I would say “I am regretfully
writing that mine and Ripley's breastfeeding journey has come to an
end already”, but it would be a lie. Not a lie that it's over, but
that I regret it. Honestly, it has actually been a huge relief. Do I
wish I hadn't breastfed? Absolutely not? Do I wish it would have
lasted longer? Yes. So, what gives?
In a nutshell, I was running out. My
supply has been decreasing for several months, but I kept on trucking
since I wanted nursing to work out so badly this time around. We
struggled so much at the beginning with the whole lip and tongue tie
thing that I especially didn't want to give up so soon. I am at peace
in knowing that I did the best I could. We did lactation consultant
visits, even got the lip and tongue tie taken care of (which I still
kind of regret doing, but that's a whole other story), pumped like
crazy for awhile to get/keep things going, drank and ate lactogenic
things to boost supply, etc. So yah, I think we did just about
everything we could.
Although I enjoyed the bonding, the
majority of our short nursing era was just, well, stressful. Before
getting her tongue and lip tie taken care of because she took SOOO
LONG to nurse and she would still be hungry less than 2 hours later a
lot of times. (I know this is normal at first, but she was getting to
the age to where it wasn't quite so normal.) As I've mentioned in a
previous breastfeeding related post (if I remember right), I even
started giving her formula just so I could
get a break from the sore tatas and crying every time she wanted to
eat. Who knows. Maybe that was
my biggest mistake, but I don't think so.
Longer
story short, it was to where she was only getting like an ounce,
MAYBE two, from me. For me, it was even more of a pita to have to try
to nurse AND give her a bottle, especially if we were out and about.
It seemed silly to have to take a bottle if I was still
breastfeeding. She was also not even latching on to one side at the
end. So, I finally decided enough was enough.
What's
the point of me telling you all this? As with every parenting
decision nowadays, it seems, there is a lot of shaming whether you
choose to bottle feed or breastfeed or even stop breastfeeding for
whatever reason. Let's just be open and honest. If you're happy and
confident in whatever way you choose to feed your child, then that's
good enough. It doesn't need to be “good enough” for someone
else. Let's stop the parent shaming. We're all guilty of it from time
to time, I'll grant you that, but in this case, as long as your child
is healthy and growing then that's all that really matters. :)
How
about you? Did you breast or bottle feed your children? Did friends
or family give you any grief for your decision?
