Closed Up Shop

No more breast milk over here! Brighton is a weaned, lean, bottle drinking machine! I wanted to document/share my experience so that a. I can come back to reference this with my next child, and b. to give confidence to those nervous to go through the ordeal.

Lets cover the background, just so you know our situation to compare to your own. 1. B stopped taking a bottle at 2 months. 2. We were a pretty scheduled team over here. I didn't ever really "demand" nurse if you will. 3. She stopped sleeping through the night from about 4 months to 11 months... didn't really matter what I did. It was all on her own terms. 4. She's a pretty good solid food eater.

Okay, so a few months back I decided that I would start giving her a sippy cup. I like these Nuby's... all the reviews complain that they leak, but so do the 5 other kinds I bought. Anyway, her doctor is against juice, and I'm not too hip on it either, so I just gave her water. After she got the hang of it, I began adding a tiny bit of 'Next Step' formula. I started with a 1/2 scoop per 8 oz and over the course of a month or so, kept increasing it until we were to the full 3 scoops. So she drank some formula with meals, but we still nursed 4 times a day.

I went back and forth about weaning her (I was planning on doing it before her birthday because I have a wedding to go to on the 22nd), but I just didn't feel ready. Well one night she was having a really good day, so I decided to just try to give her a bottle of formula at bedtime. I had decided at that point that I wasn't going to wean, and just knowing that I didn't have to, made it less scary to try. To my SUPER pleasent surprise. She sucked that 8 ounces down and went right to sleep! We still nursed the next morning, but after a little talk with Amy, she had me convinced that if I was that lucky, and obviously Brighton was ready, that I should just do it. So... I stopped right that second.

It was a little rough in the mornings, especially when she would wake up a little earlier and normally she would just nurse and most likely go back to sleep. She refused the bottle when she woke up, but then I just fed her breakfast a little earlier, and she took a bottle just fine for her naps and bedtime.

At first I was careful not to let her have anything to drink except her bottles at her 2 naps and bedtime. But yesterday afternoon I let her have her bottle while we were out, and then I came home about an hour later, and put her in her crib. She snuggled with her blanket, and went right to sleep!

So all in all, it wasn't at ALL what I imagined the process to be (slowly dropping feedings, crying herself to sleep, ornery days, sleepless nights, etc.)... We had a few minutes of fussy, looking-at-me-like I-was-crazy-trying-to-give-her-a-bottle-when-I-have-boobs, sessions. But she got over it fast, and within about 3 days she'd forgotten all about nursing.

If you're thinking about weaning, or just dreading the day... don't be. Even if it's hell, whats a few days? It's SO worth it! (If you're ready)

Braden and I went out for dinner and a movie the other night. Left Brighton with her Nana and had a great evening! Oh the freedom :)

So far the damage isn't as bad as I thought it would be... if you know what I mean.