C update
I talked a little while back about the process of weaning, and I also mentioned that at C's 12-month checkup the pediatrician recommended cutting back on nursing, since her weight had dropped off a bit.
Up until that point, I had assumed that she would be getting good nutrition from breast milk, so I kept on giving her as much as she liked. Our pediatrician's advice made me think twice about that. The doc's words at that visit were "She isn't getting much nutrition from the breast milk; she's just using you for comfort." Although she probably could have put it in a gentler way, I can see now that she was right. Her true meaning was probably that breast milk does offer some nutrition, but if she's filling up on just that and not eating a balanced diet otherwise, and not learning to eat the foods that she needs to learn developmentally, that's probably not a good thing.
At first I was a bit wary of weaning too abruptly or disrupting what seemed to be a very peaceful nursing relationship. But I thought we should probably follow the doctor's advice and at least try it, see if there was any improvement in her appetite otherwise, and go from there.
I gradually eliminated one feeding each week. At 12 months, she was nursing once early in the morning (between 4 and 5 AM), sometimes mid morning (anywhere from 8 to 10 AM), before her afternoon nap (about 12), and before bed (about 6:30 or 7 PM). So we started by eliminating the mid-morning feeding, then the noontime one, then the before-bed one. She was still having one feeding when she first woke up in the morning, but she hasn't wanted it for about two days now... so I think we may be completely weaned as of this week. She is now almost 14 months old-- she wins the prize for longest nurser in the family.
Her appetite for "real food" has definitely improved. I had never seen her act really hungry before we started nursing less. Now she lunges for food at mealtimes and eats hungrily. She still has her moments of being picky, but in general, things are going down the gullet much more easily these days.
I like to think that her face is filling out and her legs and arms feel slightly more chubby, but we haven't had a real weight check lately, and we won't until the 15-month checkup in April. She is still small-- M and I often have a chuckle about the fact that half the time when you pick her up, her pants fall off. (12-month size pants are way too short on her, but the 18-month waist size is huge!)
In her typical easygoing way, she didn't mind giving up nursing at all. She very easily accepted the snacks or cup of whole milk I would give her in place of a breast milk feeding. So the anxiety about weaning was all on my side... I needn't have worried about her! We still have plenty of snuggly times as she loves to be on Mommy's hip most of the day-- so I find I don't really miss the breastfeeding either.
I still worry about her getting the nutrition that she needs, because she's picky, so I'm keeping a careful eye on things. But by comparison, things are less worrisome now that they were a few months ago.
The very best thing for me? She now sleeps through the night consistently. This didn't happen for my other girls until they were completely weaned, too. Perhaps it's something about finding other methods to soothe oneself back to sleep. All I know is that I'm very much enjoying the certainty that I won't be waking up at night anymore. I think all of you nursing mommies can understand that, right? Three cheers for C!!
Up until that point, I had assumed that she would be getting good nutrition from breast milk, so I kept on giving her as much as she liked. Our pediatrician's advice made me think twice about that. The doc's words at that visit were "She isn't getting much nutrition from the breast milk; she's just using you for comfort." Although she probably could have put it in a gentler way, I can see now that she was right. Her true meaning was probably that breast milk does offer some nutrition, but if she's filling up on just that and not eating a balanced diet otherwise, and not learning to eat the foods that she needs to learn developmentally, that's probably not a good thing.
At first I was a bit wary of weaning too abruptly or disrupting what seemed to be a very peaceful nursing relationship. But I thought we should probably follow the doctor's advice and at least try it, see if there was any improvement in her appetite otherwise, and go from there.
I gradually eliminated one feeding each week. At 12 months, she was nursing once early in the morning (between 4 and 5 AM), sometimes mid morning (anywhere from 8 to 10 AM), before her afternoon nap (about 12), and before bed (about 6:30 or 7 PM). So we started by eliminating the mid-morning feeding, then the noontime one, then the before-bed one. She was still having one feeding when she first woke up in the morning, but she hasn't wanted it for about two days now... so I think we may be completely weaned as of this week. She is now almost 14 months old-- she wins the prize for longest nurser in the family.
Her appetite for "real food" has definitely improved. I had never seen her act really hungry before we started nursing less. Now she lunges for food at mealtimes and eats hungrily. She still has her moments of being picky, but in general, things are going down the gullet much more easily these days.
I like to think that her face is filling out and her legs and arms feel slightly more chubby, but we haven't had a real weight check lately, and we won't until the 15-month checkup in April. She is still small-- M and I often have a chuckle about the fact that half the time when you pick her up, her pants fall off. (12-month size pants are way too short on her, but the 18-month waist size is huge!)
In her typical easygoing way, she didn't mind giving up nursing at all. She very easily accepted the snacks or cup of whole milk I would give her in place of a breast milk feeding. So the anxiety about weaning was all on my side... I needn't have worried about her! We still have plenty of snuggly times as she loves to be on Mommy's hip most of the day-- so I find I don't really miss the breastfeeding either.
I still worry about her getting the nutrition that she needs, because she's picky, so I'm keeping a careful eye on things. But by comparison, things are less worrisome now that they were a few months ago.
The very best thing for me? She now sleeps through the night consistently. This didn't happen for my other girls until they were completely weaned, too. Perhaps it's something about finding other methods to soothe oneself back to sleep. All I know is that I'm very much enjoying the certainty that I won't be waking up at night anymore. I think all of you nursing mommies can understand that, right? Three cheers for C!!
Look at her beautiful eyes!! Such a cutie!
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