I Hung Up My Horns!

After 15 and a half months of pumping, I hung up my horns in St. Louis! :lol:

Two weeks prior to my trip, I began pumping only once a day, instead of twice. Because I've had this trip to St. Louis planned for so long, I knew I wasn't going to make any changes in any routine until I returned. While I hope to continue to breastfeed Caroline for as long as she wishes, it is time we wean her from the bottle. I don’t want to run into the same issues I had with Elizabeth and the perpetual ear infections. So, for the last 2 weeks I’ve sent just one bottle to school, and the last two days I haven’t sent any at all. You can read in my last post about the difficulties we’re apparently facing with the transition to milk in a sippy cup. I’m trying to get her to drink soy. We’ll see how it goes. Thankfully, Caroline is a good eater, and a champion reverse-cycler when it comes to Bfing. While having a super clingy baby each and every night isn’t exactly convenient, I wouldn’t trade this time with my baby for anything.

It’s funny… I’m sure Elizabeth was ready to wean from the bottle way before we did it, at 18 months. It was ME who wasn’t ready! With Caroline, it’s different. I’ve never fed her from the bottle, so while I’ve worked so very hard to fill those bottles each and every day for 15 months straight, there isn’t that nostalgic feeling of her drinking from a bottle. Admittedly, I did catch myself a few times gazing at my pump over the past two weeks with a twinge of something, (sadness, maybe?) Our relationship has come to an end. Me and my pump. We’ve been through a lot together. My pump has served me well. I plan to do a super clean this weekend and properly store it away. For what, I don’t know. I guess only time will tell. J
Meanwhile, I hope Caroline continues to breastfeed for a good long while. As long as she wishes. I don’t see that coming to an end anytime soon. As Elizabeth often tells me, “Caroline loves the boobie.”