I am officially done being a food dispenser for Scarlett. Goodbye pumping and expensive formula, hello whole milk. I kept waiting for Scarlett to tell me she was done, feeding her only in when she wakes up and goes to bed at night. I kept telling myself at a year I would be ready to cut her off completely.
I am still feeding her briefly in the mornings as a comfort to Scarlett and honestly myself...there is a closeness that I am not yet willing to give up. Although I still spend an equal amount of time holding her bottle before she closes her eyes at night, I will miss the connection created knowing a part of me is fueling her little body, growing her little fingers and toes. As this stage ends we open the door to new experiments with food, sippy cups and self feeding.
As much as I have loved the stolen moments with Scarlett, her little warm body close to mine, her tiny fingers reaching up to grab my hair for comfort or inch their way into my mouth for a laugh, I knew this was coming. I knew this would be the first of many hurdles I will have to survive on her quest to eventual self feeding freedom. Before I know it she will be cooking her own breakfast and grabbing her own snacks as she is stepping out the door for school. Scary...