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.

About the Weekend

What a weekend! The weather was dreamy and Peter's sister Lisa came to visit.Cole absolutely loved seeing her aunt. From the minute they arrived, Cole thought that Lisa and her pup were celebrities.  Spring has definitively sprung and it is good for the heart and soul. Everyone's mood seems to improve in the spring, which is certainly a benefit of spending time in the Southern sun.  Our weekend was filled with adventures all around Memphis. Exploring familiar places in the city on gorgeous days makes Memphis seem like where we belong. 

On Saturday, we walked to our neighborhood farmers market for our CSA pick up. I just love so much about that sentence! I love that our neighborhood has a farmers market and that we're participating in a CSA this year. So far, so good. Our CSA has already allowed us to try new foods. So far this week, we've had pasta with pea shoots as well as chard and kale chips.

After the farmers market, we went to the zoo and Jerry's Sno Cones. Lisa had been to the zoo before but since it's nearby, fun for Cole, and free (her admission is covered in our membership), she was happy to go back. Jerry's is something of an institution in Memphis, with the warmer weather it hit the spot. I was only slightly disappointed to find out they are still serving their limited winter menu, which doesn't have my go-to flavor: White Wedding. Cole raided her Aunt Lisa's wallet and stole her sunglasses while we waited in line, but it was all in good fun.  

Sunday after church we headed to the Rajun' Cajun Crawfish Festival. The Rajun' Cajun was the first crawfish festival we went to in Memphis. It may sound silly but to say the "first crawfish festival" but Memphis has a few crawfish festivals throughout the spring and this was the first we attended, back when we lived downtown. Anyway, it's become something of a tradition for us to attend. Peter was particularly interested this year because last year  for their capstone class Peter's cohort assessed the festival and made recommendations for change.  We bought a bucket of crawfish, threw out a blanket and took turns so that one of us always had clean hands. Cole asked to try the crawfish but was unsurprisingly not a fan. Later into the festival, we met up with the Swens and Cole's favorite little man, Will.

From My Phone