Confessions of a Nursing Mom: 1 Year 1 Month 29 Days

On April 16,  I nursed Cole for the last time. 1 year 1 month and 29 days after I started.

I thought she was we were going to take a bit more time to wean but there was a change. I attempted to pump for some relief over eight hours after Cole nursed. In ten minutes of pumping, I got less than one ounce of milk. Apparently sometime in recent history my milk supply depleted to nearly nothing. Cole was nursing for comfort, not nutrition. Once I realized that, the decision to stop nursing on a short timeline was that much easier. Cole nursed once daily for three days. Then we ended it. Peter and I offered a cup of cow's milk in place of nursing and she took to it.

For 48 hours, Cole wanted to nurse and would grab at me even when given milk. The first five days after we weaned, Cole couldn't come into our bed without wanting to nurse. She'd try to lift my shirt and would cry when I objected. But this morning we crossed a bridge. She came to cuddle with me in bed and just gave me a hug. She made no attempt to nurse and didn't linger.

As for me, because my milk supply was already gone, there's been little pain and no leaking. I imagine if I weren't pregnant that this would be more difficult emotionally. But September is coming.  Knowing Cole's role as big sister is looming, I'm okay giving her new boundaries and expectations. Sure, I look at her every day and wonder how she's gotten so big (and I know that will only be exaggerated come baby sister's arrival) but she is big and discovering new skills and words weekly. This week she's been practicing walking backwards, walking her head turned, spinning around in circles, running and identifying balls and hats when she sees them. It's a whole lot of fun.