best for them.  I am here for anyone that wants to discuss breastfeeding or formula feeding, just leave me a comment or an email.  Thanks for reading guys!