Warning: The following blog contains sensitive material that I am ranting about. The general male population may not want to read this.
I decided to wean my little one. She is turning 1 tomorrow, so I figured it was time. She was only nursing at nap time and bed time and if she needed comfort. She would want to nurse before bed rather than eat food, thus she would wake up in the night hungry. I thought that a year was pretty good. Anyway, I was not prepared for the pain that comes from weaning. Ouch! So I got on the Internet and tried to find ways to alleviate my pain. What I found instead was a large helping of guilt. The articles that I read said that all weaning should be child directed and by forcing weaning, I am sending the message that I am rejecting my child. She will feel rejected and angry. The article went on to say that it is perfectly normal to nurse until a child is 2 or 3 years old. I am not weaning for selfish reasons. Really. I got thought that she would do better without. I have continued the weaning process, but in addition to pain, I am dealing with guilt. I'm so glad that those articles are so helpful. We all need something else to beat ourselves up about.
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5 months ago
4 comments:
Those articles are written by men who are not married with children, I will tell you that now. Unless they were written in Nigeria or Botswana, where they do actually nurse until age 3. But either way, I just think it's kind of creepy for your child to walk up to you and ask if they can nurse.
Do NOT feel guilty in the least. If it helps at all, I usually wean at 6-7 months because I have early teethers and am a very big wuss. So you are definitely doing well. She Arianna will be just fine.
That's my nickel's worth.
Oh and on the whole weaning thing for you: it's a lot like when your milk first comes in. Try cold cabbage leaves or pumping just a little to relieve the pressure. You are a great mother.
Boo to the articles! She does not think you're rejecting her. She sounds ready to me. And so do you. Moreover, you are the mother of these children, not some goober writing articles for the internet...if it was harmful, don't you think you'd have felt that nagging little Spirit in the back of your brain before you went and second-guessed yourself. Toss the guilt away with the rest of the trash! :)
Ugh.... throw the articles away!! It is your body (and yes weaning does hurt bluck) I weaned my kids at around 8 months and never felt guilty! I am a good mom and just because I got tired of being sucked on doesn't change that! lol
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