weaned!

kat81again2

I just finished breastfeeding my toddler. We made it 17 months and might have gone longer but I knew it was about time and circumstances made it easier to just stop there.

Here is my story if you are interested!

DS was born small (just over 6 oz) but on time, but we had the worst time breastfeeding in the beginning. I didn't learn how beforehand, and the damage I did on the first day caused pain that lasted several weeks. I don't even know when the cracked nipple pain stopped, because I got thrush a little under a month in (with a different kind of pain), and that lasted two months. I also had a mastitis scare during this time but luckily did not develop it.

All of that, however, paled in comparison to our main feeding problem: DS was an exceedingly lazy/sleepy feeder and had a very hard time gaining weight for a while. For the first month they had us coming in almost every day to check his weight, and when they gave us a week off (because of the holiday, really), he ended up losing weight! We were so bummed and it was such hard work. I would breastfeed him for about 60 minutes at a time, and if/when he still did not get enough, I would pump afterward and feed him a bottle. During the feeding I would have to prick and prod him, strip him down to the diaper, and splash water on him to help keep him awake. Overnight we even had to set an alarm to wake him up to feed him! Then the session was 90 minutes (or more) all said and done, so I'd "get" to sleep again for about 60 minutes before going at it again. It was really bad.

But, over time, things got better and we did awesome thereafter. Really the only other problems I remember were that I had two bites (or maybe just dry skin cracks?) nearing the year mark, and it was difficult to get those to heal (but they both did in about a week's time.) Also, this was our newborn's only problem (no colic), so we had a pretty easy baby overall.

At one year we switched the daytime/daycare feeding to cow's milk so I could stop pumping. That weaning transition was ultimately a pretty big one (engorgement, etc), but it coincided with having to give one breast a rest due to the cracking issue, so it worked out great in the end.

I kept feeding morning and night and thought I would do so indefinitely, but the morning feedings were getting to be a pain because they took a while and I was just so tired. When I knew I'd be going out of town for almost a week this May, I decided maybe that would be a good time to wean. So I dropped the morning feeding in April. I didn't really notice much of a change in terms of engorgement. The night before I left I then did my last nursing. Again, no issues while I was gone in terms of engorgement. My breasts did feel a little sore in the past day or two (over a week after stopping), but they seem to be resolving. 

My message to everyone who is in that first month or two and having trouble -- YOU CAN DO IT! But, it is also ok to stop! If someone had my experience and quit in the first month or two I would not think they were crazy or a bad mom or a wimp or anything...it was bad and I could not have done it without extensive support from my husband, 8 weeks of leave, etc. I you consider quitting, I think giving it a good 3 months of trying is a good idea, if you can; if it's still bad at 3 months then it was probably not meant to be. But before then it pretty much sucks for everyone (no pun intended). 

I'm really happy I breastfed for as long as I did and I hope to do it again if/when we have a second.