Breast Feeding
Prior to giving birth to Sarah, it was my intention/wish to try to breast-feed her. I am pleased to say that I was one of the lucky ones who managed to breastfeed my baby with no particular problems. I breast fed her while in bed, in my chair, on the sofa and occasionally in public places!
I have to say that it was brilliant not having to prepare any milk for her so that I could nurse her any time of the day or night without having to transfer in to my chair to go downstairs to prepare the formula etc.
Once we got into a routine, Sarah generally fed for about 20 minutes so I soon learned that it would mean that I was pretty much stationary for 20 minutes. I made sure that I was comfortable and that I had, within reach, what I needed for the duration. Muslin, TV remote, drink, mobile phone, etc.
I tried expressing some milk a few weeks in and I can't say that I liked/enjoyed the experience or that I was very successful so I didn't do that again. However, I do know of other Mums who, despite not liking the process, found this to be a great way of continuing to provide their baby with their milk but allowing someone else to do the feed (often enabling Mum to have a good night's sleep etc).
After about 2 months, we introduced formula for the 11pm feed and very soon after, Sarah was sleeping through the night the majority of the time.
Weaning
We started to wean Sarah at 5 months. After spending a lot of time deciding on which high chair would be most manageable for me (lifting Sarah in and out and being able to get up close to the highchair in my wheelchair) we decided on the Nuna Highchair from Mamas & Papas. It was very expensive compared to some of the other highchairs but we felt that as it had i) a fairly small footprint, ii) a removable tray and iii) an adjustable height, it was going to be the most user-friendly for us.
Weaning was much more fun than I expected. Sarah loved exploring the textures and tastes in her mouth and when she started to eat biscuits it was so funny! She also loved sitting up in the chair and it was then that she started to sit at the table with us for our meals. At the age of 2 and a half, she still loves to sit together at mealtimes and often says "We're all together!".