The End of an Era

Okay, so the title might be a little dramatic, but it is kind of a big deal for this mama... This week, I nursed Ellie for the last time. Ever.  It is definitely bittersweet, but it felt like it was time to end this little 24 week long chapter in our lives.

 I was going back and forth about it a little, but had been decreasing the amount that I was feeding her over the past month or so.  She has gotten so used to having a bottle that she would get so frustrated sometimes if my milk wouldn't let down fast enough, which was stressful for me, and based on the fits she would throw, it was a little stressful for her, too.  On top of that, if she did calm down, she would stay calm pretty much only if I walked around the house while she was nursing. So, they weren't the relaxing little nursing sessions we used to have.  The past couple weeks, I only nursed when I felt I needed to, so we were down to about two times a day for a while.  I think the slow transition over the past few months was good for both of us.  She is doing much better with bottles and formula now than she did initially, and I think it is much more sad for me to stop nursing than it is for her - I don't think she will even notice any difference.  Knowing that has definitely helped make the full transition.  Plus, this might sound a little selfish, but I am looking forward to having my body back to myself and letting everything kind of normalize again before we try for #2... And I happily do it all over again! ;) 

On that note, I do miss all of the sleepy, snuggly nursing sessions when she was a little bit smaller.  Yes, she can fall asleep in my arms while I give her a bottle, but having experienced both, I don't think it's quite the same.  Nursing Ellie was a much better experience than I could have imagined - you can read some more thoughts about that here.  I look forward to breastfeeding again in the future, and for now look forward to enjoying a cold beer (or hard apple cider?!) on Friday night. :)