My 1 Year Anniversary

Not only did Joslyn celebrate her 1st birthday this weekend but I celebrated making it to my 1 year goal of breastfeeding!  I promised myself I would do my best to last until a year and I made it to my goal and am still going.  I was extremely lucky that Joslyn took to breastfeeding instantly. She had a great latch from the first time and we didn't have much of a struggle. I'm not saying it was easy.  Twice I had clogged milk ducts that were extremely painful and those first couple months were really hard. Breastfeeding is extremely exhausting and draining when the baby wants to eat every 2 hours.  There were nights when I wanted to sleep and not get up to nurse her but I did it.  I was on the brink of insanity many times when all she wanted to do was use me as a human pacifier.  I remember sitting in her room crying because everyone else was enjoying their dinner but Joslyn had to eat at that exact moment and Mommy never comes first.  I thought I would never be able to get out of the house because she was always attached to me.  The first time I left her with Daddy and a bottle to go shopping was the best feeling in the world!  I hated that I was the only one that could get her to sleep because she fell asleep while nursing.  I spent so much time worrying I wasn't producing enough milk for her to have at daycare.  And let's not forget the countless hours I've spent pumping since I returned to work. I've been back at work since October, pumping 3 times a day for 15 minutes each time.  Do the math, that's a lot of time spent attached to a machine.  Not to mention the morning pump session before I went to work and the one before bed.  But it's all worth it when I see what my milk has done for my daughter.  She was 6lbs 3.8oz when she was born and now she's over 20lbs.  Even though she's in daycare, a petri dish of germs, she's only been sick twice in a year.  When someone tells me she looks so healthy or calls her chubby, I smile and beam with pride because my milk did that. 

This weekend we started Joslyn on whole milk, after getting the ok from her pediatrician, so I can gradually start weaning her.  I'm taking it slow and plan on keeping the morning and bedtime nursing sessions for the next 6 months if my body will let me but I'm completely over pumping at work and I can't do it anymore.  I'm taking away a pump/nursing session every week.  Luckily, Joslyn has handled the transition really well so far.  She accepted whole milk without complaint and didn't fuss to nurse when I gave her a sippy of whole milk in place of her normal late afternoon feeding.  Some of my favorite moments have been sitting in our chair and nursing my baby girl and even though I'm looking forward to getting my body back, I will miss our special time together. 

In our chair when she was 2 weeks old.