16 months old

Ariel has just turned 16 months this June!
It's a joy seeing her grow up :)
From a tiny vulnerable newborn whom we were clueless about, to a bubbly toddler who's full of antics and chuckles.
Watching her hit milestones bring out so much  feelings of pride and affection.

I am still breastfeeding.
Previously, I was very concerned about weaning, but I realised a child can actually self-wean.
Well, I thank God that through some trials and errors, Ariel has developed an acceptance for powdered chocolate milk.
she can drink a feed of PediaSure chocolate milk mixed with regular formula milk without issues.
this has led me to reduce my pumping as well. I now pump only 3 times a day.
It is usually in the morning and bedtime when she desires breast milk.
my supply has also dropped drastically.
After a bout of stomach flu for the past 2 days, it was worse. my pumping yielded the lowest volume of milk...ever...

Well, ariel was also down with stomach flu last weekend, and I thanked God she was well after about 2 days of symptoms.
Times like these make me appreciate that I've persevered on in breastfeeding.
Not amplifying on the efficacy of breast milk, but I'm a believer that it does have therapeutic values to help a child get through mild sicknesses.

I foresee the end of my breastfeeding journey soon, if ariel keeps up with her acceptance of formula. It was tiring and inconvenient, and I often marvelled at the lengths I went through to keep up with this exclusive-breastmilk-thing. I, for one, am not a mother with overflowing banks and stashes of frozen milk in the freezer. I produce somewhat more than her appetite and have to work extra hard (like sacrificing sleep) to go through periods of growth spurts.
I did give some thought about how I'd feel when this breastfeeding journey ends.
A little sad I suppose, like probably the sense of loss of not providing nourishment for her anymore?
But that'll be replaced with more quality time and less stress about keeping time checks to pump. Ahh, and the dreadful washing of pumps and sterilizing.

My prayer for her is to always be healthy and happy, and to
grow up in the ways of Christ our Lord.

Miu Miu can say Amen! :)