Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Weaning and Diet Pepsi. A Sad Tale...

It's true, I did it. I managed to wean The Queen.




It was kind of sad, but had to be done. I found that I had GAINED 12 pounds since I had the baby. That's right ladies. The scale moved the wrong way. I came home from the hospital after having Abigail. And then gained weight while nursing.

Not. Cool. I started having weight related health issues. And I needed to start some medication that I couldn't take while nursing. So I decided to wean her at the ripe old age of 8 months.

I thought I would have to wait for my sister to come home to keep Abigail for three days and just force her to eat. But I am glad to say it wasn't necessary.

I just woke up one morning and realized she hadn't nursed in a while and still seemed to be in a good mood. That is when I decided to just starve her out a little and try some breastmilk in a bottle. She took two ounces. That was the beginning.

I pumped for a while and slowly weaned her onto formula. She was pretty stubborn for weeks refusing to take more than 2 or 3 ounces at a time. Just enough to not starve. She has just now started to take four or more ounces at a time. This tiny little thing has a big attitude. I am a little frightened for the future;)

Unfortunately when I quit nursing, my hormones changed. my ICand endometriosis, which had been in remission for four years, came back with a vengeance. These conditions are hormone related. I had kept them at bay while I was pregnant and nursing Brenley, then pregnant and nursing Abigail.

This means a lot of pain. And a major life style change. I get to cut out many foods I love that are bad for me(chocolate, processed foods, spicy foods) and foods I love that are good for me(citrus, tomatoes, bananas etc.), and last but not least, Diet Pepsi:(


That's right, my soda. That I rely on. To get rid of my headaches. And my boredom. and my sleepiness.

(sigh) Farewell, my friend. You will be missed.....


(and yes. I have seriously considered pumping and dumping for the rest of my life. And just live with being fat. Don't tempt me...)

The good news is I am down twelve pounds since I stopped nursing. This is probably a combination of not nursing and being too afraid to eat anything;) Now I weigh what I weighed the day I got back from the hospital with Abigail. Woo hoo:(

10 people know I love comments!:

Patrice said...

Hey, I have IC, too! We should sit down and complain to each other. Truth be told, it isn't in a flair right now so I'm pretty ok with it.

Elizabeth Larson said...

WHOA Sherry! First of all, I quit drinking soda around 6 months ago and it is amazing how good I actually feel from it! Seriously, I LOOOOOVED my Dr. Pepper and drank it for the same reasons you did (well, headaches rather than migraines), anyhow, it took a little while, but I actually feel much better now. So I really hope that happens for you too!! And then I just weaned Keaton too- its a sad tale, but my milk was just going away, and hes 10 months, so I let it go. It is so sad, but also I gained weight while nursing as well (partly because of my thyroid, partly b/c of nursing). I certainly dont lose while nursing, so I feel your pain on that. I am SO SORRY about the endometreosis and IC and everything else! What a hard time you must be going through. I wish you the best and I hope it gets better for you! Thinking of you ;)

DANI KYNASTON said...

I always gain weight. I hate it. I am just always starving when I am nursing. I have had to control myself this time. I also have started running. I hate actually having to do something to loose weight. I wish I could just take a pill or something. It sucks!

Danielle said...

Wow that is a lot going on! I hope you are able to get everything feeling better. I have now been not nursing or pregnant for 11 months and yikes is all I can say about the pain and problems that are going on. It has been 8 years without a break from being pg or nursing. I am going to go to the dr to see about endometriosis. No fun!

You will feel so much better with out the diet pepsi. It will take a little bit but you will. My husband is able to concentrate so much better with out his beloved dr pepper. Thankfully for me I hate all of those drinks. Thankfully only a couple of sips of mountain dew will take my migraine down to a dull ache.

Vidal's Nest said...

So sad. Both the nursing and having to quit the drug/drink! I think I'd die without my Diet Coke. Sad, but true.
Love that picture of Abigail. She is about the cutest thing ever!
Way to go losing twelve pounds.
I only lose weight when prego then at my 6 week check up I gain. Nice!

kristifritzel said...

I know how hard it is giving up the addiction. Be prepared for a ocnstant headache for 3 weeks. And to be honest, No, I really don't feel any better.
Good for you for losing the weight. Any weight loss is a good thing. just take credit for what you have lost!

The Taylor Family said...

um, want to hear something so sad? I weigh now more than I did when I was pregnant. Yikes!

Sarah said...

Yeah for you! My chica is 3 months and I'm fatter than ever, so I feel your pain. Congrats on the weight loss and good luck with all the other problems now.

Sarah said...

Yeah for you! My chica is 3 months and I'm fatter than ever, so I feel your pain. Congrats on the weight loss and good luck with all the other problems now.

Rhonda said...

That's awesome! I think I'm the only person who can totally relate to you in the situation. I have Endo too. Weird. Wonder if that has something to do with the weight gain????
Sorry about the soda. I don't drink it myself. It must suck though.