We made it. Breastfed for 6 months.
I had always planned on breastfeeding. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but my goal was to make it to 6 months. And here we are. So now what? It’s funny, with a tiny newborn baby, everyone wants to know if you’re breastfeeding, and if you say you are, people give you a pat on the back and a "good for you", ya know, cuz "breast is best". But once your baby is a little older, say, 6 months, all of a sudden the question becomes, "Are you STILL breastfeeding?", or "how long are you going to do that for..." As if suddenly at 6 months your baby has outgrown breast milk. Or like you're gonna be that mom on TV breastfeeding her 5 year old.
Now that I’ve accomplished my 6 month goal, I’m not sure what to do next. Riley will need either breast milk or formula until she’s 12 months old. I thought once she turned 6 months old, I would be fine switching over to formula. But now that we're here, I really have no desire to stop breastfeeding. (1) It's cheaper (free), (2) more convenient for middle of the night feeds (don't have to get up to make a bottle, although hopefully after sleep training there will be fewer middle of the night feeds...) (3) less work for me (no prepping or cleaning bottles). Plus I like it! I really enjoy breastfeeding my little one.
The only downsides to continuing to breastfeed are (1) I'm the only one that can feed her (which is not necessarily a downside) and (2) I don't really get my body back until she's weaned. Both those things I can live with. So I guess we'll just play it by ear from now on. I think I'll probably breastfeed until she's at least 9 months, and then we'll see what happens once we get there!
But annnnnnyway, since there were no pictures to go along with this little post, I thought you might enjoy this video! Notice how she thinks her daddy is soooo funny until the very end, when he scares her... oops.
I had always planned on breastfeeding. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but my goal was to make it to 6 months. And here we are. So now what? It’s funny, with a tiny newborn baby, everyone wants to know if you’re breastfeeding, and if you say you are, people give you a pat on the back and a "good for you", ya know, cuz "breast is best". But once your baby is a little older, say, 6 months, all of a sudden the question becomes, "Are you STILL breastfeeding?", or "how long are you going to do that for..." As if suddenly at 6 months your baby has outgrown breast milk. Or like you're gonna be that mom on TV breastfeeding her 5 year old.
Now that I’ve accomplished my 6 month goal, I’m not sure what to do next. Riley will need either breast milk or formula until she’s 12 months old. I thought once she turned 6 months old, I would be fine switching over to formula. But now that we're here, I really have no desire to stop breastfeeding. (1) It's cheaper (free), (2) more convenient for middle of the night feeds (don't have to get up to make a bottle, although hopefully after sleep training there will be fewer middle of the night feeds...) (3) less work for me (no prepping or cleaning bottles). Plus I like it! I really enjoy breastfeeding my little one.
The only downsides to continuing to breastfeed are (1) I'm the only one that can feed her (which is not necessarily a downside) and (2) I don't really get my body back until she's weaned. Both those things I can live with. So I guess we'll just play it by ear from now on. I think I'll probably breastfeed until she's at least 9 months, and then we'll see what happens once we get there!
But annnnnnyway, since there were no pictures to go along with this little post, I thought you might enjoy this video! Notice how she thinks her daddy is soooo funny until the very end, when he scares her... oops.
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