It’s the first day of the new decade and my boobs are finally free!

My breastfeeding journey

Nobody could have told me 2 years and four months ago that I would nurse my little sonshine for 850 days… yes, I did the math.

I’ll never forget the discussion I had with my hubby about breastfeeding. I knew for sure I wanted to do it, which we were 100% in agreement about, but our dispute was always how long. I originally thought six months, he thought I shouldn’t limit it, we landed on 9 months, or at least that was my impression and since I am the one with the boobs I think my vote carries a little more weight.

Well, the mere fact that I’m writing this blog proves that none of that mattered and like so many of my original parenting expectations very few have held true.

The funny thing about this extended breastfeeding journey, as I wrote in my blog “I want my breast back, I think!” my hubby, Ross, ended up being the one wanting him off more than me.

Nothing was working

Nursing is a funny thing, at least for me it was. It’s extremely demanding but absolutely amazing. The fact that your body can provide nourishment for your baby at any time is quite mind-boggling. The first year flew by but as I got closer to the two year mark I really started struggling with the frequency of nursing. Especially because he was still nursing on demand, much like a newborn. When I visited with his doctor at his 18-month appointment he reassured me that after 2 years was more than enough and he had received all the benefits of being exclusively breastfed.

So I had a trip for work that would force me to be away for 13 days. In was in September a month after his 2nd birthday. I would be in Doha, Qatar with NBC calling the Track and Field World Championships and everyone, including our doctor, said it was the best way to wean. he doctor actually recommended a 5-day trip so I was certain 13 days would do the trick!

Boy. Was. I. Wrong.

My husband picked me up late that night and before we could make it a mile away from the airport we were pulled over nursing.

He was screaming and leaning out of his car seat so aggressively and I refused for our first encounter in 2 weeks to be an ugly one.

This does give a little peek into why this was so difficult.

He certainly wasn’t the problem, it was me! I wasn’t strong enough to say no and actually mean it and he knew it.

Just cry loud enough and long enough and Mommi will give in.

This time was for real

Something had to shake. I couldn’t go on like this and my husband’s frustration was at an all-time high. The son the had for two weeks had reverted to a baby and he knew it didn’t have to be like that. I tried putting aloe vera on it and it worked for a bit but Mr Relentless realized that he could just suck it off and the good stuff was still there.

Well, about two weeks ago his dad decided enough was enough and rubbed a small bit of hot sauce on my nipples.

I didn’t think it would work but Deucey has not looked back.

All I had to say every time he tried after that is it’s hot, burn the baby and he wouldn’t even attempt.

My baby was weaned. JUST. LIKE. THAT!

It has been a little bittersweet but the benefits far outweigh anything else.

The benefits:

He lays on my chest

I can’t tell you how long I’ve waited for this. For two years my son never really laid on my chest. He was either nursing or sleeping. He never just rested his head on my chest. There has been far things sweeter than him just resting his head on my chest. It was so beautiful that one of the very first times he did it he looked up and me and gave me a kiss.

He falls asleep way quicker

I never noticed that the majority of times when I was putting him to sleep was spent with him half-awake nursing. It would take me forever to get him to actually fall asleep and put him down. I always thought nursing him was a quick way to put him to sleep but I wa so wrong.

I can wear whatever I want again

I literally had to be strategic about everything I would wear when I was out with him. I could never wear dresses because I’d have to pick the entire thing up to nurse and obviously certain tops and rompers were out of the question too.

He’s eating more

He has been eating table foods for a while now but I didn’t notice how much he supplemented with my milk. He eats more, is willing to try more things and has a more balanced diet now!

What I miss…

 

….and

 

 

No I’m just kidding.

There was something super special about knowing I could feed him anytime, calm him down anytime and put him to sleep when I needed to but I’m more excited that phase is behind me now, but still not as excited as my hubby! Lol

Mommies,

Where ever you are on your breastfeeding journey embrace it!

Even if that one day isn’t tomorrow, one day he’ll be off the breast and you’ll miss it, and it will be a distant memory. It’s only been about two weeks for me and I do miss it. I miss that time of bonding but we’re already finding new ways to bond and I love it!

Thanks for reading and I hope you’ll stick around to enjoy some of our other awesome blogs on all this mommihood!

Until next time

Mommi Sanya