Lilah had her last breastfeed on Friday, October 15th at 11:30 am.
She and I were laying down in bed and I was explaining to her that this would be the last time that she will have "mommy's milk" and that she needs to tell it bye bye. She was smiling and being silly, and she kissed it on the side like she normally does when you ask her if she loves her "milk milk". I felt so sad and didn't really want to wean her, but this has been my deadline date for several reasons. First I wanted the transition to be successful on the first try and I knew she would put up one heck of a fight. With Kim and I going away for a mini vacation it presented the perfect opportunity to do that. Secondly, she had some really bad habits that I could not break and she would constantly pinch and scratch me while feeding and would "tweak" my other nipple and I really really didn't like it. Ouch!!! And last, we are planning our third pregnancy for later next year and it would be nice to give my body a rest from being pregnant or feeding before I jump head first into it all again.
In preparation for this weaning weekend I bought the Mimijumi "Very Hungry Baby Bottle" in the "Keep Going Package" that contained all the nipples. Slow, Medium, and Fast. I read lost of reviews online about it and was convinced that if she would except a bottle then this was the one! I had to order it in the States and then have my mom send it out and it was worth all the hassle! The packaging was super cute and Lilah loved it immediately. She likes that it looks and feels like a booby and if she's happy then I'm happy!
Here she is letting her dad give her a bottle for the first time EVER out of her 19 months on earth with us! That's really hard to believe, but it's all true!
I told you it looked like a booby!
The weekend away was not an easy one for anyone involved. My wonderful mother in law had to deal with the screaming during the first two nights. During the day she was very happy to drink from her Mimijumi, but at night she wanted her human binkie! As for me, I was trying to "dry up" as fast as possible because I knew that I'd be coming home to kicks, smacks, clawing, and tantrums when I refused to lift my top. I've suffered massive painful giant porn star boobies. I recommend to any weaning mother to pump and take the process slow for your body's sake. I felt like I didn't have this option because if I were sitting down trying to pump then she would see me with my top off and she'd try to help herself to some and then be hurt by the rejection. So I didn't allow the situation to be created, but because of that it's been sssoooo painful!
Yep, that's a picture of me! Can you believe it?!? lol
When we got back on Sunday she tried to lift my shirt with in the first 10 minutes and did a little cry when I told her "No, Mommy's milk went bye bye, remember?" Later on in the afternoon we went through a 55 minute screaming session with full on body kicking on the floor and again at bed time. I was very worried about the night and figured there wouldn't be much sleeping, but I was rather surprised by morning. I think it went much better than I expected! She had three sessions of 15-20 of crying. I didn't want to replace one habit with another one so I didn't get out of bed with her. I offered her a bottle which she threw at me. Then I offered her cuddles and that made her even more mad, then I laid back down and let her cry but stayed with her letting her know that I was right there and I was feeling for her. Every 4-5 minutes I'd ask her if she was ready to cuddle with mommy and eventually she would and fall to sleep quickly. In the morning she was very happy to drink down her bottle and had a smile on her face. Since that first night we've had little crying sessions during the night here and there and it's usual closer to morning when she's still very sleepy but also hungry and I might get a few scratches or smacks, but it's only been a week and I think it won't be long and she'll stop beating me up haha.
I hope she will have memories of our special bond and appreciate all the hard work 19 1/2 months of breastfeeding on demand 24 hours a day can be! I wish we could have made it to 24 months but it just wasn't meant to be for us. I am at peace with the decision and I think Lilah is too for the most part.
Yep, that's a picture of me! Can you believe it?!? lolWhen we got back on Sunday she tried to lift my shirt with in the first 10 minutes and did a little cry when I told her "No, Mommy's milk went bye bye, remember?" Later on in the afternoon we went through a 55 minute screaming session with full on body kicking on the floor and again at bed time. I was very worried about the night and figured there wouldn't be much sleeping, but I was rather surprised by morning. I think it went much better than I expected! She had three sessions of 15-20 of crying. I didn't want to replace one habit with another one so I didn't get out of bed with her. I offered her a bottle which she threw at me. Then I offered her cuddles and that made her even more mad, then I laid back down and let her cry but stayed with her letting her know that I was right there and I was feeling for her. Every 4-5 minutes I'd ask her if she was ready to cuddle with mommy and eventually she would and fall to sleep quickly. In the morning she was very happy to drink down her bottle and had a smile on her face. Since that first night we've had little crying sessions during the night here and there and it's usual closer to morning when she's still very sleepy but also hungry and I might get a few scratches or smacks, but it's only been a week and I think it won't be long and she'll stop beating me up haha.
I hope she will have memories of our special bond and appreciate all the hard work 19 1/2 months of breastfeeding on demand 24 hours a day can be! I wish we could have made it to 24 months but it just wasn't meant to be for us. I am at peace with the decision and I think Lilah is too for the most part.
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