... a breastfeeding weaner that is! Two weeks ago today was our last nursing session. I'm gonna write this post in Q&A form even though no readers actually asked questions about my nursing experience. I am hoping this format will keep my rambling to a minimum (because I could go on and on about this).
How long did I nurse?
I am so, so proud to say that we made it to a year!! Anyone that has even tried nursing one time knows that it is quite a feat! We had our share of issues in the beginning, but we were old pros by the 3rd month. Ok, I'm done bragging... : p
What was your weaning game plan?
I dropped one feeding per week. This was suggested by everyone and their mother (literally) as the best and easiest for both mom and baby to wean. Aidan dropped a few feedings all at once during the nursing strike he had when he was 10 months; he was down to 3-4 feedings per day after the strike. To read more about his nursing strike, click here. The first feeding I dropped was the mid-day feeding. Most days it took quite a bit of coaxing to get him to nurse during the day so this was an easy one to drop. After about a week without that feeding, I decided to work on the morning feeding. Again, most mornings he wasn't all that interested in nursing so that one was also easy to drop, [I disliked dropping this session because I could no longer pop him on the boob and relax in bed for a bit longer in the AM. ; p]
Finally, it came time to drop the middle of the night feeding. This one was kind of rough... there were definitely some sleep deprived nights and some tears involved, but we got through it alive. I could write a whole new post about these middle of the night feedings, so I'll cut myself off here for this post.
The last feeding to go was the bedtime feeding. I was worried that this one would be as hard as the middle of the night feeding, but it actually went pretty well. Although, we did have a couple nights of confusion on Aidan's part. He would hand me his pacifier and just lay there waiting, as if to say, "Ok mom, I'm ready to get my bedtime snack." It was pretty cute! I just gave him some water, put his pacifier back in his mouth, and then cuddled him for a bit. That's all it took. He never cried to nurse and went down just as easily as he did when he would nurse before bed.
Overall, I think our weaning game plan lead to a great victory! :)
Now, about me... how did weaning affect my body?
More specifically, how did it affect my boobs? It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Yes, there were about 5-6 days of severe discomfort. I didn't have much engorgement, but there was definitely some tenderness. Ouch, ouch! I took some meds when it got really bad and just waited it out. By day 6 of no nursing, there was a big improvement in the tenderness. On day 8, they weren't tender at all and had deflated shrunk down to their pre-pregnancy size. This might sound crazy, but... I sooo missed my tiny boobs and I love that they are back! : D
I think the weaning process also had a small affect on me mentally as well. I had some *ahem* hormonal moments. These 'moments' weren't any worse than my most tame PMS 'moments'. <---- From my perspective, Aric's opinion on this might differ slightly. ;)
Do you miss nursing?
Yes and no.
I miss the cuddles. Aidan is way too active to cuddle with his Mama, so I lost most of the scarce snuggles I did get from him when we stopped nursing. I miss the ease of nursing... pop him on the boob and BAM, he's fed.
I don't miss my big boobs... AT ALL! I don't miss having to watch what I eat or drink. I can drink coffee anytime of day and if I want to I can have a [or 4] glass of wine at dinner and not have to worry about his bedtime feeding.
Overall, our weaning experience went really well! I hope I can have a similar experience with our next one.... [which won't be for awhile]
Here's a little teaser for my next post about Aidan's 1st Birthday...
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| "Hey Everyone... I'm ONE now!" :) |
If anyone has any other questions about my breastfeeding or weaning experience, feel free to ask!
