Unexpected and weird feeling..

crene84

BFing has not been very enjoyable for me.  I am glad I was able to for as long as I wanted, but I dealt with major over supply issues the entire 12 months and DS was nursing constantly up until around 10 months, so it was exhausting.  I managed to get him down to 3 times a day shortly before his birthday and this past week I got him down to 2 times..I expected fully weaning to be really difficult, but last night I did the cabbage trick and continued today..I'm not super comfortable but I actually haven't nursed him at all today and he managed to go down for both naps and to bed easily...

I should be thrilled it's going so smoothly but I find myself feeling kind of sad..which I suppose is normal since I'll never nurse again...but I also feel a little guilty.  I know that is silly since I nursed him a full year, but I don't know many people who were SAH and decided to just stop nursing on their own at 12 months (without the baby weaning themselves)...anyhow, just felt like typing out some thoughts!

watercolor5

I totally understand where you're coming from.  I'm about to start weaning Julia... her birthday is tomorrow.  On the one hand, I'm proud that we made it a year.  But I definitely have a huge mix of emotions.  I've been either pregnant or bfing for 3 years straight (more if you count my miscarriage,) and I'd love to have my body to myself for a while.  But breastfeeding is an intimate, bonding time with your baby, and it's normal to miss it- I'm sure I'll mourn the loss of it and there will be tears shed. 

I'm also really nervous to start weaning, and see how that goes.  I'm scared her weight will drop or she'll refuse whole milk.  I'm scared of mastitis.  With Sophia, I got pregnant when she was 6 months old and my supply tanked, so she was kind of forced onto formula completely by 8 months old, and I never had to do anything for my body to adjust because it was just done making milk.  So you're not alone- I SAH, I'm weaning because I want to, and I'm sure I'll miss it terribly, but it's still the right decision for me.

bosha711

It's so bittersweet! I remember I kept flip flopping between feeling so ready to be done & feeling sad about the thought of nearly being done.

I BFed DS for 14 months & DD nearly 18 months. I still miss it sometimes.

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crene84

watercolor5 said:

I totally understand where you're coming from.  I'm about to start weaning Julia... her birthday is tomorrow.  On the one hand, I'm proud that we made it a year.  But I definitely have a huge mix of emotions.  I've been either pregnant or bfing for 3 years straight (more if you count my miscarriage,) and I'd love to have my body to myself for a while.  But breastfeeding is an intimate, bonding time with your baby, and it's normal to miss it- I'm sure I'll mourn the loss of it and there will be tears shed. 

I'm also really nervous to start weaning, and see how that goes.  I'm scared her weight will drop or she'll refuse whole milk.  I'm scared of mastitis.  With Sophia, I got pregnant when she was 6 months old and my supply tanked, so she was kind of forced onto formula completely by 8 months old, and I never had to do anything for my body to adjust because it was just done making milk.  So you're not alone- I SAH, I'm weaning because I want to, and I'm sure I'll miss it terribly, but it's still the right decision for me.

Good luck!  Yea, with how much DS nursed, I thought this would be very difficult for him.  I introduced whole milk while still BFing a few days ago and at first he wasn't really big into it (which shocked me since he eats anything!) but now I rock him and give it to him and he drinks a lot, so it only took a couple days!  

Unfortunately, I am a different story.  I did well for 30 hours and barely got any sleep last night because I was engorged and leaking.  Cabbage leaves seem to help but I just spoke with the lactation consultant where DS was born and she said since I had over supply for a year, it may take weeks to feel comfortable..and months before I completely dry up.  I hate not feeling in control of my body! Maybe I should have nursed him longer..but maybe I would have continued to have over supply even if I nursed him 2 years..who knows!

melody921

I think it's totally normal to feel that way. When I weaned DD at 14 months, I knew it was the right time for both of us, and I was so proud of how far we'd made it. But there was still a part of me that felt like I was letting her down or that realized it was bittersweet that I'd never nurse another baby.