With Will turning 1 on December 17th and my having two and a half weeks of winter break, I thought it would be a good time to wean him from nursing & bottles during our time off and a more relaxed schedule. A week ago, I dropped his morning nursing session and instead gave him a 360 sippy cup of formula. Since day 1, Will has not shown a big preference or dislike between breastmilk and formula, which I am so happy about! It took a day or two of adjusting, but Will is doing great!
Our new morning routine is: wake up, diaper & clothing change, then Will sits on my lap with his sippy of milk and we sing, read books, and take silly pictures while he drinks. He does pretty well at this. Once he's had most of it, I let him off my lap to play and finish his milk. Because he's over 1 year, he isn't quite as dependent on the milk for his basic nutrients. This makes me a little more lax about making sure he finishes his milk.
Tonight, instead of me nursing him just before bed, Bret had a sippy of breastmilk for him. I was sure to do breastmilk instead of formula as that is what he's used to (calming?) having before his night sleep. Bret gave him the sippy and read a couple of books to him as I sat in our room across the hall, weepy & sad. I know that it had to come to an end at some point and I will always be his mama, but it's sad to see that bonding time go away. Each day will make it a bit easier for both of us!
Some fun facts about how breastfeeding for a year has benefited William:
- stronger immune system
- more likely to have a better social adjustment
- lower risk of becoming overweight later in life
- lower risk of heart disease
- more alert & brain/body development
Benefit for us:
- saved lots of moolah on 12 months of formula
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