I have loved breastfeeding Jonathan. At first I was skeptical (it just seemed so weird that someone was going to be milking me) and I was frustrated that no one (Jim) could really help me with the middle of the night feedings. But now, 5 months into it, I wouldn't do it any other way. In addition to the health benefits for Jonathan (complete nutrition + antibodies) and me (breast cancer), it is terribly convenient (no mixing and warming formula, no bottles to wash...) and cheap, always available and has been a great bonding experience for me and Jonathan. Plus it has helped boost my confidence that I am fit to be a mother to see my body naturally be able to produce food for the little guy. Overall fantastic- I can't recommend it highly enough.
BUT I was talking to a friend of mine a few days ago who has a 4 month old and who is doing the formula thing. Apparently her baby is going for 8-10 hrs at night without waking to eat and has been doing so for a month or so (for comparison, I still think a night of 2 4 hr stretches is akin to Christmas coming early). So the reaction to her statement in my head was "Are you *&%^$ing me?!?!" Hopefully what came out of my mouth was more appropriate. But because I am so flipping sleep deprived, I really have no recollection of what I actually said.
I had a friend who exclusively breast fed and her baby was sleeping through the night at four-five months for hours and hours and hours and hours. It took Isaiah until six or seven months...it's just such a crapshoot.
ReplyDeleteWe've started doing the pumping thing this past week and it's worked out pretty well. It lets me give him 1 bottle a day or so (usually at night), which gets Laura at least one longer stretch of sleep. Plus I want to be able to feed him. It's a pretty nice balance so far.
ReplyDeleteDid you ever intentionally wean Isaiah from eating at night- you know the whole let-them-cry thing? Or did he naturally start sleeping longer with more solid foods? I am hoping Jonathan will just come by the sleeping longer thing naturally.... is that naive??
ReplyDeleteHi Krista, we did the "let them cry" thing (we followed the babywise book) and Liam was sleeping through the night at 3 months and then 12 hours in a row at 6 months (I breastfed for 12 months, although when he was sleeping that lot I had to pump at night). Definitely a personal choice thing, I know. Let me know if you want to hear more about it...
ReplyDeleteOnce Daniel accidentally slept longer one night, I started giving him a paci when he woke unless he kept crying and I knew he just needed to be fed.
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