Ready to be done

[hurricanenellie]

DD will be 6 months on Monday and I just had a huge break down that I am ready to be done nursing. She struggles nursing every single time with distractions and she's teething so it hurts her mouth and she prefers bottles of expressed milk. I am ready to be done to have my body back. I don't even want to pump anymore so I can try and drop some weight. Having huge guilt and looking for some advice and other peoples experiences.

[doglover31]

Huge hugs! Nursing is incredibly difficult! I have heard some advice that has said to never quit on a bad day. Maybe try for a few more days before you decided for sure?
If you do decide to stop there is nothing wrong with that. You have nursed for 6 months, which is incredible. I think that a happy mom will make a happy baby. So if formula will help you be less stressed then I say go for it!

[judyblume14]

Every drop of breast milk fed to your baby is so awesome! And so is every drop of formula!

Breastfeeding and pumping are hard! And can be stressful and uncomfortable. But it can also be so sweet, and a great way to bond. I'm sorry you and your girl are having a rough time right now. Though I agree with doglover31, don't quit on a bad day. Set a goal for yourself - maybe a week from now? And see if there are any improvements? It's easy for me to say that though, I haven't been gnawed on through teething (yet).

You are doing a GREAT JOB. You will make the best decision for your family, and no matter what you choose, it will surely be the right choice. Try not to feel guilty on making a decision to help everyone in your family be as happy and healthy as possible (both physically and emotionally).

I want to tread lightly with the comment you made about weaning from the pump as well to try to drop weight, since I'm not familiar with your situation. I'd just like to encourage you to be kind to yourself.

[alioop1028]

hurricanenellie, I agree with everyone else that you are AWESOME for getting this far. And I'm sorry that you have to stress about the guilt of this at all.

I am about to start weaning this week but I have already been supplementing with formula at 3 months because of LO's billirubin levels when she was born.

I think to ease the guilt and having a trial period of sorts to see how much happier/easier both of you will be is to skip one feeding and see how it goes and then progressively skip another feeding until you're done. If you want to BF again you can always stop anytime during the process but if you decide not to the weaning process has already started.

You will have to taper off slowly anyways when you will wean in the future or your boobs will explode. That's what I'm planning to do anyways. Perks is, when you start supplementing with formula you will still have to pump for comfort and then you will have a lot of back-up breastmilk for the transition.

Disclaimer though my LO is not picky with food. She will eat anything. I hope whatever you decide though that it will make you feel better.

[hurricanenellie]

Thank you everyone for the kind words, encouragement, and advice. I made it to 6 months as of today! That was my original goal so now every day is just an added bonus I suppose. We are moving across country in 3 weeks so I think that is my new goal. We shall see. I really appreciate everyone's support though. Because you're right, it IS hard!

[hurricanenellie]

For those of you that have gone from breast milk to formula, do you think your LO sleeps better now? I'm trying to use the current leap as an excuse but honestly DD has slept a 4+ hour stretch less than 10 times ever and currently only 2 hour stretches at best. I'm seriously exhausted. The thought process on no nursing or pumping and being able to lose weight is simple. Making milk makes me a human garbage disposal. I want all the food all the time. And when I try to cut back I notice a significant dip in supply. I can only pump 2 oz at a time and she takes 3 per feeding so I feel like I would be fighting a losing battle regardless. But right now the plan is to keep on keeping on.

[thelittlesrunmylife]

I have been struggling with the exact same issues and thoughts about bf that you are. You are not alone. You need to do what is best for your family and your lo will be happy as long as her belly is full. 6 months is a big accomplishment and you should be proud.

I'm going day by day and it's not that we are having any real problems but just like you, I'm exhausted with 2 hours of sleep at a time and the garbage disposal thing, yup, me too!

Good luck with whatever your decision may be!

[rkang01]

You are definitely not alone. I know exactly how you feel.

I started weaning on Monday. I never thought I would of made it this far. I have been saying I am going to quit for 2 months now. I had low supply. Then like 2 months ago my DD started to refuse to nurse, she would still nurse at bedtime and in the middle of the night. I pumped during the day. But taking care of two babies (I am a nanny) and trying to pump has been difficult.

A couple weeks ago DD started refusing breast milk from a bottle, I have to mix it with formula. Now she started refusing to nurse to sleep at night. It breaks my heart, but as my husband reassured me, I gave her the very best until she didn't want it anymore and there is nothing wrong with making the second best the first best at some point.

With all that said, I am excited to be done, to not feel so full when we are out and about and I cant nurse or pump, to not want to eat everything in site, To lose some weight, so have my body be mine again. And most importantly to feed my baby without a million things stacked against us.

[yuristar]

I agree! Nursing is hard! Congrats on doing it for so long. The best of luck on this hard transition and hopefully you won't be too stressed about it.