When I was pregnant with Oliver I was terrified of breastfeeding. I was never fearful of giving birth, just breastfeeding and having a newborn to take care. A bit irrational? Maybe so. I had heard plenty of horror stories of other mom's struggles and it all sounded incredibly daunting. Knowing that breastfeeding was the healthiest option, my initial goal was to breastfeed for at least 6 months. As it turned out, Oliver took to breastfeeding like a fish to water. I {thankfully} never experienced any breastfeeding problems {except the initial extremely sore and tender nipples} and it has been easy sailing ever since the get go.
Fast forward to the present. Oliver is now 11 months old and I am beginning to feel ready to wean him, which admittely makes me feel like a bit of a bad mom. I have truly enjoyed the past 11 months of nursing my babe. I think it has made our bond much closer. But I have noticed that I am a little embarrassed to nurse my nearly one year old in public. It makes me a bit uncomfortable. I don't know why I feel this way. I have absolutly no problem seeing other mamas nurse their one year olds or older in public and I never felt awkward nursing Oliver in public before now.
So I have begun to think about weaning Oliver after his first birthday. He only nurses every 4-5 hours anymore and I have noticed that my milk supply has decreased accordingly. On days that I work I only pump twice, once in the morning and afternoon. I have been reading up on the subject {being the consumate researcher that I am} and there isn't a whole lot of guidance on weaning in the books that I have on hand. La Leche League recommends letting the child determine when to wean and if you chose to wean doing it gradually and gently. I am a little afraid to wean him. Once it is gone, it is gone and I am afraid I will miss it. Plus it means that my baby is growing up. I think I may "gradually and gently" cut back on nursing, leaving only the nighttime and morning nursings for now. I would love to hear your thoughts or suggestions on the subject.
2 comments:
Jack is weaned! It was very much a forced wean and very sudden, since I was not ready and was going to keep going (forever?? Ha!) But apparently he was ok with it. I started giving him cows milk in a bottle in the am and before bed (which were the only times he nursed anyway) and he didn't seem to mind too much. As long as he has that bottle, he's happy as a clam.
I must say, I miss it more than I expected. But it's also nice to know that he is a little independent man.
I followed Lola's lead and she was completely finished at 15 months. At one year she only nursed at night and in the morning. I quit pumping while at work when she was 11 months. I had a big freezer stash, but I figured that once that ran out she could have cows milk. At 13 months I asked her one night if she wanted milk or to go to bed and she said (signed) bed. I asked her that for a week and she always said bed. She held on to the morning nursing for another two months and then just stopped asking for it. I think it was a little more sudden for me than for her. You can try cutting out one nursing session at time, replace it with milk in a cup and then a week later cut out the next one. But hold on to it as long as both of you are comfortable with it. It's such a special thing!
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