Sunday, October 24, 2010

Breastfeeding AND Formula

It's official....Ava is a titty trader (Vulgar saying, I know, but it makes me laugh). Here is the story:

The past few weeks Ava had been fussier then usual. She would cry and cry and cry and the only thing that would calm her down would be to breastfeed. It wasn't an issue until I realized I was feeding her almost every hour, sometimes even less. Naturally I was worried I wasn't making enough milk, but I was. Plus it was sad that no one else could hold her because she was crying so much. I noticed she was vigorously gulping down my milk and then not burping after eating resulting in painful gas later. It was an endless cycle and nothing we did seemed to help. She also seemed to have trouble digesting the milk. I could hear her little insides working hard. It was heartbreaking to hear her cry so much. After giving it some thought we decided to see if formula made a difference. The answer: YES, a HUGE difference.

She is so much happier now. She eats and then she plays and then she easily falls to sleep. It's amazing. Of course I am a little bit heartbroken that I am no longer her sole food provider, but I am happy to see her happy. I am still breastfeeding her here and there but I can see the difference.

Meanwhile, it's great to see her grandma and grandpa and papa feed her, and it gives me a little break. PLUS I no longer have to wear nursing tanks everyday (amazing...).

I wanted Ava to be exclusively breastfed but I understand that the happiness of Baby Girl must always come first. I am happy that I was able to exclusively breastfeed her for the first two months of her life. And who knows? Maybe this is just a phase....

1 comment:

  1. Formula had made a world of difference for Sylvie. She is so happy and smiley all the time now. You're absolutely right, the happiness of your daughter comes first. You're doing a great job, Mama!

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