It's been one a half weeks since I last breastfed Rye Li. She just don't want her "nen-nen" anymore. I stopped pumping more than 2 months already, leaving it to just direct feeding and this is mostly at nights. I prayed that my supply will last at least till Rye Li's a year, knowing the fact that when I've stopped pumping, my supply will be lower as I only feed her once a day.
In the last month, she mostly drinks from me unconciously, when she wakes up in the middle of the night for milk. When she is fully awake, that is before her bedtime, depending on her mood, she will want her "nen-nen", if not, it will be formula in her bottle. I knew then that this breastfeeding journey for both Rye Li and I is coming to an end.
I'm glad (in a way) that it has been easy weaning her off as I hear stories of how difficult to wean babies off their mom's milk. All in all, she had 90% breastmilk till she was 7 months and after that, it became lesser gradually as it was difficult for me to pump at my new job.
I'm also glad that I've reached my goal (this had changed from 3 months to 6 months and then to a year along the way). It is not easy as I thought it would be but I survived it. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy the breastfeeding part but definitely not the pumping part. Any regrets on breastfeeding? Nah...it was worth the journey (yes, even waking up several times in the middle of the night to pump and also having to work around the pumping schedules; not just during working hours but also over the weekend).
A few nights ago, I tested Rye Li on this...she knows the difference between "nen-nen" and her "milk-milk" in the bottle. I asked her if she wants "nen-nen" and she looked at my chest. Then I showed her my breast and she gave me her grin. And then she shook her head from side to side to indicate "no" (a new found trait of hers to say no to us and now it's always no when we want her to do things). And she did this smiling... I smiled back sadly as I know this is it already. I will miss that special bonding we had.
3 comments:
Awww..I know how you feel when you know the b/f sessions are coming to an end. I have to give it to you tho'..boleh wake up middle of the night to pump. Pui fook big time! I prefer my sleep, so I b/fed Belle while sleeping..hehe.
vien - nice to see you here. thanks for visiting. i had no choice as rye li wasn't a good drinker. she drinks very little at a time which was why i had to pump or suffer in pain. of course there were nights that i was too tired to get up and slept through the discomfort. hehe
Yoo hoo...time to do some work here! I've just tagged you on a meme =)
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