A sad farewell

[Harvey and Theos Mam]

Ok, so i posted this in the "how are you thread" but i thought i would say a farewell properly.

I am quite sad and already building to cry.

Theo has self weaned!!!  It started when he was ill a couple of weeks back (just as this board went down), he was running a temp and had a bad ear and started to bite me really hard because of this. Anyways, we got past all that and he was feeding again nicely, only to change his mind about 1 week after.
He would constantly push me away and cry, no matter how many times i tried and just wasn't interested at all. I got my pump and expressed to make sure i kept up my supply, just incase it was the 9 months nursing strike.....but he really wouldn't got anywhere near the breast and had no interest at all. HE wouldn't even attempt to feed and this just made me realise that he was not interested.

I did have a word with my h/v and she said that if i really wanted to be persistent then she would help me but thought that he really had quit of his own will. So yep....i am no longer a bf mam and still feel quite sad by it all. I still get teary no matter how much i believe that it was his choice and 10 months is ok.

I have even made the leap and stopped expressing and also have started taking "the pill". SO it is definately over. I was going to continue to express but the pill wont allow that, so hey ho.

Good luck to all you other bf mothers and thanks to everyone for your support for the past 10 months.  Even my boobyfed ticker has been removed.

 

Goodbye

[Samuel's mum]

I hope you feel rightly very proud. You certainly should. I know it must be hard but he had the perfect weaning experience from his perspective. HUG.

Please don't say a permanent farewell. We need people with your expertise to come and visit us.

[*Mona*]

hi and sorry to hear your feelings are hurt and you're feeling bad about your boy's self weaning, but... Maja did the same on me a week ago.
I wasn't nursing that much anyway, 2 times a day only, but still loved it and was sure she was loving it too.
but last week she got really sick with strep throat, high fever and two teeth cutting through same time  and she just didn't take my breast no matter how hungry she was. just 'said no'. so I really had no choice but to give up or she wouldn't be feeding at all.
but she's happy with her bottles and solids so I'm not worried anymore.

hugs to you and remember you did great BFing for a long long time!

xxxx Monika

[woopster]

Oh Rhiann, it sucks (pardon the pun!) when they stop, doesn't it.  I cried for ages when Harry gave up and I still really miss the closeness.  Well done you!! 

[Harvey and Theos Mam]

Thankyou ladies,  he would still drink my milk if i expressed as he was drinking it fine from a cup, but i was still bf after every meal and he was having a full bf first thing in the morning and last at night.
He has taken to sippy cups pretty well, which is another blessing in itself i guess as before he wouldn't drink from anything other than the breast. One less issue for me to deal with.

Another thing is, when he was ill he was waking more at night and that became a habit that we were working on breaking. When he quit the breast, the night wakings just sorted themselves out and he has a much better sleep too.

I missed feeding Harvey for about 4 months after i stopped feeding him but i thought i felt like that because i was told i had to quit due to medical reasons. But i think the weaning process is for both mother and child.

And i will still help out on the bf if i can.

[jobi]

{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{big hugs}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}

I still feel a little sad about not feeding Jamie anymore and we stopped a year ago, although i can't see myself with a Jamie hanging off my boob anymore, he's a little terror

[Tamara]

it is sad when they self-wean isn't it?  TBH - that's the bit I'm looking forward to the most about adding to our family - the BF.  It's hard and demanding at times, but oh-so worth it.

Well done you Rhian for Bf this long. {HUG} to you

[clh]

{{{big hugs}}}, Rhian.  I can so sympathize with missing it.  We recently stopped ourselves.  But 10 months *is* a great job, so you can be proud of that.  Hang in there.  {{{more hugs}}}

[binxyboo]

Hugs to you. Weaning is definitely an emotional process, isn't it? I started to wean Riley at 11 months as I was going back to work , so I pumped for him and continued on some of the nursings. He selfweaned from the rest of his feeds right around 14 months, went a couple of days without one, then had his last feed in the middle of the night, and I knew that would probably be the last bf, and I will remember the look on his face forever. So content and peaceful as he fell back asleep.

After months of struggling with my flat nipples, his tongue tie and my previous medical condition which impacted nursing, I am proud of the nursing relationship we developed.
It still hurts from time to time when I feed him from a bottle and more recently a cup. But he was ready and it really was the weaning I was hoping for, without tears and struggles (on his side)

I am sure hormones play a part in the weepiness as your system settles back down, and I have to remind myself that it is a step forward to the next stage of his life.

Hugs to you and well done
Michelle

[Harvey and Theos Mam]

Wow Michelle, you did do well to get through all that and bf. Well done to you,the tongue tied bit i know is hard as a friend of mine had a son who was tongue tied too until finally someone picked up on it and they sorted it out. She was bleeding real bad and in such pain, so once again....well done to you for your staying power.

Yes, hormonal is right and i am at my worst when i leak. I am going to express tonight to see how much i get as i have been leaking quite a bit this past few days.

[rach]

{{{{{HUGS}}}}} Rhian