Hippie Mom in a Preppy World

Posts Tagged ‘weaning’

I commend those very active mother bloggers that are able to post content several times a week. They obviously don’t have a stream of consciousness writing style like mine as it’s near impossible for me to finish typing a thought before getting interrupted. I really wish that I could write more, there is so much I want to share!

The fact that this pregnancy has kicked my ass hasn’t helped matters. With Shammy I was huge and uncomfortable but didn’t have reason to call the midwife at all. This round I have had to call the Dr more than once a week for several weeks and have had to seriously contemplate the possibility of a trip to L&D more than once. I am at a point that any type of physical activity beyond moderate walking triggers painful and regular contractions. I can’t even load the dishwasher or do laundry without being out of commission for an hour afterwards while I try to get the contractions to stop. The Doctor’s response? “listen to your body… lie down and drink lots of fluids…. I don’t care if your house gets dirty…”

I do care that the house is getting out of hand, we’ve never been the poster family of OCD clean but I hate that something as simple as picking up toys from the living room floor is beyond my scope. So imagine how easy it is for me to chase after the toddler when I’m home alone all day, I usually feel like death by the time he finally goes down for a nap.

This round it feels like making it to 31 weeks is an accomplishment but enough whining about me…

I’m starting to become annoyed at the fact that so many websites/books make a mom feel like she can’t breastfeed without a breastpump. I know that I felt that way too the first time around and securing the right pump at the right time became a source of stress. I am not anti-breastpump, they are great, they have their place, but they’re not a must have item like consumerist advice sources seem to make us feel, specially if mom is not going back to work again. There can be some cases in which a mom may have to pump in the first few days (baby in the NICU, etc) but having it “just in case” seems to cause more trouble than is needed. I’ve seen cases of oversupply, nipple confusion from introducing bottle too early and unnecessary stress about milk supply because a pump is a horrible indicator of how much milk a breast truly has.

I’m not trying to tell people to not get a pump, but rather hold off on it until AFTER baby is born to see if you truly need it (they’re expensive!), I don’t recommend pumping for at least the first 2 weeks and if you must for a medical reason, the hospital or WIC can set you up quickly.

So what if you need to pump milk and don’t have a pump? Hand expression is free and not that hard. Feel like you must have a pump? go ahead, just don’t become its slave and let it mess with your confidence.

Speaking of WIC, there is a new petition floating around the internet to have WIC provide cloth diapers to low income families. As huge of a cloth diaper advocate that I am I did not sign this petition. Why? Because it will never happen! I’m not against the government helpingwithcloth diapers but this is not the program for that. WIC is a nutrition program funded by the US Department of Agriculture, cloth diapers are not food. It takes an act of congress to change anything about what WIC gives and even if congress wanted to support fluff, it will never be through the WIC program.

Speaking of fluff, I have become quite the fluff-activist lately. I’ve had the opportunity to teach a couple of cloth diaper classes and during Real Diaper Week in April I converted no less than 9 moms to cloth diapers, yay!

Shammy has gotten a new nickname from my husband, he is now the “boob zombie” because when he wakes up in the morning he walks around groggily saying “side…. side…. side….” until he finds my boob. (side is the word that he uses for nursing).

Even though he’s not going to finish weaning anytime soon, he is taking steps in that direction and my pregnancy hormones are making it very hard for me to cope with it emotionally. The first time he went to sleep without asking to nurse I cried. The other night I woke up in the middle of the night, remembered this poem and cried uncontrollably for almost 2 hours over the last 3 lines of it.

Wean Me Gently

I know I look so big to you,

Maybe I seem too big for the needs I have.

But no matter how big we get,

We still have needs that are important to us.

I know that our relationship is growing and changing,

But I still need you. I need your warmth and closeness,

Especially at the end of the day

When we snuggle up in bed.

Please don’t get too busy for us to nurse.

I know you think I can be patient,

Or find something to take the place of a nursing -

A book, a glass of something,

But nothing can take your place when I need you.

Sometimes just cuddling with you,

Having you near me is enough.

I guess I am growing and becoming independent,

But please be there.

This bond we have is so strong and so important to me,

Please don’t break it abruptly.

Wean me gently,

Because I am your mother,

And my heart is tender.

~ Cathy Cardall

my cloth diaper advocate rocking his mohawk even when sleeping

When people find out that I still breastfeeding the most common reaction is eyes popping out cartoon style in shock followed with a question about when I am going to wean, I always refer them to Shammy for the answer, they don’t always appreciate that.

To the horror of my family and some friends, I don’t see him weaning anytime soon.

But that doesn’t mean that the weaning journey didn’t already start. It actually started at close to 6 months when he had solid foods the first time, progressed further when I stopped pumping at work and continues at a pace dictated by Shammy.

At 15 months of age he’ll still nurse about 6 times per day on the days that we’re home all day. These are not the same as infant feedings, they’re much shorter and mainly for comfort. Plus then there’s what I call the “teases” where he’ll insist on latching on for 30 seconds and then move on to something else, I don’t try to count those.

Some people may be horrified at the frequency but I don’t mind and enjoy it most of the time because in this stage of independence and exploration this is one of the few times when I can get some quality cuddles in, smell the back of his neck or caress his arm.

Many times he’ll want to nurse “because it’s there” if he’s distracted or busy he won’t even miss them. And then there’s the times when it’s been a while and he sees me and will act like a junkie having withdrawals, it’s rather amusing.

With the evolution of our breastfeeding relationship come new challenges, I no longer have to deal with growth spurts related feeding frenzies but instead have to enjoy an acrobatic performance of gymnurstics and dance. This is very cute until Shammy miscalculates a step or loses his footing but fails to let go of my breast, ouch!

But truth be told, it’s also in no small part because I am too lazy to commit to weaning. It’s a battle I choose not to pick. Nursing is still the fastest way to get him to sleep, still the best way to get him to stop crying when he is scared or hurt. It’s a crutch, I will admit. He’ll let me know when he is ready by stopping on his own.