It’s been quite an abnormal week for us between the little guy’s sleep study, his bad luck since (a cut on his hand one day then falling face first on our linoleum floors today – poor guy!), my exhaustion since the sleep study, and weaning. Yes, after much back and forth between my heart and mind we had started weaning this past week.
I have to be honest, I REALLY struggled with this! I truly believe in child-led weaning when possible, and though I was getting the typical “he hasn’t weaned yet?!” I knew in my heart I was doing the right thing. Chaz is 30 months now – 2 1/2, and he has been Breastfeeding the longest. Because of his Sensory Processing Disorder he found comfort in Breastfeeding that nothing else could give him! It was his “reset” so to speak. I knew weaning wouldn’t be easy even though I planned on letting him lead. I had read other stories of moms having a hard time weaning their toddler with SPD.
Well, something I didn’t expect happened. I’ll spare the details and just say I started having A LOT of pain while Breastfeeding and wasn’t sure I could continue! It was more than just pain – there were physical signs of the pain. It was awful. I’ve had thrush, clogged ducts, and even mastitis a few times, but this was still so awful! My head said “you have to stop NOW,” and my heart said “you can’t just stop suddenly!”
I tried really hard to follow my heart, but the pain was too much. The first few days were heartbreaking for me, but with each day it got a little better. I knew I would give in at the sleep study, and I did. He needed me, and the pain was worth it in that moment to be there for him in a way only I could. After that he never asked for it again! I don’t know if it was because he now associated it with that type of experience because I said yes in that moment instead of no or if my milk has already mostly dried up.
Either way, it is bittersweet knowing he’s our last and has weaned. My heart doesn’t ache as much, though, wondering if it was the right thing to do. I feel much better now knowing he is ok without Breastfeeding and is learning other ways to cope with the world that can be so overwhelming to him!
Comotomo Bottle Giveaway (ends 10/11)
The Comotomo Bottle Event hosted by Mommy Lesson Plans
Bottles were always an issue with our breastfed babies! Our 2 1/2 year old still nurses for naps and bedtime, but he’s out of the bottle stage. I wish I would have known about these then, though!! If you have a baby this is a fantastic giveaway!!
*Review by Mommy Lesson Plans*
I have three boys. I chose to nurse all three of them. Unfortunately, my kiddos had to go to daycare. So, I had to send bottles with them during the day. I sure wish I had Comotomo’s bottles back then.
This bottle is the next best thing to mommy. I like how the nipple on the bottle is formed like a real nipple in order to avoid nipple confusion. Plus, the body is soft and squeezable.
The nipple is also designed with a baby’s needs in mind. They are slow-flow to encourage a baby’s natural breathing. The nipples are also large and wide to encourage a sealed latch, which prevents the baby from ingesting unnecessary air.
Additionally, the bottle has vents that prevents air that can cause colic.
The Comotomo bottle is available in both pink and green. They come in two different sizes, 150 ml and 250 ml.
This event would not become possible without the participation of these amazing co-hosts: Giveaway Gatorfollow , Couponing with Integrity, and Pea of Sweetness.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
This giveaway is open to entrant 18 years of age or older, except where prohibited by law. US residents only. No purchase is necessary to enter. The odds of winning are based on the number of entries received. To qualify to win, you must complete, at minimum, one entry on the Rafflecopter form. The winner will be randomly chosen by Rafflecopter. Winners will be notified by email from Mommy Lesson Plans. Winners will have 72 hours to respond or risk forfeiting their prize. Prize may re-awarded solely by the Sponsor’s discretion. Prize fulfillment is the sole responsibility of the sponsor. Pea of Sweetness may not be held liable for Sponsors who do not fulfill prize shipments. Mommy Lesson Plans was not compensated for this post. I reserve the right to publicly publish winners’ names. By entering this giveaway, you are agreeing to these terms and conditions.
End of World Breastfeeding Week
Well, World Breastfeeding Week just ended a couple of days ago, and I wanted to share my breastfeeding story in its entirety here on Pea of Sweetness. As you may remember I did a guest post over at Mom to Bed by 8 and posted a little snippet here as well. I wanted to make sure I shared a little of my story here as well in honor of World Breastfeeding Week albeit I’m a little late! haha So without further adieu – here it is!
I had three VERY different breastfeeding experiences, and if there is anything I’ve learned from parenting it’s that there’s no “one size fits all.”
With our oldest son everything I had planned just didn’t happen – the natural birth, the breastfeeding, even attachment parenting wasn’t working for us. You see, he was delivered by emergency C-Section after 11 hours of completely unmedicated labor realizing his head had disengaged and was toward my hip. We later discovered he had a very short umbilical cord, which is why he had “bungeed” back. My body was exhausted from the labor and the C-Section. I tried SO hard to breastfeed him, but it just wasn’t working out. I had hardly any support (not even from the hospital), a lot of pain, and to top it off, my body just wasn’t producing milk! At 2 weeks I switched over to formula. I couldn’t even pump because I wasn’t producing any milk. I was heartbroken, but I knew I had to move on and be the best mom I could be and not dwell on it!
By the time we had our daughter I had done a lot more research, got in touch with other breastfeeding moms, and connected with my local La Leche League before I had her. I actually had support from the hospital and lactation consultants there as well. It didn’t go as I expected, though, as she was taken to the Special Care Nursery after they discovered she had low blood sugar. I was brought a pump and told I couldn’t nurse her. It was awful. Eventually they let me nurse her but still required a bottle after, so the experience was still frustrating overall. I did learn a lot from the lactation consultants like the fact that I was doing the latch all wrong the first time! You should lead with their chin. It really is so much easier to have in-person help!
The next 2 months of breastfeeding our daughter were trying. She was into a routine of having a bottle as well that we had to work to break the routine of nurse, bottle, pump because I was exhausted! Eventually, it all worked out! We had a few set backs here and there – thrush and mastitis. She self weaned at 18 months, though!
When our youngest son arrived, I was ready to tackle breastfeeding head on and they say “third time is a charm,” right? Well, we did start with a hiccup. He had to go to NICU after an apnea episode, and he wasn’t even able to suckle at all. In fact, he wouldn’t even latch. This also meant he wouldn’t take a bottle, either, which in this case turned out to be good. In fact, they assured me babies don’t need that much in the first 24 hours. After his first night in the NICU I tried again, and it was like he had “woken up.” He was just ready to go and nursed like a champ! *Update 1/6/13* He nursed until he was 2 1/2! So the third time really was a charm for us!
Sometimes breastfeeding relationships improve over time, but sometimes they don’t. One factor remains – all babies are different. All moms are different, too. Some won’t latch well and need more work, some will latch great from the start. Ours just happened to progress that way. There are definitely a few things I wish I had known when I started off my journey. Be sure to check out my full Breastfeeding Story on Mom to Bed by 8 for the full scoop!
My Breastfeeding Journey
You know I’ve had unique experiences when it comes to parenting – that is for sure! Breastfeeding was definitely no exception! I went from my first experience of only being able to breastfeed for 2 weeks to still breastfeeding our 25 month old! I had some bumpy roads and learned a lot along the way. Hop on over to Mom to Bed by 8 where I shared my story as a guest blogger! 🙂
