Tuesday, May 23, 2017

My Breastfeeding Journey

When I was trying so hard to become pregnant for all those years, I never really gave a ton of thought to breastfeeding. I knew I wanted to try it. But I really didn't set a lot of expectations. One way or another.

Then Liddy arrived and it just "took". There was no painful latches, cracked or bleeding nipples. It just worked. When she was a month old, I developed a yeast infection nipples which, wasn't a ton of fun, but we treated it, and moved on. I made it to 6 weeks, then 3 months, then 6 months of exclusively breastfeeding. Quite frankly, I was amazed at myself.

So we kept going. I decided, might as well shoot for a year. A year came, and a year went. And the breastfeeding continued. She's never slept through the night. She doesn't even sleep in her crib. She doesn't soothe herself to sleep, and usually has to be nursed to sleep at night. And you know what? I'm okay with all of that. She is healthy and happy. I love seeing her sweet, sleeping face lying between us at night. There's a day where she won't sleep with us and I know I'll miss it. So for now, it's our normal. It's not for everyone, but it works for us.

So many people have said their babes kinda just weaned themselves around year one. Liddy is pretty adamant about her mama and her mama's "babas". Well, lets be honest, we kinda go together, so not sure which she's really more into. But here we are, knocking on the door of 18 months old and I don't see any signs of her being ready to wean.

I've had in my mind that we'd be done sometime in her second year. I've never imagined that I would be a mom, nursing a toddler. But here I am. But I guess I'm just letting her take the lead on this one. I asked her last night, what she would say if I said "no more babas"? She burst into tears. Point taken, Liddy.

This is all new and different for me. I don't have friends that nursed this long and while no one has said anything to me (friends or family) in a negative way, I know they are somewhat surprised that it's still going.

My breasts went from a 32D to a 32G by week 12 of my pregnancy and they have pretty much stuck there. So, trust me, if she were done, I wouldn't argue. I'll probably be knocking on the door of a plastic surgeon begging for a reduction when it's all over with.

She's the only baby I will ever carry. The only baby I'll ever get to breastfeed. Shouldn't I just try and have as few of regrets as possible during this most precious time in her life?


My littles are quickly approaching 18 months and 2 years old. I know I don't blog often anymore. With three toddlers, the time is just not there anymore. But, I do hope for updates over the next few months, so stay tuned! 


17 comments:

  1. After everything you have been through I think it's great that this has gone so smoothly for both of you :) Bowen has only slept through the night a hand full of times. We are mostly down to him up once a night and that is ok with me. One day he won't need me in the middle of the night and I just know I will cry! haha

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  2. I nursed my kids til they were 2.5 and around 2.75. The only problem with going that long, is they are pretty stubborn and opinionated when you do decide you want to stop :) I never thought I would nurse a toddler either, but it was pretty easy for me also, and my kids just LOVED it. Also, neither one of them slept through the night til I weaned them, so that ended up being the motivating factor for me.

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  3. You're a true rockstar. How you care for three kids when you haven't slept through the night in two years, I'll never know. BUT, I'm so happy that you've found something about this whole pregnancy/birth/breastfeeding thing that just came naturally for you...you deserved at least one easy area. You do you, mama. Love you.

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  4. I breast fed my first to 2y 3m. My cousin did until about five. Bf for as long as you both want to and pay no attention to the naysayers. It's a beautiful thing.

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  5. I love this so much! Breastfeeding is such a gift after your body has failed you over and over. And I seriously adored toddler breastfeeding. It turns them into a baby again, and its so precious to look down at their calm and serene faces (especially when they have spent most of the day destroying things!).

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  6. I have read that at 18 months their immune system becomes much stronger, so I always aim to nurse that long. But longer is awesome!

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  7. Go for it and don't feel any need to explain yourself. I absolutely loved breastfeeding until my kids were toddlers -and they all slept next to me. For the last one we didn't bother getting a baby bed at all; it was really just a decoration ever. There are few things I loved more than waking up next to my kid, even if I was tired. I had a feeling like we had soaked in closeness all night and thus woke up happy. Even after I stopped breastfeeding ( my kids never just magically weaned themselves, by the way :) the co-sleeping continued to be source of closeness and bonding for us. I totally know it's not for everyone but I'm sure that sometimes people might be surprised just how good and balanced it makes you and your kid feel. I wish people were a bit more encouraging towards it. After all, if you feel like you can get enough rest to function and feel good about it, it only has good things to offer!

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  8. Oh my word, I love this post.
    I too spent the majority of my married life panicked about ever able to have kids (I would secretly eye-roll when fertile friends complained about low milk supply); when I lost Jude and Brinly I had full blown milk supply come in. With our carrier I induced lactation but almost pumped exclusively to divide it among the twins. With Judah (my only live birth), we just hit 6 months going strong with nursing. It's crazy that something I never cared much about has grown into something special for me. I'm not sure how long we will go but I know I want to try for at least a year too. My body is finally doing what it is supposed to. I love this for BOTH of us!! xxoo

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  9. I breast fed my daughter until she was past 2. I have no regrets. I went through years of trying and it was a special experience. She is 3.5 now and still loves my boobs to this day, loves to cuddle, and it's a special bond. She ends up in bed with me in the morning for cuddles and chats. Enjoy and love this experience.

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  10. Glad you're still breast feeding and, back to blogging! It was something I really hoped to do with Baby A. As always, love your posts. xo

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  11. I always enjoy reading your posts. Totally understand though that they're sparse because toddlers man, they are busy!! Just wanted to say that for me and my daughter breastfeeding was such a special bond. Don't stop a fat sooner than you're ready to and I think you'll know when you need to be done. I nursed mine till she was 3.5 and that was after surviving being widowed/fatherless at 16 months.

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  12. SB loved nursing and co-sleeping. And for the most part I loved it, too, but sometime around her 2nd birthday I lost the ability to sleep while she was nursing (which really was 95% sleeping and 5% nursing on her side). And that became too tiring after a while. So I finally coaxed her into no more nursing, after 2 week-long business trips. She still loves to cuddle my naked boobs though, and I let her, especially now that it's been long enough that she won't just re-activate supply... As long as you're both happy, stick with your guts!

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  13. Still nursing after a year here too... AND, I love it! The cosleeping, night nursing and all. Soak up every minute! Soon we will be sending them off to preschool ❤️

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