Oh, weaning. I’ve been mulling over this post for awhile now.
I’m right there with Leah on the topic of weaning a toddler. And silly me for thinking I had it all figured out when it came to breastfeeding.
Sophie’s fourteen months old and not showing many signs of letting up. Honestly, I thought she’d self-wean . She nurses in the morning, after daycare (mid-afternoon), evening, and again before she goes to bed. Sometimes she nurses to fall asleep, sometimes not (I know, Internet, tell me UR DOING IT WRONG). And do we sleep through the night? At times, but most often she’s up once in the middle of the night looking for the boob.
And you know, I’m fine with it, maybe even more fine than I expected. True, I do want my body back. As much as some people in the house love the major boobage, I’d happily have my old less-than-full rack back. And even though I swore I wouldn’t be breastfeeding my daughter past the age of one, I am and it’s okay.
Well, mostly okay. I’ll admit it’s getting a little weird. Nursing has become a source of entertainment for her. Her favorite thing lately? Nursing on one boob and using the other like a tuning dial, like she’s trying to contact alien lifeforms in space. I always said I’d stop when she could ask for it. Her vocabulary has yet to include the words, “Boob! Now!” but a recent trip to the grocery store that ended in a screaming, crying toddler practically ripping the t-shirt off my body to get at the goods made me think it’s time to start weaning.
So what’s keeping me from weaning right now?
- I’ll admit it: I fear the tantrums. I fear the meltdowns that will inevitably take place when I say no. And that’s a whole other issue: the word NO. We use it all of the time, yet I don’t know if she understands. Does she understand? Can a 14-month old kid understand no?
- The milk factor: She doesn’t like milk. She’s mastered the sippy cup and we’ve not used a bottle in months, but after a few sips of milk, she’s done. I think the most we’ve ever gotten her to take is 2 oz. The doctor told us at her year check-up that she needed to intake approximately 24 oz. of milk a day. Twenty-four? Mommy fail.
- Laziness. I might be a little lazy. I might actually enjoy it when she nurses. Yet, I know I’ve become a human pacifier.
I’m running a marathon in October, and the last thing I want to have to do is rush from the finish line to the car because my boobs are about to explode. Pumping was fine for awhile, but I’m so over that (I was never a great pumper anyway). So what have I decided? I’ll make a real effort to wean this summer. I want to be done with nursing by October. Is it the right decision? I don’t know. We’ll see how it goes. If I’ve learned anything from motherhood, it’s that all bets are off when it comes to, well, everything.
