So, Amaia and I are officially done with the breastfeeding portion of our relationship. We have had many ups and downs, but I am really thankful that it worked for us for an entire year. I'm a bit sad that our cuddling time is over, but I also know that parenting is pretty much all about training our little ones to be independent and this is one small step in that direction.
When I was pregnant I assumed that breastfeeding is what we would do. It seemed to me to be the way God designed our bodies to work and I am always for the natural (and CHEAP!!) thing to do. I had heard stories of breastfeeding being a challenging endeavor, but I had taken my class and read up on the basic techniques, so I thought we were good to go. However, once Amaia was born many aspects of breastfeeding were challenging for us. Amaia did not easily catch onto the concept of breastfeeding, so we had to do through great lengths during the first few weeks to teach her the concept. There were many tears (and hormones!) and feelings of discouragement in the beginning, but I think any other momma will agree that when it comes down to it you just do whatever you need to do for the best interest of your baby. To me, the best interest of Amaia was to at least give breastfeeding a hard-working try. It took us a couple of weeks, a little formula supplementing, and many, many phone calls and visits with the amazing lactation consultants, but we made it happen.
We have gone through a few rough patches, but for the most part I have loved it. I have loved cuddling with my sweet little girl. I loved the phase where she played with my hair whilst eating. I have loved that I know I am providing the most natural and healthy nourishment there is for her. AND I loved that I had to put forth no effort in preparing it!
Weaning happened slowly over a couple months for us. Amaia had started refusing to take a bottle of any kind, so it was necessary and I was ready. We started by offering her water in a sippy cup and after a few weeks of that we elimanated one feeding in the middle of the day and replacing it with milk in a sippy. The first few weeks were rough!! We tried many different kinds of cups. It was a very new concept to her, so of course it took awhile and at times I thought she might be addicted to breastfeeding for the rest of her life! In the end, what worked for us was to stick with one kind of cup and keep offering it until she just started catching on one day. I remember one day in particular that Amaia and I both had a breakdown. She got up from her nap and was totally fine until I did not breastfeed her and instead offered her a cup. The poor girl was crying and crying....I felt like she looked at me so confused and sad. Then of course I started crying, which probably only made miss Amaia more upset. Oh it was a sad day!
After she mastered drinking from a cup I waited another couple weeks and eliminated another feeding in the middle of the day, so we were only breastfeeding in the morning and right before bed. I felt like this was the best of both worlds. I was free to go places and have other people watch her during the day, but I still got to cuddle with my sweet little one a couple times a day. Bliss! However, over the past few weeks she has become more and more disinterested in breastfeeding to the point over the past couple days that she really didn't want to do it at all and I am certainly not going to force it. So, I'm sad! But only because I miss my cuddles. I am really glad that we waited and I let her become ready on her own to be done with this phase of life. And I am really glad that she is growing up. I love that she is walking around and having so much personality and life. I love the little girl that she is becoming.
I'll just have to get a bit more creative about how to get my cuddles. :)
Weaning happened slowly over a couple months for us. Amaia had started refusing to take a bottle of any kind, so it was necessary and I was ready. We started by offering her water in a sippy cup and after a few weeks of that we elimanated one feeding in the middle of the day and replacing it with milk in a sippy. The first few weeks were rough!! We tried many different kinds of cups. It was a very new concept to her, so of course it took awhile and at times I thought she might be addicted to breastfeeding for the rest of her life! In the end, what worked for us was to stick with one kind of cup and keep offering it until she just started catching on one day. I remember one day in particular that Amaia and I both had a breakdown. She got up from her nap and was totally fine until I did not breastfeed her and instead offered her a cup. The poor girl was crying and crying....I felt like she looked at me so confused and sad. Then of course I started crying, which probably only made miss Amaia more upset. Oh it was a sad day!
After she mastered drinking from a cup I waited another couple weeks and eliminated another feeding in the middle of the day, so we were only breastfeeding in the morning and right before bed. I felt like this was the best of both worlds. I was free to go places and have other people watch her during the day, but I still got to cuddle with my sweet little one a couple times a day. Bliss! However, over the past few weeks she has become more and more disinterested in breastfeeding to the point over the past couple days that she really didn't want to do it at all and I am certainly not going to force it. So, I'm sad! But only because I miss my cuddles. I am really glad that we waited and I let her become ready on her own to be done with this phase of life. And I am really glad that she is growing up. I love that she is walking around and having so much personality and life. I love the little girl that she is becoming.
I'll just have to get a bit more creative about how to get my cuddles. :)
