When I first mentioned wanting to wean G, you all didn't know I was pregnant. Now you do, and it may make more sense for why I am taking on a mom-led weaning stance versus the baby-led weaning I really do prefer. I know that tandem nursing is fine, and I thought I would be okay with it....but I'm not. Call me selfish (I don't think I am), but I just don't want to breastfeed through this entire pregnancy. Being pregnant is work in and of itself--then throw on nursing a toddler--I don't know where the energy would come from.
I do enjoy nursing G; although, a year ago I never thought I'd say that. I'm not sure when we will cut out the final feeding because I am kind of clinging to it as our bonding time--and I know it's the healthiest thing she eats. I also believe, though, that the new baby deserves 100% of my nutrition and internal energy. I don't think it's fair to the new baby to have G leaching, so to speak. Yes, I know that my body could and would compensate for the additional milk / internal energy needed; I just can't help but feel that I am cheating both myself and the new baby if I split myself between growing a baby and nursing a toddler. It's just a personal feeling that I am listening to.
I'm scared to put G out there on her own, immune system wise. I'm starting her on a multivitamin because she doesn't eat as much of a variety as I would like her to. I offer lots of foods, but she got the picky-eater thing from her dad. I bought kid gummy vitamins today and she ate them at lunch time! Sure, I paid a few extra cents for the Winnie the Pooh brand--but that's her favorite, so I figured it was my best shot at getting her to take them.
I don't think I ever wrote about cutting out the morning nursing...
I've been giving G almond milk (or her 'big girl milk') in a straw cup for nearly a month now. The first few days were tough on us both because we stopped going to my bed to snuggle/nurse and started just going straight to the living room--so as to avoid a breastfeeding association. We got used to it and she likes almond milk. We still cuddle on the couch and then have breakfast. It had been going great, but then she started teething hardcore. She just got two molars and she still looks at nursing as a comfort measure. Most of last week, she 'asked' to nurse a few times a day--which she never did before. She was okay with me telling her no sometimes, but then there were other times when she got really upset and threw a fit. I feel bad telling her no, but I worked hard to cut morning time nursing out and I don't want to revisit that. I also know that she has to learn that momma can and will say no. I will not be a yes-mom. I've seen too many of them from my time in the schools; they make me sick. She's not teething right now, or at least not as bad as she was, so the past few mornings have been easy.
Two Fridays ago, I cut out nap time nursing. I didn't know what to expect. On one hand, I knew that she liked it to calm down and get ready to sleep. On the other hand, I knew there were days when she's had to take her nap in the car on the way back from the city and she didn't nurse before falling asleep then. So I just went into that first afternoon with a positive outlook. We had lunch as usual, played a bit, changed her diaper and put on nap time jammies, then we cleaned up toys as usual. Instead of nursing her like I normally would have, I took the 'nursing chair' out of her room and told her that she was a big girl now, so we didn't need that. I sang the nap time song and tried to snuggle her in the living room rocking recliner. She wasn't really interested, so I took her to her room and tried to cuddle her in there. She cried a little bit, but then pointed to her crib. I laid her down and walked out. She cried pretty hard for about 5 minutes but then fell asleep. She took a good nap, and in the days since she has treated our new routine like we've been doing it forever.
We also changed our bed time routine that night--but are still nursing before bed. We used to do everything (including prayer and hugs) before I nursed her in her room. Because I took the chair out of her room--and because we want cutting the night time feeding out to be easier when it happens--we now nurse in the living room, before prayer and hugs. The first night she was totally thrown off and took longer than normal to go to sleep. She's so smart, though, and has treated the new routine as the norm since Saturday night. We had two good nights of bed time, but then had a tough time because of the molars. I don't blame it on the changed routine, because teething has never been easy on her. We've had mostly good nights since they cut through, and I am feeling great about our decisions.
By altering when she nurses at night, I think cutting the last one will be easier because she's already used to going straight to bed once we get in her room. As I mentioned above, I'm not sure when I'll cut it out. I thought I wanted to before my mom got here...but I don't see that happening because mom arrive tomorrow.
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ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading what you have done to wean/begin the weaning process with morning and bedtime feedings. I am still nursing Alethea first thing in the morning and at bedtime and I think she might be ready for at least the morning to go. I think I may try the almond milk since she won't touch whole milk....and that works out better anyway since that's what mommy and daddy use. :-)
ReplyDeleteI never really knew if I should do multivitamins with my son, but as he's gotten older, he's gotten a little more picky. He takes a daily gummy, but I just HATE how much sugar is in the ones available at our grocery stores!
ReplyDeleteI also give mine chewable probiotics. When my friend's kids were little, she used a kind that she broke open a capsule and sprinkled on their applesauce or yogurt. Now that my son is into school, I think the probiotics helped keep his immune system going - he had perfect attendance the whole year!