On Weaning.

Ellie has 4 razor sharp teeth. Two on the bottom and two on top. 

Ellie likes to bite.

Do you see where I'm going with this?

Ellie is almost 9 months old (What!) and I'm ready to stop breastfeeding. The whole biting thing is pretty much what cinched that decision. Yes, yes I've heard many methods to help this (push their face into your boob, flick their cheek, sit them on the floor for a minute) but honestly? I'm ready to be done. Instead of me trying to figure out when I'd like to stop, one bite and I said "Oh, yeah maybe NOW."

Too bad you can't just stop cold turkey, because many bites later I was ready to be done for good. 

I'm not going to get into it all, but two reasons you should wean slowly (as in more than a week), is because your boobs will be fairly uncomfortable and because there is potential for your hormones to go crazy and sink into a bit of a depression....in a very unscientific nutshell. 

Anyway, aside from pure biting, I'm ready to stop pumping milk for the evenings I leave her with someone else. I'm ready for someone else to put her down for a nap without a huge fuss or at nighttime which was always the hardest 9 times out of 10 for the babysitter. 

I'm very ready to burn my Hooter Hider (for the record, the name of your business blows. just saying), which is a nursing cover that always flowed in the wind or got pulled off by a struggling baby underneath to flash the public.

 AND, I'm reeeally looking forward to the time (which is nearing) for Ellie to have an overnight with her grandparents. None of us can really remember how many months old Wren was when she had her first sleepover. I want to say 8 months but now that seems so little!

I haven't been feeding her the daytime for the last few days, just before bed, in the night (about once) and right in the morning. Each time I am terrified she's going to get me! I keep my free hand near her mouth just in case I need to pluck her off quick. I'm not kidding people, it's the worst feeling. Ever.

SO. Now that it's bottles all day long, I asked Wren if she wanted to help feed Ellie. Well, of course!

See Ellie's hand ready to give Wren a big squeeze on the cheek? Ellie is a pincher as well. Please also notice the hold she has on the nipple of her bottle with those teeth. Yikes.

Ellie just thought this was the best thing ever. Wren is hired!

Okay is this not the sweetest thing you have ever seen....Such a cute little moment with the two of them. Sigh. 

I'm aiming to have Ellie completely on bottles by the end of the week. We have about a million Medela bottles so this won't be a problem!