Last Tuesday was my little J’s 7 month birthday! How time has flown (time really flies when you have little ones, and you realize just how fast babies and children really do grow up). Anyway, I’ve decided to take a whirl down mama’s lane for today and make Tuesdays my “Mama Thoughts” posts, and today marks the start.
Motherhood is anything short of “easy” but I believe it is all about perspective and really just changing your priorities in life. I’ve had my battles for sure, and I am growing and changing everyday with my little boy. One particular topic for today (which I know is such a sensitive topic, and for good reason) is breastfeeding vs. formula feeding. I’ve been tossing and turning over this one. Up until quite recently I exclusively breastfed my son, and then slowly started introducing solids at 6 months ie: rice cereal, then fruits & veggies. I am still breastfeeding my son, however I have started to supplement feeds with formula. Let me tell you why. I struggled everyday with pumping my own milk. I don’t know if I am alone in this, but I would have a very short window of opportunity to pump and once that time was gone, I could sit there forever and hardly get anything out. I also want to mention that I am one of those ladies who has never felt the let-down of milk and never even leaked, I’ve never had an abundant supply of milk, ever. On top of it all, I have one super producing breast while the other breast doesn’t let down as much milk (this side also causes my son to burp air quite a bit, strange, right?) So here I was most mornings trying to pump out of both breasts but only really getting milk out of one. The side effect of pumping milk out of one breast… Very very sore! Super painful and then when you go to nurse later, baby latches on and the pain just continues. I felt so discouraged and a failure. I also felt very trapped. I didn’t know what to do… And as a mother a part of me felt fear and worry that because I couldn’t produce pumped milk, that my baby would go hungry, and another part of me just wanted to be like the girl I was before baby, able to go out and get my hair done, go on a date with my hubby or just go get my teeth cleaned! My motto is “happy mama = happy baby” and at the end of the day I needed peace of mind. Taking that plunge truly scared me, but now I actually feel liberated. I know in my heart I did and am doing the right thing for us. Plus I value even more now the time we spend together nursing, bonding and cuddling and never having to worry or stress again, well at least about this.
the bumbo seat is definitely an essential, my son loves to sit in it and play// this blabla doll, is his favorite stuffed animal // seventh generation overnight diapers work like a charm! especially since he now sleeps soundly throughout the night // little J can’t get enough jumping in the graco jumper, as parents we love it because it has a tray that acts like a bumper, also the length settings were better than another brand we tried // for supplementing we have only used earth’s best organic sensitive formula //
