Sunday, January 31, 2010

I'm DONE breast feeding

Well, after being emotionally & physically exhausted for the past few weeks trying to pump every few hours, I'm giving up. I really pictured myself breastfeeding for a LOT longer than 5-6 weeks. And I'm a little disappointed in myself for not hanging in there & trying to give him more breast milk. But, Jarrett never did latch on to my boob & it has been such a task to have to get up & pump, put it in the bottle & then feed him. My nipples BURN & hurt from having to pump all the time. I'm going back to work February 16th & it will probably be better not to have to pump anyways. Jarrett's pediatrician told me to ween myself from pumping. I only pumped twice yesterday & only once today. My boobies hurt, but hopefully they will stop producing milk soon. He seems to like formula a lot & I'm trying to not be to bummed that I've decided to stop. It is a lot harder than I ever thought it would be. He has been eating formula & breast milk since he was born. I've never been able to produce enough to keep up with his demands. It makes me sad, but we'll be okay :)

Jarrett had his one-month appointment last Thursday (he was actually 5 weeks). He weighed TEN POUNDS! The boy is growing like a weed & he is getting a little more alert every day. We love him so much & thank God every day for this little blessing. We went to Central Christian Church again today & we really enjoyed the service. Jarrett did great in the nursery. We love the church & look forward to attending many more times & getting involved. The praise & worship is wonderful.

Here are a few pictures off my phone of our bright-eyed boy!



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19 comments:

  1. Don't be hard on yourself Bonnie! You did your best. Olivia has been formula fed since she was born and she's been doing great. It's going to be hard enough when you have to go back to work, so you don't need that extra stress that you've been carrying around. Even though things didn't go as planned, your still a great mommy!!!

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  2. Caleb never would latch either, and after one month of pumping my milk supply decreased. I was sad, but formula works just as well, and it will help your little man grow big!

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  3. Give yourself some credit girl...you've done GREAT!
    Love the pics. of Jarrett...as always, so cute!
    Glad you're liking your new church. I'm so happy for you :)

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  4. Don't feel bad. You tried. I only did it for about 3 weeks because my body was producing basically no milk. I was so much happier and so was my baby after I stopped trying. She slept better and was just happier in general. You're doing great!

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  5. Don't be hard on yourself - you did the best you could! I think it's probably wise to stop pumping before returning to work. I think it will make it easier on you. He's such a cute boy!

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  6. BF'ing is definitely the hardest thing I ever did, it's no walk in the park, and I really get annoyed at the ladies who go on and on about it like it was the easiest thing ever. Don't beat yourself up, your baby will thrive regardless if by bottle or boob. :) He's a little chunk! I just love the pictures of him all wide eyed.

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  7. Hey, you gave it your best shot. It is hard work and I never produced enough milk either.

    Can't believe how big he is getting...So Adorable!

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  8. Don't beat yourself up. I'm proud you stuck with it as long as you did. He's healthy and that is all that matters. Have a great week.
    P.S. Can't wait to see Connor!

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  9. Well you know how I feel about it. You did your very best and that's all that matters. Audrey was formula fed and is healthy as a tiny 2 1/2 year old horse. So do NOT beat yourself up!!!

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  10. 10 pounds! Such a big boy. You're doing a great job!

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  11. You did the best you could and that's all that matters! I am hearing nightmare stories about breastfeeding and have myself all worked up about it. Any hints...pass my way!

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  12. You did great sticking with it for 6 weeks! The most important thing is a happy, healthy baby and a happy and emotionally healthy mommy. You're doing great!

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  13. great job for giving it a try, I hear it's not for everyone! Give your some credit for trying though! You are doing a great job Mommy!!

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  14. You made it a few more weeks than I did. I only breastfed Layla for 4 weeks and didn't with Hayden at all. Don't stress about it! You are an awesome mommy and he is the cutest boy!! I love the I love mommy shirt :)

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  15. I didn't even try to breast feed - so you made it way longer than I did! Just a word of advice on drying up your milk. The doctor told me to wear a tight sports bra to help with the discomfort(even sleep in it) until the milk stops coming in.

    You little man is adorabel and he is healthy. That is all that matters. Give yourself a rest and enjoy the time you have left before going back to work:(.

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  16. Bon dont you feel bad about a this lovely lady!!! ok?! OK!!! Some times things always go as planned and thats more then ok!! Formula is perfectly fine and he will grow up and develop perfectly!! don't worry about a thing, you are doing great! and he is just super duper darling!!

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  17. We are in the same boat! I just stopped pumping two weeks ago and just finished giving her breast milk last week. We are straight formula now. She is really fussy and I think it is the formula. We are trying a new kind, but it makes me feel so guilty that I didn't pump longer! But if I had to pump one more time...I was going to die! :) I know you know the feeling!

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  18. I'm with everyone else: don't beat yourself up. It's not the end of the world.

    And in formula news: make sure you sign up on the website for whichever formula you're going to use. They mail out some pretty rockin' coupons! (I breast-fed but had to supplement with formula for my little "hungry-mungry" as we called him....). Anyway---we'd get similac coupons for like $9 off! It rocked.

    I don't know what formula you use, but here's the formula path we took (granted, it was 4 years ago!):
    started out: Enfamil Lipil.
    switched to: Similac b/c it was one of those situations where you run out of formula, and use the sample can that came in the mail...
    turns out, it was sweeter, and Gage took to it better!
    then: found out that we could buy the Similac at Sam's Club!
    then: found out that the Member's Mark or Maker's Mark (whichever one is NOT alcohol, but is the generic brand for Sam's Club) was the same as the Similac, or at least our Gage thought so---so we switched to that.
    Saved a ton of $$.

    I'm just sayin'....

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  19. I am so glad I found your blog site-It has been really hard to find anyone or any support for this type of situation-Today is my first day with no nursing or pumping. My baby boy is almost six weeks. I had to begin supplementing within the first week because I wasn't making much milk either. I went to a support group, and it just made me feel even worse. I really wanted to be able to breast feed Jesse through the first year-but sometimes things don't quite work out the way we hope. I am a little sad about it, but at least I can now relax a little, and not let that stupid pump run our lives-the circle of pump, bottle, nurse, bottle, pump becomes an all day every day routine that is hard on mom and baby-Kudos to all the women who try-and please, to those who think we gave up-don't judge us until you have been in our shoes-God Bless

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