Magic Boobs

For the last five months I've been the owner of a pair of magic boobs. Milk flowed at the push of a button (or rather the suck of a nipple) and all was good in the world.

Well, all was not that good. Sometimes the milk flowed without warning. Sometimes the milk squirted DD in the eye at twenty paces it was so eager to get out. Sometimes DD wanted so much milk that it seemed to be flowing constantly. 4.00am feeds were a killer. Then there was the 24/7 bra wearing that was tantamount to torture.

However, all that was offset with the fact that nothing compared to having her lying next to me getting her dinner. For those times the feeling was totally selfish, she was mine, and only mine, because no one else could do this for her. She could love other people for cuddles, kisses, warmth but nobody else provided the food.

Okay, so that's not strictly true, she was only exclusively breast fed for a few weeks as I introduced bottles early on. However I controlled the bottles and for a long time it was only one in the evenings given by Daddy.

But it all had to end sometime and I chose my going back to work as the trigger. Since our trip to Greece DD has been having more bottles and less breast and for the last week it's been one breast feed only in the mornings. Well this morning was the last morning.

The magic boobs are no more. From tomorrow it's five bottles a day and Mummy gets her boobs back (and more to the point can go to bed without a bra on).

Current medical thinking says you should breast feed till six months but I think that all the extra hassle required just for one or two feeds a day (or, heaven forbid, expressing!) is not worth it. Five months is more than okay and most health care professionals seem stunned we've made it this far.

I know that I was lucky to be able to breast feed and lucky that DD soon settled down into short feeds of about 25 mins at a time which made it much easier. But I also know she's happy on the bottle and I don't have to feel guilty about not making the full six months. Yes I'll probably miss the actual feeding but I sure won't miss the bonus features as listed above that could drive me to distraction.

So we've got a week to both adjust during which we've got to try and sort out a routine for work mornings. Luckily as she'll be having a bottle feed DBF will be able to assist with the feeds while we all rush around like headless chickens getting ready...