Today’s gratitude: I am grateful that for five years, my body has produced abundant, healthy, apparently delicious milk for my kids. I’m grateful that I’ve had the opportunity to nurse them each for the first years of their lives. I’m grateful for the rocker my mother gave me to nurse in, and the nursing clothes I inherited from friends. I’m grateful for the memories of tiny babies nestled against my chest, and active toddlers bouncing on my lap trying to get a little more milk. I’m grateful for funny nursing games invented by each babe.
And I’m grateful that tonight, my husband was willing to sit with our crying two-year-old at midnight after I said, “No,” and wished her a loving good-night without giving her middle-of-the-night milk. He told her silly stories and helped her look for the moon out the window until she fell back asleep.
When Serena turned two just a few weeks ago, the thought of weaning her was not even on my horizon. But that very day, as we tucked her in after her birthday party, she started nursing A LOT MORE. I don’t know why. She went from nursing once in awhile during the day and once briefly around 2 a.m. to near-constant breastfeeding. I think she was attached to my nipple for a total of 10 hours yesterday. Clearly this can’t continue.
I’m not using Elizabeth Pantley’s wonderful book, this time because, frankly, we are exhausted and Pantley’s methods are exhausting. I have integrated them as fully into my life as I am going to and now its time to just move on, possibly with a few tears.
I don’t expect us to give up nursing entirely right now. But I need to set some firm limits, for my own health and sanity. Which is the beginning of the end of breastfeeding for me. I suspect we’ll have another year at least of cozy morning nursing and ouch-I-fell-Mommy!!!! nursing, but our days of carefree, endless milk are fading as fast as the summer sun.
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checkout this method for night weaning. we did it at 15 months when GA was still nursing every 3 hours at night. 3 pretty painless nights http://www.drjaygordon.com/development/ap/sleep.asp
This method is basically what we did with both kids. Pantley’s book was helpful in our crafting our approach, but no book or method is right for every baby anyway. For the first year, we did family bed and nursing through the night. A 15 months with the first and 12 with the second, we moved tot to her own bed and gradually did loving comfort to sleep, taking turns so that both mom and dad got at least 4 hours of sleep. Night weaning was hard, but it was done gently, with no negative results in the mornings. I wish you much success! You and Martin and Serena can get through this and move on to better sleep at night, leading to more awake, fun-filled day adventures with well rested parents and kids!
As someone commented on the LJ feed, this is typical behavior when the two-year molars are coming in. Which doesn’t make it any easier to deal with at night, but at least gives you a bit of context
Night-weaning our first (at nineteen months) was immensely hard, so I sympathize.
I came to your blog via Get Rich Slowly and I just want to say that I LOVE that picture of you nursing. I nursed my boy to a little bit after two years old and I loved it and get all teary when I think of nursing.
I had a similar experience in nursing like yours. Well, I guess we have to give the kids better alternatives they can get hooked to if we want to stop breastfeeding. I agree it pains but we have to do it some day!
I had a similar experience in nursing like yours. Well, I guess we have to give the kids better alternatives they can get hooked to if we want to stop breastfeeding. I agree it pains but we have to do it some day!
I had a similar experience in nursing like yours. Well, I guess we have to give the kids better alternatives they can get hooked to if we want to stop breastfeeding. I agree it pains but we have to do it some day!
Good lord. I stopped night feeding my baby at 5 months. Your kid was two and you were still night feeding? Insanity.
(And yes – I breastfed exclusively. So did all my sisters. I've never heard of a toddler eating at midnight. Even a friend with an underweight boy doesn't need to do that.)
There's sacrifice and then there's just sadism.