Weaning A Toddler (And A Mommy!)
After twenty-one and half months of nursing my child, you’d think I’d be ready for a break…
Not so much! Truth be told, I am having a much harder time with weaning that Isaac is!
I decided that this was a logical time to stop nursing for two reasons:
Back in the day...when all we did was nurse, poo and cry
One, my sweet angel (insert sarcasm here) is beginning to display some pretty impressive tantrums as he gets closer to turning 2, so I figured the “girls” should get while the gettin’ is good, so to speak.
And two, Chris is taking the kids to the Grand Canyon for 10 days in the middle of June, so obviously there will be no breastfeeding happening then without me there, and weaning cold turkey on vacation seemed unnecessarily harsh.
So there you have it, everything makes sense, right? It’s go time…and at first it wasn’t so bad.
I had gradually gone down to one feeding when Isaac woke up and then one right before bed in the last couple months, and then I cut out the morning one over another couple weeks.
Losing the morning nursing session was no big deal for my big boy, who usually wasn’t hungry for breakfast anyway until 8 or so, and it didn’t really bother me either at that point.
I guess my milk supply was so low anyway that weaning did not bring on any uncomfortable side effects, which I was relieved to know (:
I had more than enough engorgement, leaking, mastitis, and a myriad of other nursing issues at the beginning of this whole adventure, thank you, no need for more now!
Seeing how easy Isaac adjusted to losing the a.m. feeding, I assumed the p.m. one would be more difficult, and it was…for me at least!
My adaptable son took it in stride and handled it like a pro, while his emotional weepy mother had severe separation issues. He called out for milk only once, and when I distracted him with a favorite stuffed animal, he just went down easily and was asleep in minutes.
I should be grateful it was that simple…and yet…
It has been a week now of no breastfeeding at all, and I miss it, so much more than I thought I would! Just the closeness, the nightly snuggle time, the smell of Isaac…it was my special mommy and me time.
(I know, I know, get over it, you gigantic baby, haha, and I will…eventually)
Did anyone else have a tough time weaning, for them or their child?
Oh yes sweet Sarah it is time to wean that precious boy. Although it may be traumatic for you, feel oh so blessed it was so easy for Isaac. My experience happened over twenty-six years ago, but I still feel the pain it caused my poor heart and my daughter. After waking up in the middle of the night with a fever of 104 degrees my Dr. informed me that I couldn’t breastfeed anymore. It was very painful for me physically and mentally, but that didn’t touch the pain my poor precious baby was filling. She refused to eat for nearly three days and screamed her little lungs out while grasping my breasts and rutting around for nourishment. I can still see her poor little face staring at me and wondering why I won’t let her have what she wanted. I’ll just say we both cried for three days non stop. It was a horrible experience. I’m so glad your was more pleasant.
Oh Laura!
I am so sorry that you and Amber had to go through all that! I cannot even begin to imagine! Now I feel kinda silly for whining about my situation, haha (: Yes, I should be grateful it was so easy for him, and I should stop complaining and enjoy a well deserved glass of wine…