Cold Turkey

That's how we're quitting pumping and bottles: Cold turkey.

Because after 10 days away from the pump, I really couldn't stomach the thought of hooking up any more, knowing full-well that I have more than 20 baggies of milk left to get through my last six work days before Cayden turns one.

I had gone down to two pumps a day the three work days before we left for the beach, and I didn't feel any difference at all.

So this morning I left for work confident that my pumping days for my first-born are over. So confident in fact, I wore a real bra and a dress. You know, the kind of dress that would have to be pulled all the way up or all the way down to get to the boobies. The kind of dress that has only graced my body three or four times since Cayden was born, because it's just easier to access the boobs wearing tops and bottoms.

I did have my pump at hand just in case engorgement struck, but I didn't need it. The first no-pump workday in 8.5 months proved a success.

And since I was making a transition, we decided Cayden might as well, too. He's used sippy cups for some time now with water, but typically he still drinks pumped milk out of bottles (with newborn nipples, no less, because we never stepped up). He's had a sippy of milk every now and then, and other than a little spillage due to the faster flow, he's had no issue.

So today we sent a little extra milk to Grandma's (to accommodate said spillage), along with two sippys: one for water; one for milk. No bottles. And he seemed to do just fine.

Time to pack up the Avents and Ameda until next time around, folks!

But we'll keep nursing mornings, evenings and non-workdays for the forseeable future. I promised Brian that Cayden would be completely weaned by the time he's six, and I'm sticking to it.

Kidding! (kind of)