Weaning

Ryan and I have had a challenging time the last few months. We never did get the hang of the breastfeeding thing. We had a bit of a size discrepancy, so for the last 4 months, I have been expressing my breast milk with an electric pump and feeding it to him from a bottle. He had lost a bit of weight at birth, and we were worried about him getting enough, so we started supplementation in the hospital. Ever since then it has been a challenge to get him on the breast. I have tried every trick in the book! A feeding tube, plastic nipple shield, different holds, different positions, everything. The real problem though , was his inability to get my whole areola in his mouth to feed.

So I have decided to return the breast pump we rented, at the end of the month. I have a large supply of frozen milk in the freezer that should last for another month, and then that's it! He'll be on formula. I don't feel too badly about it, since I was able to give him the benefits of breast milk for almost the first 5 months. He's had it a few times, and he tolerates it very well!