The end of an era is near...

I have 14 bags of frozen breast milk left...and, then...it's done. At one point, my entire freezer (I'm not even kidding here) was full of milk. So full, in fact, that I donated nearly 400 ounces and hardly made a dent. Now, I'm lucky if I have about 40 ounces left. It just seems like it's gone so quickly. 

I'm sad.

And, happy. 

I successfully exclusively breastfed my son for 6 months. He, exclusively, received no other milk but breast milk for over a year. And, in recent months, I've added in organic whole milk. And, when this frozen milk is gone, it will be the end of an era. All of his milk, save for one lingering morning nursing session, will be whole milk.

At the tail end of this journey, I stopped mass-producing. I was pumping 3 times a day at work, now...I pump once before I go to bed, and barely produce enough to make it worth it. 

I'm sad.

And, happy...

It's a hard, hard thing to describe. I'm eager to return to a lifestyle that doesn't include a pump, or excessive water drinking. I'm eager to not worry about thawing milk, cleaning pump bottles, rotating a milk stash...

But...it's been a huge part of my life. AND, and even huger part of my son's life. It's sad to see it come to an end. I will continue to nurse him in the morning when he wakes up, for as long as he choses (within reason), but..within a week or so, his sippy cups will be full of cow's milk. 

I'm sad. And, happy.

But, most of all...I'm so proud.