So while I'm feeling so honest about motherhood this week, I should share that I've been struggling giving something up. Something very special and something that has taken up quite a bit of my life over the past...14 months. Breastfeeding. Yep! I'm still doing it. This is one of those topics that's tough to talk about because most people are very opinionated about it, especially the weaning part. I have lots of friends who have stopped at various points in their babies development for many reasons. Some stopped early on because they just didn't produce enough milk. Some set a goal and once that goal was reached, they quit cold turkey. Others keep going and end up not really knowing how to stop and it becomes more difficult because their baby starts to depend on it for comfort. We are in a weird gray area.
After Owen's first birthday, he gave up the bottle with no problem and switched to whole milk and a sippy cup. We ended out nightly nursing sessions with no problem at all. I swore I would stop nursing him in the mornings. Then we had his surgery to look forward to (I do plan on posting about his surgery soon). I decided I wanted to be able to nurse him when he woke form his anesthesia which turned out to be a very wise choice. Now here we are over 14 months old and still nursing in the mornings. So why the gray area? I don't have to nurse him. When we visited my parents, they would get him up int he morning and allow me to sleep in. If we missed a day or even two in a row it was no big deal. If we are home and I get him up and we want to, we sit in our chair and cuddle while he nurses a bit. I know there's really no problem here, but I think it's time to stop. I would like to have a bit of a break before Baby Boy #2 arrives and I also do not want Owen to want to nurse when I go back to work in a few weeks.
Breastfeeding has been a breeze for us. It came so naturally and the only obstacle we have encountered is when my production went way down and that was because I found myself knocked up again. It has been a very special bonding time that Owen and I have been blessed to share and I guess emotionally that is something hard to give up. he is my baby boy and always will be. Now I know I can't nurse him forever, the thought of him going off to Kindergarten asking for "just another quick drink" makes me giggle. I know there are some people who might not see anything wrong with that. That's not me. But the truth is, I think our time has come to move on and give up our morning time together.
3 comments:
I had the same feelings....I was ready to be done, but part of me was holding on. Not for any particular reason, other than enjoying the snuggle time.
Sarah continued to 'comfort' nurse until she was almost 19 months ~ it was fine! Abi was way too busy and stopped when she was about 9 months ~ it was fine! It's ok to stop when YOU'RE ready. You know he'll be ok. His world is getting so big! Take a little break if you're ready.
love, Love, LOVE the new photo and background! It won't be long till it's time to change again to include the newest member of the family.
Be well and happy, M!
I don't have much experience with it, my colostrum didn't come in until 3 days after birth and my son's a chomper! It was very upsetting especially with all the pressure everyone else puts on you to breastfeed (even other women who had difficulty!). But not having had that experience, I think that if you're ready to stop, you should. But that doesn't mean you have to take away the snuggle time too! I think you could work on still having the snuggle/comfort time with him in your arms, and just not nurse. I'm experiencing a different type of comfort time with my 5 month old, he just needs to be held sometimes, and just sitting there with him in my arms or watching his Dad holding him is the best thing ever :D
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