Bye-Bye Breastfeeding

Having fed Nahla myself only before bedtime and if she woke during the night for the last couple of months, it was inevitable that milk supplies would come to an end at some point. And now that my little girl is loving her solids and on 4 meals a day, porridge for breakfast, baby yoghurt or fruit for lunch, vegetables with pasta or rice for dinner and porridge again for evening meal, the levels of milk she required was slowly subsiding as well. And not only that; having been a combination baby, boob AND bottle, since birth, lately Nahla seemed to prefer having her bottle, truly loving being cuddled up either in the nook of someone's arm or on the ground on her own, and drinking her milk. And at that cue, I decided enough was enough and officially ended breastfeeding two days ago.

And while in many ways this feels perfectly fine, it wasn't without a hint of sentimentality I packed away pads, shields, (the oh-so-unsexy) nursing bras and the (equally unflattering) tops and tee's designed for feeding in public. I mean; it is the end of one of our many new eras. I am so grateful that I was able to feed Nahla myself for the first 6 1/2 months of her life. It was an amazing- although in the beginning very painful- experience. A bond stronger than anything I have ever known. I remember looking down at her little face in the middle of the night when she was feeding and trying to will myself to always remember that moment and the feeling of contentment, gratefulness and total love.

But as most things in life that is clearly good for you- and your child, it does not come completely easy. I struggled at first, and vividly remember crying on the bathroom floor both times when I had mastitis, which is the sorest thing I have ever experienced. Cracked, bleeding nipples, exhaustion, a fear of exposing myself in public, fear that Nahla wasn't getting enough; the list goes on. But in the end, we got the hang of it, and learnt to- in most parts- love it. Here are some of the pro's and con's I found:

CONVENIENCE: No bottles, no mixing, no measuring, no warming! You can't beat breastfeeding for convenience, especially in the middle of the night. I mean; who wants to fix a bottle at 3:00 am?!

HEALTH BENEFITS: No one can disagree that breastfeeding is best for babies. Even formula makers admit to this. It boosts immunity and contains many things that scientists just haven't been able to duplicate. I know of many breastfed toddlers who have never been sick. However, I also know of other breastfed babies who have had many ear infections and several sets of tubes. While breastfeeding does not guarantee perfect health, if you don't at least give it a try, you won't ever know what could have been.

PUBLIC BREASTFEEDING: I HATED this! It was something I never really got comfortable with, splitting my time between Norway where it is the most common thing ever and Ireland, where it is, if not uncommon, then at least a tad less common than home. Even with my cover-up thing, I always felt self-conscious. Since Nahla always has been getting some formula alongside her mummy milk, I started to rely on bottles when out and about- and loved the freedom it gave me!

BONDING: I do believe that breastfeeding helped Princess and I bond, there is nothing as amazing as knowing your baby is feeding from your own body and the feeling of skin-to-skin contact that you get with breastfeeding is one of a kind.

COST: I saved a ton of money breastfeeding! Seriously; formula is expensive!

My final thoughts on the subject is that I am happy I did it. I am grateful I had an amazing support network in the form of my mum, my family, my friends and last but not least the amazing health station I attend with Nahla. I could call in whenever with the most random of questions and queries, and there were always someone who helped me. It made everything so much easier. I always found it of great help that Nahla had been getting used to both boob and bottle from the beginning, meaning she had no problem taking either. It gave me the freedom to be able to pop out and have someone mind her for a couple of hours, and as I never really got the hang of pumping and did not really have enough milk, I needed formula for this. (I use HIPP Organic) Also, I think BF/Daddy, as well as other family members, enjoyed being able to give Nahla her bottle, it is a very intimate and lovely experience.

My advise would be to give breastfeeding a fair try. Seek help if you need it. Take it one day, or one feeding, at a time and be patient. Even if you eventually go with formula, you will at least have make an educated decision. And remember it does get better! Both Nahla and Mummy are happy we did it, and are now ready for new foods and new adventures!