People have been blogging about breastfeeding ( here and here ) so I'll add my two cents.

I am at a crossroads with nursing because Ella weighs as much as someone half her age.

We've overcome a few things, she and I. Her five days in the NICU at birth meant that she was mostly bottle-fed from the get-go.

For those first four months at home, then, her sucking technique was characteristically bottle-like: dimpled cheeks, etc. She has now lost that poor form but she must still be a weak nurser. That is, she is not able to draw out the thicker, richer hindmilk. Our nursing sessions are usually brief, often, and she switches sides (too) frequently.

The GI specialist at CHOP wants me to bottle feed her formula. That would put more weight on her if she drinks it. Her drinking formula isn't a given at this age. But it would certainly undercut nursing. If I start bottle-feeding her, she is not likely to become a better nurser. The two activities are incompatible.

Blood work from last week revealed a low white blood cell count. Weaning her increases her susceptibility to illness even without factoring in the low white blood cell count.

So, in an attempt to ward off the specialist's recommendation that she be admitted for a few days for observation, we are mixing her dry cereal with formula instead of tap water and even gave her some formula in a sippy cup.

"Calories" is the latest buzzword around here.

Frankly, I don't care what she eats so long as she doesn't take it from a bottle. Obviously, my unwillingness to offer her a bottle dramatically decreases our feeding options.

But, at seven months, offering her enriched solid food and the cup seems a step in the right direction and offering her a bottle seems like a step backwards, from a developmental standpoint.

I usually favor pragmatic and expedient solutions to problems, but my negative experience of supplementing Tim's diet with Pediasure for the past four years has deeply influenced my attitude in Ella's case. Not even my husband seems to understand that.