If I used to pride myself for being able to breastfeed SJ for nearly 22 months (breaking the record for SY by 7 months plus without any mix of formula at all), I'm not sure if I feel the same anymore now. Would you look at it as a success if your child ends up not drinking any milk at all as early as 2 years old when you decided to stop breastfeeding?
I'm devastated to bits. I've been struggling to decide if I could really stop when she reaches two in two months time. Now that she refused milk of any type (formula, chocolate flavour or even fresh milk) in any form factor (bottle, cup, straw, syringe) under any condition (hot or cold), I not only ran out of ideas but also patience and hope. Not to mention that everyone blames me now too, sigh. If I've not been so bull-headed in refusing to mix formula for her when she's still small, I might not have this problem. Look at SY. She has been given formula at 6 months (despite my consent, of course!), and she's been drinking milk like water now.
What went wrong? I've tried feeding her bottle before she reached 1 and she still drank from it. Maybe I should not be lazy when I was at home - pumped and feed consistently instead of nursing directly during the weekends. Actually, when we realised that only the babysitter could feed her bottle (not even Daddy or Amah or me), I should have done something. But I didn't know what to do. Tried all means to feed her with cup or bottle, all to no avail. I've even passed some formula samples to the babysitter to try, but SJ didn't want to drink. She just wanted EBM, and the only time I saw her drinking from the bottle was at the babysitter's house. Oh, what a cute sight - I tell you I've never felt so serene watching her drink her own milk after she turned 1 at home. And then, the babysitter left. So now, SJ didn't drink any milk during the day time.
Many people rationed that it's ok for a child not to drink milk, as long as she takes other food such as porridge/rice or any other solid. I could easily substitute the nutrients that she lacks from the other types of food. Furthermore, what's so great about milk? It's not as good as we were led to believe. Hmmm... but I still find it hard to accept.
So, how long more should I continue to breastfeed her? Many people was surprised that I'm still pumping now, and think that it's high time to stop. I've reduced my pumping frequency to 1 time yesterday, and I could still get the same amount as when I pumped twice. Over time, it would reduce, I'm sure. Luckily SY still drinks my EBM, else it would have gone to waste. I'm thinking to stop pumping entirely after SJ turns two, maybe will drag a month more since we're planning for a family trip and it's easier to breastfeed when traveling. Well, I hope by then she would want to drink milk...
Wish us luck!
4 comments:
Did you ever try to secretly mix some formula milk into your ebm? Try to add in small amount and see how ur kid react to it. But u may need to get prepared that in case your baby able to detect the different, u will need to forgo the entire bottle of ebm.
Thanks for your suggestion. Well, if I get to feed her EBM, then it would not be that bad. Right now I could only direct feed her, she would reject even EBM in bottle or cup from me...
Sigh... looks like you running out of option, why not try giving her fresh milk? I tot i could stop at 2 years, but I'm still letting him latch on, just not enough for him now. Jon has been drinking from bottle, by my mother or maid for over 6mths so he has no problem drinking milk from bottle. Milk powder already intro to him at 1yr old. :-)
Actually I've tried giving her fresh milk, warm or cold. Still she rejected it. Good for you, at least he could accept other sources of milk. Latching on is just for comfort and he'll eventually settle for none when there's nothing anymore. You've got a substitute for him, so no worries!
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