I am slowly coming to the conclusion that it is time to supplement with formula. I didn’t realize how emotional it would be to add formula to baby girl’s routine. She is growing up so fast and quickly claiming her independence.

Now, I want her to be an independent self-thinker but I just didn’t think it would happen so fast! First, it was sleeping in her crib, then it was deciding that she didn’t need to be rocked to sleep anymore and could instead fall asleep on her own, and now comes not needing Mom for her nutrition.

It is a bittersweet moment. On one hand I feel like I’ve failed my child [the worst feeling in the world] because I can’t pump enough to meet her needs. It is important to me that she always knows she comes first and this pesky thought that I am somehow choosing work over her by not pumping three plus times a day keeps weighing on me. On the other hand, she can’t nurse forever so by supplementing with formula she is getting the nutrition she needs and learning to be less reliable on me. Plus, I wont feel as overwhelmed with the need to pump.

Yet another example of decisions they don’t emotionally prepare you for in those pesky parenting classes! From what I’ve learned so far these little milestones are much harder on me than baby girl.