Lyla had her first bottle of formula today.
I felt guilty about it because
1. It smells weird
2. It's powder.
3. How could it be a replacement for breastmilk?
I don't feel guilty because
1. I've been exclusively breast feeding/pumping for nearly 8 months.. 2 months longer than my goal.
2. The switch to formula will be gradual, so she will continue to receive breast milk for another month or so.
3. Pumping has been making me lately feel absolutely stressed and very crabby and short with Erik.
4. Pumping is very time consuming. I pump every 2.5-3 hours and each session takes 20 min to half hour. That's a lot of time in a day.
5. I feel RELIEVED.
I won't go into too many details, but lately, pumping has been making me feel worn down and worn out, and Lyla seem to be going through a growth spurt, which means I need to pump even more often to catch up to her needs. Yesterday I went off on Erik for forgetting to put a bit of milk in the fridge because "every oz counts!" and then I just broke down, and couldn't stop crying. I felt like I had gone mad. This was the breaking point, the build up of many months spent pumping. We came to the decision together to start slowly switching Lyla to formula. When we first gave it to her, I initially felt kind of bad about it, but then I felt like a huge weight was lifted off my chest. Now, if I don't make enough milk in a day, we have back up. Whew.
I am so happy to have been able to give Lyla breast milk exclusively through this time. I believe it to be the best for babies, but the time comes for every mom and baby to stop, whether at 2 weeks or 2 years! And our time has come, and I am proud of what I have been able to do!
I felt guilty about it because
1. It smells weird
2. It's powder.
3. How could it be a replacement for breastmilk?
I don't feel guilty because
1. I've been exclusively breast feeding/pumping for nearly 8 months.. 2 months longer than my goal.
2. The switch to formula will be gradual, so she will continue to receive breast milk for another month or so.
3. Pumping has been making me lately feel absolutely stressed and very crabby and short with Erik.
4. Pumping is very time consuming. I pump every 2.5-3 hours and each session takes 20 min to half hour. That's a lot of time in a day.
5. I feel RELIEVED.
I won't go into too many details, but lately, pumping has been making me feel worn down and worn out, and Lyla seem to be going through a growth spurt, which means I need to pump even more often to catch up to her needs. Yesterday I went off on Erik for forgetting to put a bit of milk in the fridge because "every oz counts!" and then I just broke down, and couldn't stop crying. I felt like I had gone mad. This was the breaking point, the build up of many months spent pumping. We came to the decision together to start slowly switching Lyla to formula. When we first gave it to her, I initially felt kind of bad about it, but then I felt like a huge weight was lifted off my chest. Now, if I don't make enough milk in a day, we have back up. Whew.
I am so happy to have been able to give Lyla breast milk exclusively through this time. I believe it to be the best for babies, but the time comes for every mom and baby to stop, whether at 2 weeks or 2 years! And our time has come, and I am proud of what I have been able to do!
I had to put Rylin on formula at 2.5 months because my supply was tanking and after being introduced to the bottle she refused to nurse. So i too had to pump around the clock. It was soooo stressful and so time consuming. Although i felt terrible in the beginning formula was a huge relief she is super picky and would only take Similac soy which is awesome because it turned out she had a milk allergy and was spitting up and throwing up a lot. The soy completely eliminated that and she is a happy healthy baby who is thriving on formula!
ReplyDeleteI agree, formula has been a huge relief! So far I've given up one pumping and already can feel the difference!
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