I thought I would write this down, for posterity. While I would like to think that this may help others understand how it really is, I know that this is only how it is for me and this particular baby. Your mileage may vary.
I pumped at work until Scooter was about 14-months-old. This was 2 months longer than I pumped with Jelly. After this, I started him on soy milk due to the dairy allergy. Right now, I can feel our nursing relationship nearing the end. Now, he nurses once in the night and 1 or 2 times during the day, more on the weekends. Now, it feels more like more of a comfort for him and less of a food source. After I get off of work and go to pick him up and we finally get home during the week, he sometimes likes to nurse. I think this is because he misses me during the day and this way, he gets me to really sit down and focus on him, rather than run in a million directions.
He asks to nurse. He will spit out his chewie, hand it to me, say "Dainch you" (thank you!), and yoink my shirt up saying, "Urse! Urse!" I also ask him sometimes if he wants to nurse. I get both 'yes' and 'no' responses. Him communicating with me verbally is pretty thrilling. The during the day sessions last less than 5 minutes. He is really too busy to mess with sitting on my lap for that long. He is also very wiggly. I like to call it baby Yoga. He will twist himself around, or stand up, all while nursing. He has even managed to be able to nurse and lay his head on my chest but still keep an eye on what is going on in the rest of the room or check out what his brothers are watching on TV. In the night, the sessions last much longer, about 15-20 minutes and he is much more still. I think this is because he is halfway sleeping. I only keep him in bed with me while he is nursing because we both sleep better in our own beds. I like being able to stroke his hair and hold his little hands. Really be mindful of how big he is now and how much he has grown.
I plan on nursing for as long as he wants to OR until he is two. Jelly nursed until he was 19 months before he self-weaned, but he was far less interested in nursing overall than Scooter. Brother self-weaned at 12 months. I am half glad and half not-so-glad about still nursing at this point. Sometimes it feels like a pain in the ass and I can't wait for him to grow out of it. Other times, I am so glad to have this vestige of babyhood with my last baby. He is a busy kid, so having him want to be held and snuggled on my lap every once and a while is nice.
I know I will miss this when it is gone.
7 comments:
SIGH. My baby is done--much sooner than I planned. At about 14 months he was finished. (Unlike a sibling or two I could name who held on till the next baby came.) And why does no one but Swistle talk about the hormonal aspect of weaning? It kicked my butt every time.
*sniff*
Also, why does no one mention that SOME body types do not lose weight while nursing? I dropped 10 lbs--during Christmastime, no less--as soon as he was weaned. The PA at my GYN: "I've never heard of that." O RLY?
Aww. I nursed Bart the longest (he was about 21 months, I think). The girls were both done with me after about the 13 month mark.
*sniff*
Sniff.
You are one of the lucky ones as all of mine were done before they were a year old.
I nursed until the four-year-old self-weaned at 18 months. I did not love nursing and yet I was so sad when he stopped. Hormones totally f. with me.
D2 is still nursing. I honestly didn't expect it to go this long and he shows no signs of slowing down. at 2 he still nurses 3 times a day during the week and more on weekends. I kinda want him to self wean because I don't have the heart to just cut him off. But I worry he won't wean till he's 12 ;)
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