And while I am excited, part of me is sad too.
Julia is weaned.
When I found out I was pregnant again, I decided that I would wean Julia before the end of the year. Before I had planned to keep going for a while after her first birthday, but frankly I would like a little rest before the new baby takes over. So as of Saturday, Julia has been taking a bottle with whole milk and not nursing. Things have been good. She's taken well to the change, and so have I. In fact, Jonathan is putting her to bed tonight. Which I think is really, really sweet.
This whole nursing/weaning thing kinda makes me laugh. Especially when I think about this time last year. I absolutely HATED nursing. It was painful, long, and difficult. I had to wear a shield which made it challenging to ever nurse discreetly in public. I begged Jonathan to let me switch Julia over to a bottle. I begged Julia to switch. But deep down I knew that wasn't my heart's desire so I stuck with it. And from day one I counted down the days till she would wean. Eleven months, 2 weeks, and 3 days. Nine months, 1 week and 1 day. Etc. However, some where around 4 months I started to really enjoy our time together. I finally got rid of the shield and nursing seemed to change. Something I hated became something I loved. With this new love came the desire to nurse well past a year, maybe even closer to two.
Part of me is sad that this phase of our mother/daughter relationship has ended. It's a reminder that she is getting older and more independent. But at the same time it's exciting. Not only is this letting me explore other ways to bond with Julia, it makes me feel accomplished. I nursed my child! For a year! Whoa! Sure, sure, I know that WHO would tell me to go longer, but I am thrilled with where we made it and that I kept going despite set backs. Makes me feel like a good mama.
One really great thing: We started giving Julia a bottle to help her wean (I know people have their ideas about that, but it works for us). Anyways, the great thing is that with the bottle we seem to have even more cuddle time. Several times during the say (more than we ever nursed, which frankly was a lot!) Julia will come up with her bottle, sit in my lap and we cuddle. We read books, listen to music or rest together while we are cuddling. And it is a super feeling.
Monday, December 08, 2008
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5 comments:
That really is so amazing to me how you can experience such opposite emotions/thoughts at the same time during weaning. Also, not sure what you meant by others' thoughts on bottles, but we did a bottle for Evie for a few months. I was nervous about switching her to a sippy cup, but she did amazing well with this sippy cup we had that had a more soft spout. She didn't even seem to notice the switch.
way to go! and i feel your pain! i remember the same thing about "being free" and yet not wanting it to end. weird stuff. just today i thought, "johnny is almost half way done nursing!" and i'm not sure how i feel about that yet. i'm so glad it was a smooth transition for you guys! way to go mabel! :)
Wendy - the bottle thing is more that people have been warning me that it's a bad idea/habit to start. Mostly it's just doctors or medical people who have told me that. I figure it works for us so it's all good! :) Glad to hear that you weaned Evie from the bottle. Julia uses a sippy for water, just not milk. Not yet at least.
Lucky you getting to go to 1yr!!! Little Munchkin weaned himself cold turkey about 3 weeks ago. I had the same feelings as you, although I had an incredibly easy time nursing. 3-5 minutes one side from the get go! I definitely can't complain, but I did deserve a good nurser after the 1st baby- yikes that was rough:) never did figure out how to latch on so the pump was my best friend for 7 months until it no longer did the trick of keeping my milk up.
I commend you! You are awesome! ;-)
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