Bye, Bye, Boobies

During a time when breastfeeding was uncommon, my mom breastfed all four of us kids past a year.  Some of us, past two years!  Jeff's mom breastfed all three of her babies, as well.  Needless to say, we've felt very supported when it comes to nursing, which I'm so grateful for, since it hasn't always been easy. There've been latch issues and reflux.  Tongue tie and breast infections.  Just to name a few.  And then, just when I think we've passed all the challenges, we come to the final hurdle: weaning.

Newborn Amelia

This one is new for me.  Marley weaned very gradually during his second year, until around 20 months, when he just decided he was done.  A small part of me was sad to not make it all the way to two years, but mostly I was proud that we were able to nurse at all with the challenges of his prematurity and me working full time.

With Amelia, it's been quite different.  Sure it was a little bumpy in the beginning, but nursing a full-term infant was still a million times easier than nursing a preemie.   However, she has had pretty much 24/7 access  to me (and the boobies) and, even two months ago, was showing no signs of wanting to wean.  She naturally decreased her breastfeeding over time, as she ate more solids and became a busy toddler.  But nighttime, nap time, and early morning were not going to be easy give up.

12 months old (candidly taken by Marley)

Many months ago, when I asked my mom how she weaned her toddlers, her only advice was, "Get pregnant."  Hmm...okay.  Well, then what?  I really didn't mind breastfeeding early in my pregnancy, but a couple months in it started to get really painful.  Then, my milk started drying up, and it became excruciating.  Jeff and I decided that we'd get serious about weaning when we returned from our trip to France.  Amelia did not agree.  Several times during our trip I heard her whisper to Sarah, "Sarah, lemme tell you a secret: I love boobies and lay down!"  Although I'm totally glad to be done, I already feel nostalgic for those sweet words.

Anyway, I think my mom was onto something.  I'm sure weaning was much easier due to the fact that Amelia was no longer getting any yummy, warm milk.   After we arrived home from France, Marley and Amelia both got really sick, so we put off weaning for another couple weeks.  By the time we really got started, she was only nursing first thing in the morning, before nap, before bed, and if she woke up at night (which was pretty rare, thankfully).

The first week, we eliminated the before bed session.  This was all Jeff.  He gave her a sippy cup of milk and put her to bed at night.   This seemed to go well, and Marley was super happy to have Mama to himself at night.  The next week, we eliminated the morning session.  I'll admit that I handed her my iPhone on a couple of particularly early morning wake ups.  But, that seemed to go fairly smoothly, too.

24 months

Her last nursing session was before nap time on May 24th, one week after her second birthday.  This was the hardest one to get rid of because I had to figure out a new way to get her to nap.  After a little trial and error, though, I think we have it figured out.  I rock her in the chair or carrier and we listen to a song by the Decemberists, on repeat.  She even lets me know when she's tired.  Although, I'll miss hearing, "I'm ready for boobies and lay down," I look forward to hearing, "I'm ready for you to rock me and hear Sons and Daughters".