Breastfeeding Journey: Weaning

"You're still breast-feeding?" I got that question quite a bit, mainly with Landon but Owen was equally keen on staying attached to me for as long as he could. For some reason I had this thought that my breastfeeding journey would come to an end one of two ways;

1. My supply would decrease and I wouldn't produce enough to sustain them.

2. They would become disinterested once they started consistently eating solids.

My journey however, looked nothing like what I imagined.

Landon showed little to no interest in eating solids until about 1years old. He would snack on fruit, and enjoyed crackers and oatmeal, but not much else caught his attention. Which meant that I was at his beck and call very often. We fell into bad habits of nursing to sleep and it wasn't until I was 7 months pregnant with Owen that we finally ended our almost 2 year nursing journey.

Owen on the other hand would eat everything in sight and then on top of it wanted to nurse. I became tired of it truthfully. We co-slept and it was draining. My bed was becoming a giant nursing pillow. The thought of leaving him with anyone overnight worried me, he actually refused to take a bottle and as a result his sleep was greatly impacted. I was back to working full-time and the last thing I wanted to do was spend my nights nursing him to sleep, not getting a full uninterrupted sleep, continuing to co-sleep, ruining bras etc..but the truth is I was just tired, it was draining feeling like the only way I could get him to sleep is if I nursed him while laying down, slipped away once he fell asleep and hope he didn’t notice (he was also such a light sleeper - it’s like the moment I left he would wake up and cry!)

So I finally made the decision that after back to back nursing for 3 years of my life it was time to say goodbye to engorgement, nursing on demand and co-sleeping.

So how did I wean?

Step 1: You have to make the decision and stick to it!

I had told myself I was done multiple times within the 3 years of nursing but ultimately those late night cries quickly made me go back on my word. I wasn't sure if I was ready because Owen wasn't very "cuddly" he would only stay still and in my arms while nursing and so it made me nervous to think we would lose that bonding time - but you really have to be ready to commit in order for this to work.

Step 2: Replacement Method(When your child asks for milk, offer an alternative).

I found that simply saying no wasn't my style. I immediately felt guilty, Luckily because Owen was old enough to understand me, I would say "Mommies milk is all gone, do you want baba (a bottle). He would say no and happily run away to go and do something else.

I honestly only had to do this for the first day, I didn't just leave him somewhere and hope for the best, because I tried that and it didn't work. He needed to see me, know that I am saying it's all gone. I found if he was with anyone else he didn't expect it so he was fine, he would take a bottle and go to sleep (even for my husband) but if I was home that wouldn't work.By day two he only asked once and then that was it. He was taking a bottle to go to sleep (both nap time and bed time) . He wasn't trying to lift my shirt and my favourite result was he would finally sleep in his crib.

Weaning was a journey but we have finally crossed that bridge, and as for his affection- it's almost as if the moment we stopped nursing he needed his cuddle time, he went from barely lasting the time for a hug to offering up hugs and kisses freely, sitting on my lap during random times of the day and it's been great. I'm so grateful for the opportunity I've had and look forward to nursing the next babe (one day!)

So my golden nugget take away, wean when it's best for you! There isn't any "right time" but make sure you are ready and will commit to the decision. You got this mama!