I really wanted to write something and document E’s eating patterns so that when number two comes along, I can look back and see how we handled it the first time. Over the last month or two, E’s source of food has really changed. My goal was the breastfeed E for at least a year, and then let her decide from there, stopping only when I got pregnant again.
E had trouble breastfeeding at first, we had a lot of trouble with latching, she was very rough and liked to smash me between the roof of her mouth and her tongue, but I was blessed with a Lactation Specialist for a mother-in-law and nursing shields and we figured it out pretty quickly. Around 6 weeks we had weaned off of all the shields and she was nursing full time, only taking a bottle of breastmilk when I was at work or out of the house. She continued breastfeeding like this until about 6 months.
At 6 months we introduced cereal and solids and we slowly transitioned from breastmilk only, to breastmilk then solids if still hungry, to solids three times a day as meals and breastmilk when asked for. Around 9 months, she was starting to eat solids more consistently and started learning how to drink water out of a straw. During this time, my milk production really dropped and I was unable to pump. So E started receiving formula while I was at work and breastmilk while I was home with her. We continued this until she was a year old.
But around the year mark- she cut me off! She decided she was done, and everytime I would offer her to nurse, she looked at me like I was crazy and made a “yuck” face. She would turn her head and reject me, so I let her take control and decided to not offer anymore, and that was it. She was done! She stopped breastfeeding and we slowly transitioned her to whole milk. At this point we were still using a bottle for milk and a straw for water during meals- however our pediatrician wanted us to wean off of the bottle and give her milk during meals. Enter the sippy cup.
We honestly had NO idea how to transition to the sippy cup. We bought 3 different cups, which all worked ok, but she wasn’t really crazy about them. So I pulled out a Born Free cup that we had received in a gift pack and tried it out. And although she didn’t love it, she accepted it. She threw a couple of fits while wanting a “bottle” before bed, but only for a night or two and that was it.
By 13 months we had successfully taken E from breastfeeding, to bottle, to solids, to sippy… and it felt great! As a first time parent a lot of our success comes from trial and error, but it feels great when something works. And one of the great things is with the born free sippys we use all of our bottle parts and just change out the spout and add a handle (these items were dicontinued)
I remember going through those phases….it seems like such a big deal at the time but the kids just take it in stride. I remember being anxious every time I knew we had to transition to something new.
That’s great. I was only able to Breastfeed both my girls for 2 months before they went to formula. But both were weaned from bottles to sippy cups by 13 months too. Good job E!
Ah, I will be so sad when Callyn ‘rejects’ me 🙁 But what a blessing you will be able to breastfeed as long as you did!
I will have to book mark this post for the future 🙂
Good job E! 🙂 I also have the born free bottles, and this is one of the reasons…to help ease the transition (hopefully)to the sippy! Thanks for posting about your trial and errors…it helps me feel like a normal person/mommy!
I loved this post! I really wish I was able to breastfeed longer but due to my sons milk and soy intolerance it really made it difficult to keep a good supply and his acid reflux. That is awesome off the bottle at 13 months! Im hoping to do the same!
it’s always amazing to me how many eating transitions we take our kiddos on through the first year. i think it’s harder for mom than them! : )
I’m so glad I came and checked this out! I appreciate your honesty! I’m saddened by the thought of her not wanting to breastfeed but also am excited about the potential freedom and being able to have normal sized-ish breast again!