Weaning

I have so enjoyed the past 18 months of breastfeeding my sweet baby Norah! From the very first time she tried, she loved nursing with every fiber of her precious little being. It has been such a special time, and something we both enjoyed so much, that it was really, really hard for me to think about weaning her. However, given that I am now 4 months pregnant with her little brother or sister, and now that she is 1 and a half, the time had finally come for this wonderful and rewarding chapter of our relationship to close.

It is making me tear up just to type this!

Jason photographed one of our last pre-naptime nursing sessions last week, before we left for our trip.






We were gone to New Orleans and the Gulf Coast for 4 days, and Norah stayed with my parents to give her a chance to try to forget about nursing. Well, that didn't exactly work, but it was a great break for me and Jason nonetheless! Unfortunately, the first thing she did once we walked in the door was try to nurse! We managed to distract her, and once we got home, we've been trying to change her routine up a little to make it easier on her.

She still asks, but I just tell her that the milk is all gone and then distract her with another activity. It seems like as long as we avoid our usual spots and change up the bedtime routines a little, it's not quite as hard. For example, she used to nurse to sleep in my desk chair and then nap on the mattress up here in the office. Now I'm letting her lay down in her "big girl bed" and fall asleep on her own. She fusses a little at first, but this is 2 days in a row that she has managed to fall asleep and nap in her own bed. It feels like a miracle!





Jason lays by her at night instead of me now, and in the morning we just take her straight to her high chair for breakfast. I think we're in the home stretch now! It's a bittersweet time, but I think we will all get better sleep, and I think it will be good for my body to have a little break before Shiloh shows up!

Oh no, now I'm crying again. Silly hormones!!

I think if we can just stay strong for a few more days, weaning will be behind us and a whole new chapter of our mother/daughter relationship can unfold. Wish us luck!