At first I wanted to at least try it and if it worked out then great. If not, then oh well. That was the thought in my mind and Justin's. We were never hard set on anything. When Averie was born, she latched on so easy and did such a good job breastfeeding right off the bat that I just felt it was right.
Those first couple days were perfect and then all of a sudden I was in a lot of pain. I will be honest and say that your nipples will probably get chapped and possibly bleed and have scars, but if you can get through that first week or two, I promise it gets better.
After that it was pretty much a breeze and it was so easy. We never had to prepare too much during the first 6 months because as long as I was with her, she had her food source! I really will say that the first six months was pretty easy for me. I would pump more to stock up the freezer and had a good supply.
I drank lots of water, about 100-200 ounces a day, and ate well. I know a lot of people want to get back in shape after the baby is born, so they try to diet. I always ate heatlhy, but I wasn't so concerned about calories and fat. You burn so many calories from breastfeeding, so if you try to diet too much, your milk supply will be in jeopardy. Your body needs that fat to have a good milk supply. I ate a lot and still weighed less than I did before I got pregnant probably about six months after she was born. So be sure to drink lots of water and eat lots of food. Your body needs it!
I continued to breastfeed Averie four times a day from 6 months on. As she got older and ate more meals, she would feed less and less. Finally at about 10-11 months I started to take one feeding away each week. The week of her birthday, I was only feeding her in the morning. Then one morning when she woke up, I got her out of her crib and tried to entertain her with something else, so she would not want to breastfeed. I did that every morning to keep her occupied until she ate breakfast. Now I think she sort of just forgot about it. Some mornings she is fussy, but we just play with her or feed her and then she is fine.
We took out the night time feeding first because Averie would not take a bottle anymore. If Justin and I wanted to go out at night, Averie needed to get used to not having a night time feeding so we could get a sitter.
Averie started to not take a bottle at about 10 months. This is my fault completely…since I was home with her, I was only breastfeeding her and not giving her a bottle because that was twice the work for me. Not thinking that would lead her to not want a bottle anymore. Lesson learned for child #2! Anyway, so we took that feeding out first in case we had a sitter one night. The first week or two she would wake up at 2:30 am. I would not feed her, just cuddle with her until she went back to sleep. Finally she started getting better.
I tried giving Averie milk, but she didn’t like it yet, so she wouldn't drink anything before bed. One day after reading different stuff online, I decided to mix milk with some orange juice. Well I gave it to Averie and she liked it! I tried it first and it was sort of like a dreamsicle. This was perfect because at least then she would have some substance in her tummy before bed. Now we just mix a little chocolate milk in with the whole milk and she loves it. Hey…you gotta do what you gotta do. Now she is sleeping, well, like a baby again! Mommy and Daddy are loving that!
So this is my story. As you know, different things work for different people. This is what worked for our family and our daughter. Now I need to figure out how to teach this kid how to eat with spoons and forks. Any suggestions? Right now we still just put everything on her highchair in pieces and she eats with her fingers. The thought of putting things on a plate with a spoon makes me stressed. Food will be flying. I would love to hear what others have done.
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