Weaning

We're on the downhill of nursing.  After our trip to Seattle, the first weekend in April, for a three-day weekend away from C, for a wedding, I stopped my extra pumping a couple hours after he went to bed.  Upon our return, I calculated how much milk I had left in the freezer, and I knew it was plenty to make up for what I don't pump during the three days I work, for bottles at day care.

C has been becoming more and more difficult to nurse during the day--he's just so interested in what's going on, and I can forget about even trying to nurse if we are out and about.  So for the past month or so, if we aren't at home, I've been packing a bottle just in case.  Then, a couple weeks ago, I dropped one of my two pumpings at work, and I started giving him a bottle for one of his two day nursings.  And last week, I started giving him two bottles for his two day nursings.

The gradual process has been going well.  I also started cutting his bottles with whole milk, so they are half and half now; he has seamlessly made this transition without a little bit of fussing.  My supply has also been gradually decreasing.  Going down to one pumping at work was no big deal, and this week, I dropped both my pumpings.  I don't feel full at all, and now I'm just nursing C in the morning when he wakes up, and at night before bedtime.  On our days together, he also nurses for a short period before napping.  On work days, he sometimes wants to nurse as soon as we get home, as well as before bed.

He seems to be more interested in nursing when either we've been separated for awhile or when it's been awhile since he last nursed, so I'm fuller.  My supply has never been abundant; I always have had to work hard to keep my supply established, including my extra nightly pumping (so glad to ditch that pumping in April!) and taking 3 fenugreek pills, 3 times a day fenugreek pills a day (9 total!!!), but by working at it, I was able to have more than enough for him to nurse whenever he wanted, as well as to create quite a freezer stash.

Given my supply, I'm not surprised that it's gradually decreased, and I've had no difficulty with the weaning--no discomfort, no fullness.  However, I am worried about how long I'll have enough to nurse twice a day, in the AM/PM.  Ideally, I'd like to keep these two-a-day nursings up for quite some time, at least through the summer.  C seems to still be interested, and as long as he's interested, I'm definitely hoping to continue. 

However, when my supply is down, he is definitely not interested.  I had a little bit of a scare earlier this week, when he wouldn't nurse in the morning.  Normally, J gets him from his crib and brings him to me in bed, then we nurse lying down.  C will not do this anymore, so I get him and sit in the glider in his nursery to nurse in the AM.  After two difficult mornings, this seems to be working, at least for the past two easier mornings.  I hope it continues.


Similarly, Sunday and Monday, he was fussy in the evening and wouldn't nurse before bedtime.  I'm not sure why, but I feel like I wasn't as full, so that was probably why.  I was feeling pretty disappointed earlier this week.  While I have been frustrated that it is so difficult to nurse in the day, so I knew bottles in the day made sense, I really want to keep the AM/PM nursing. 

I appreciate that he takes bottles well, and it is easier to do bottles when he's distracted.  I do feel a little weird giving him bottles, though.  It just doesn't feel as comfortable as nursing, position-wise.  With nursing, we are just so snuggly and it just fits.  With the bottle, I feel like I can't get him in the right position; he wiggles more, and he is sitting up kind of.  Also, it's not so easy to read while giving a bottle as while nursing--he can see the screen of my Kindle app on my phone, and it distracts him (not the case while nursing).  I'm going to miss my nursing/reading time!


The past two days, he's nursed well in the AM and PM, and because I've been working, he's also nursed well when we come home, so I'm hoping that trend continues.  I guess, though, I'm happy that this isn't a process where I'm forcing anything.  He nurses when he wants, and I never refuse, but he happily takes the bottle during the day when I offer.  And I'm not uncomfortable or engorged, even though I do feel that my supply probably won't last much longer.  We shall see!