nursing round two

Last night I nursed Rosie for the last time. While I will miss the closeness that accompanies nursing and I am happy with the decision.


When Lilly stopped nursing it was abrupt and unplanned. (she got teeth and was a biter. While we took a break to -ahem- let me heal, she decided she preferred the bottle and that was that) I was very emotional about it and cried a few times. I had feelings of guilt on top of the sadness and was just an all around mess.

This time I made the decision to stop. We needed a bit more flexibility in our schedule (and Rosie needed to learn to sleep through the night- that's a whole different post) We've been working on the switch since the beginning of the month and we took our time. I savored every drop of the end. I closed my eyes, listening to hear breath and nurse. I felt her chest rise and fall against mine. I watched her little eyes close and her little fingers twiddle her lovie. It was perfect.

She is a champ with her bottle and loves the freedom it gives her. I can hardly keep her still long enough to finish. She likes to drink a little on her back then scoot over to sit on my lap and have some there. Then turn sideways and recline in my arms, then sit back up and repeat.

I'll admit I was tempted to feel guilt again but I think it came from outside pressure. There are many moms who choose to nurse for the first year and beyond and while that is great it wasn't for us. This post from Danielle was super encouraging to me and helped me beat off that annoying feeling of mompetition and the accompanied guilt and/or shame I felt from trying to compare myself to other moms.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaanyway- moral of the story is that we are all happy and excited about our new found freedom. Time to go on some adventures!

♥

ps- I am OBSESSED with those jammies. I found them at the Habitat for Humanity thrift store. They give me hearts in my eyes.