hey everybody.
i was all psyched to be posting in the extended breastfeeding thread, but we only made it one day past my lo's first birthday.
it all started about 3 weeks ago now. we'd been down to two feeds a day, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. it was working beautifully, though i constantly had doubt that he was getting enough fluids (not anywhere near the 3-4 c of fluids i heard of, more like 3-4 oz total beside the BFs). the BFs then started to become shorter by the day. first the nighttime feed, it seemed as if ryan just wasn't interested, had better things to do. he used to really snuggle up to me, now it was more like "alright, i'll crane my neck to take a few sips, but then i'm outa here".
i thought, alright, fine, we'll just try to do the one in the morning. i got some advice on BW about using both breasts rather than alternating, but we only lasted a few mornings. it was getting more and more frustrating and i didn't want it to be like that.
i thought i'd give him a bottle one morning (he's never been a big fan of them) and we'll see how he reacts to not getting the breast. i wasn't even wearing a t-shirt, and he just ignored its proximity and took the whole 7 oz of milk that were in the bottle. then we snuggled some more and got up and he hasn't looked back yet (this was 2 days ago).
so, i guess we're done. he hasn't taken the breast in about 48 hours now, and i feel perfectly normal, no engorgement or anything. i guess that shows that i didn't have much to offer him anymore?
anyway, though i'm sad (and i did cry and needed sympathy from dh) that it's over and that lo took one more step towards becoming a toddler, i am happy that he weaned himself. there were no tears or upset on his side, and that makes me happy. it went smoothly and that's what counts.
and yes, i'm patting myself on the back for BFing for a full year!!!!!!!! we had a very rough start, but we ended up enjoying it a lot!!!!!!!