I am happy to announce that I am no longer nursing. There was a time when I thought this day would never come and I feared the separation anxiety James would have over weaning. However we had the best experience you could hope for when weaning.
First off, James is over 2 and when I referred to nursing it was just 1 time a day in the morning. James is an early riser and Adit and I are not, so when James woke up we'd bring him into bed with us, he'd nurse and we'd all sleep. This was a great system until he wasn't getting much milk which lead to continuous switching and pulling, etc. At this point I would get no sleep and he would get little milk. The benefits of this practice weren't working for either of us.
I spoke with Adit about it and suggested that he take care of James in the morning instead of bringing him to bed with us. While he was doing that I'd take a shower so James wouldn't have access to nursing with me. This didn't work so well at first. James cried for me and didn't want to drink milk from his straw cup. I felt awful, but knew it was in his best interest. On about the third day James cried, but accepted milk from the straw cup. From then on we never looked back.
It is such a relief not having to nurse him anymore. I say this because he's big and it used to hurt my back to support him. Also I used to nurse in the car which is a serious back killer, not to mention dangerous. I would nurse when we'd drive home from being out on the weekends, it was occasional, but still difficult. My cousin who's a mom of 2 explained how she nursed her kids in the car, just by sitting on one leg to get enough height to lean over. This was an easy method when James was rear-facing, but so much more complicated when he is forward facing. Wow, the crazy things we do as mothers for our kids. I would have thought I was nuts 5 years ago!
Anyway, I just wanted to share that with you all because I struggled with weaning James, more in the sense of I didn't know how. However this was the most natural way where he basically just forgot about it. I do miss nursing him though, there is no other feeling like knowing that you can instantly comfort your child no matter what the circumstance.
Otherwise things have been going well for us. James is talking non-stop and is a very active toddler. He loves daycare and playing with his friends. He likes being chased by Adit and I and kicking soccer balls around. It's so fun watching how James changes day to day. We are simply enjoying the summer with friends and family and hope you all are enjoying your summer too.
Happy reading!
Rachel
First off, James is over 2 and when I referred to nursing it was just 1 time a day in the morning. James is an early riser and Adit and I are not, so when James woke up we'd bring him into bed with us, he'd nurse and we'd all sleep. This was a great system until he wasn't getting much milk which lead to continuous switching and pulling, etc. At this point I would get no sleep and he would get little milk. The benefits of this practice weren't working for either of us.
I spoke with Adit about it and suggested that he take care of James in the morning instead of bringing him to bed with us. While he was doing that I'd take a shower so James wouldn't have access to nursing with me. This didn't work so well at first. James cried for me and didn't want to drink milk from his straw cup. I felt awful, but knew it was in his best interest. On about the third day James cried, but accepted milk from the straw cup. From then on we never looked back.
It is such a relief not having to nurse him anymore. I say this because he's big and it used to hurt my back to support him. Also I used to nurse in the car which is a serious back killer, not to mention dangerous. I would nurse when we'd drive home from being out on the weekends, it was occasional, but still difficult. My cousin who's a mom of 2 explained how she nursed her kids in the car, just by sitting on one leg to get enough height to lean over. This was an easy method when James was rear-facing, but so much more complicated when he is forward facing. Wow, the crazy things we do as mothers for our kids. I would have thought I was nuts 5 years ago!
Anyway, I just wanted to share that with you all because I struggled with weaning James, more in the sense of I didn't know how. However this was the most natural way where he basically just forgot about it. I do miss nursing him though, there is no other feeling like knowing that you can instantly comfort your child no matter what the circumstance.
Otherwise things have been going well for us. James is talking non-stop and is a very active toddler. He loves daycare and playing with his friends. He likes being chased by Adit and I and kicking soccer balls around. It's so fun watching how James changes day to day. We are simply enjoying the summer with friends and family and hope you all are enjoying your summer too.
Happy reading!
Rachel
