The Swiss Life of a Bulgarian born Canadian Mom

Monday, February 8, 2010
Bottles Up, Uhrr, I Mean, Bottoms Up!

Yesterday, my baby graduated from the breast to the bottle. Big step. How do I feel? Well, my feelings are mixed.

Those of you who know the kind of problems we had with breastfeeding from the start might think, hey, what mixed feelings, rejoyce! Yes, I do rejoyce, but I'm also a bit sad.

I rejoyce because I'm free. I can now eat and drink whatever I want and whenever I want and as much of it as I want. I can also wear normal bras and tops, and not ones with openings on the front, which, mind you, my husband thought....well, nevermind now, let's not get off topic here :) In other words, I now have my body back, fianlly. But it's also sad that my baby's all grown up and so fast. I will miss the closeness, the nurturing and being needed.

I think back 6 months ago and remember the infections, the fever, the sore, cracked nipples and the pain, the leaking, the loooong, frequent feeds. Man, it felt like my baby was hanging on my boob the whole time. I remember eating something I loved and then having to pay for it with a cranky, collicky baby because it didn't agree with him. Yes, when I think of those times, I sure am glad they are behind us.

But if I think back only a couple months, breastfeeding had become easy and even, yes, enjoyable. I could afford to eat a bigger variety of foods without my baby getting an upset tummy, the leaking had stopped or subsided quite a bit, the nipples had gotten used to the constant abuse and were not hurting anymore and my baby was feeding less frequently and much quicker. So then it was actually fun. And convenient and economical. No need to worry about washing and sterilizing bottles and such, whether the temperature was right, whether the powder was running out and we needed a new box stat! And if we were going out somewhere, no need to pack all those extra things with us and worry where we are going to get hot water from.

Not to mention the health benefits to my baby from drinking Mommy's milk. Well, he wasn't exclusively breastfed as is recommended by WHO and everyone else and their mother, but he did have Mommy's milk every day for his first 6 months. We couldn't have him exclusively breastfed with all the problems we had in the beginning. When Mommy's boobs were pulgged up and baby was not strong enough to pull the milk out, he got dehydrated and we gave him a bottle or two right from the start. And later, as he was growing up to be a big and sturdy boy and needed more than Mommy could provide, we gave him a bottle or two here and there. But that only helped to get him used to the bottle and now we have absolutely no problem with the weaning. Lately, he loved his bottle more than the breast even.

We've also now started some solid foods, like baby cereals and mashed banana, which we love. Time flies by so quick that before I know it, he'll be eating steak and fries with a fork and knive. So, I cherish every minute with my angel and every step we go, stage after stage.

Cheers All!