Tuesday, January 18, 2011

To formula only we go...

As of Monday, no more breast milk for Liam...

I feel fortunate to have been able to give him as much "breast is best" as I could produce, for the first month of life, but I have now chosen to sleep over pumping... Seems quite selfish, I guess, but for me to have the energy to take care of Liam, it is what it is. :-)
Over the weekend, after Liam had been unusually fussy for two days straight, I feel like I reached the point of exhaustion - I totally felt like I had been hit by a truck. I considered that I was coming down with the flu, as my whole body ached, and my head wouldn't stop pounding. I even had a fainting spell when I got up to feed him around 3am... :-/ pretty scary moment... Thank God I hadn't picked Liam up yet!
Thanks to Nolan I was able to get in a few extra hours of sleep on Sunday, and finally on Monday night Liam went back to his usual routine and I was able to get a solid 4 hours of sleep! (since I didn't pump like usual)

I know he will do just fine on formula, many babies are formula fed from day one, but I was honestly hoping to give him breast milk (as much as I could make) for the first 6 weeks... Oh well, I almost made it! ;-) I suppose it is a pride issue at the moment, but I am certain I will get over it pretty quickly. I am already feeling better, physically and mentally, just by getting a few more hours of sleep over the past 2 days - I can't help but think how great I will feel in a week's time! ;-)

Now on to the effects of not pumping; so far, not so much fun, but this too shall pass! :-)

1 comment:

Jessim said...

Good for you for being honest with yourself about your ability to function as a mother while breastfeeding (and sharing it with us) and making a decision that is going to be the best for your family. Now Nolan can share nighttime duties!

I think a lot of 80s babies were almost exclusively formula fed (because that was when "formula is best" and only poor people breastfed) and you're right, they did fine. (I am not one of those "we didn't wear seatbelts, and we are fine" kind of people though!)

Being a good Mom is about a LOT of factors, and it looks like you've figured that out!

Now that you are rested, get to work with that flip camera! I hear there is a cute baby, and ther have not been enough pictures!