Weaning

On the 26th I weaned Muffin. It was her 4th birthday on Thursday and we had been talking about it for months. Her 4th birthday was to be the last day that she gets milkies. 

When I started nursing over 7 years ago, my goal was to nurse monkey for a year. It seemed like an acceptable amount of time. When Monkey was months old I attended a playgroup (with a great group of moms who I still rely on for help parenting). I remember seeing a mom nurse her 2 year old and I thought, good for her but I would never be able to do that. Fast forward to Monkey's first birthday. I knew she wasn't ready to wean and so we embarked on the journey of extended nursing. Things were going great, she still needed to nurse.  So when I got pregnant with Muffin it seemed natural to continue nursing her and then when Muffin was born I could just stop like that and make her feel like milkies stopped because of her sister.  I tandem nursed them for 10 months and the summer before her 4th birthday we started to talk about when she would be done. We chose her 4th birthday.  The day of her birthday we nursed for the last time and it was a great smooth transition.


Fast forward a few years ahead and in the summer I have the same conversation  Muffin. we talked about how on her 4th birthday she would be a big girl and she'd have no more milkies. The closer it got to the big day, the more often we talked about it. I figured it would be a smooth transition like it was with Monkey.


Thursday was her birthday, we had Chinese food for dinner like the Birthday girl requested. Muffin and daddy had baked a birthday cake together and it was dessert. After dinner we had our last tandem nurse together; it wasn't exactly like I would have liked, Tutu and Muffin were fighting, pushing each other off.  Later on I had some quiet time with Muffin and we talked about  it being her last time to nurse. With crazy bedtimes I wasn't sure if we would have one more chance or not. We didn't but at least we had this time.  When Muffin went to bed I was nursing Tutu who woke up.  We never had that last moment before she went to sleep.  I cried when I found out she went to bed without one last time. As much as I was looking forward to only nursing one child again, it was sad that my girl is growing up and starting to become a big girl. I know she will always depend on me but this was one thing that only I could provide her. It was out special time.

To say that it's been an easy transition would be an understatement. Muffin doe not like the idea of weaning. She has been begging me for milkies. It breaks my heart because it's obvious she still needs it but I also need a break. It was getting tiring nursing the 2 of them, I tandem nursed them for almost 2 years. I"m going to give it  a few more days and re-evaluate the situation. I can admit that it was the wrong time for her.  Parenting isn't a one size fits all solution. This may only be temporary, in the end I need to do what's best for all of us.


Ania

Thoughts on Nursing

 7 years ago yesterday I entered into motherhood, because Monkey was in NICU I didn't get to nurse her until until the next day.

My first time nursing ever

My first time nursing was stressful, the nurses were telling me it was taking too long, telling me my latch wasn't correct but not correcting it. They told me I needed to supplement with formula because it was taking too long for her to nurse and her sugars would drop and I wouldn't be able to take her home. I did give in and supplement.

For the last 7 years I have been nursing at least one child. I have breastfed through 2 pregnancies and 1 miscarriage. I have extended nursed Monkey until she was 4. I tandem nursed Monkey and Muffin for 10 months. I am still extended nursing Muffin and Tutu and tandem nursed the 2 of them for 20 months and counting.

 Tandem nursing Tutu and Muffin

I nurse on demand, to me breastfeeding cures all, hungry, tired, cranky, upset, bored all solved by breastfeeding.  I co-sleep so that it's easier to nurse through the night and I don't have to get up. Seriously I think this is a lazy mom's secret to success.

First time nursing Muffin

Here the baby is sleeping while the older sibling gets their share.

This picture of me tandem nursing the girls cause some controversy a few weeks ago on my facebook page. Almost 4 years after this picture was posted.

Below are my rants on the subject of being told I was brave to post these pictures on facebook.  The person who made the comment sent me a private message clarify it was the amount of skin showing that was brave as facebook is such a public forum and not the act of nursing.  To me showing this much skin or more to help make the act of nursing normal is acceptable. I know not everyone is comfortable with it but making the act seem normal helps other mothers in the future. I never have shied away from nursing in public with little ones. I don't do extended nursing in public because I don't want to educate others when I am out with my kids but I should if I feel so strongly about the subject. I guess the next time Muffin asks to nurse I will let her. If I talk the talk I should walk the walk.

Facebook Rants

I am very passionate about breastfeeding, I have been doing it for almost 7 years non-stop. I have tandem nursed twice (still doing it the second time around), I have nursed through pregnancy and miscarriage. I do not go around flaunting my breasts in public (well there was 1 time in college but only my friends saw ;)), but I do think that breastfeeding should be viewed as a normal act. I don't think it's brave for me to post a picture of me nursing. Breasts were meant to feed our children. It doesn't make me a hippy because I do extended nursing, or tandem nursing. It makes me normal. How do you think children got fed before formula was invented? It was breastfeeding. If someone wasn't able to there was wet nurses but it was still coming from a breast. Everyone has a right to choose to feed their child but breast is best. I will not judge you for how you feed your child; I do not walk in your shoes. I am proud of the fact that I am able to to do this for my children. I MAKE MILK WHAT'S YOUR SUPERPOWER?

Also we should be supporting one another as mothers and parents. There isn't enough breastfeeding support out there. I am blessed with many wonderful mamas who are knowledgeable about the subject, others aren't so lucky.

thanks guys, my whole thing is why is it brave to post a breastfeeding picture. I am not breaking ground with this. People show more boob on a regular basis then I do in the picture. Maybe if we thought of breastfeeding as a normal act then it wouldn't be considered brave.

 You probably know more about me now and have see more of me then you would have thought but it's all for a good cause.

Ania