sniff sniff

[Karen Shattuck]

My daughter is 2 1/2 and nurses before and after nap and before and after bed.
Well today she woke up from nap and aksed to go down stairs...
I said "don't you want 'mommy milk' first?" and she said "NO. "
I was thinking when we got down she would then want some.
and NO she asked for her cup of soy milk....
Sniff sniff.
my little girl is growing up.
she will be my last.....

[Joette]

I remember that feeling. It is so bittersweet. I remember very vividly the last time my daughter nursed. She had weaned herself down to only nursing before bed at night. One night she did not ask to nurse and I asked her if she wanted to and very casually she said no. I acted like it was no big deal. When I was done putting her to bed I went downstairs and cried. She was my first and we had a difficult start with nursing. I ended up having a c-section with magnesium sulfate. The magnesium made her lethargic and sleepy. She did not want to eat or do much of anything at first because of the meds. My milk came in fast and plentiful. I ended up with mastitis and we had latching problems and it was pretty much a mess from the beginning! I was determined to make it work. My birth did not go as I planned and I was not going to let my nursing plans go up in smoke either. We made it through and ended up nursing until she was about 18 months.

I had two more babies after that very quickly and I don't even remember when they stopped nursing! I was so sleep deprived and it was crazy with a husband being out of town and two babies with lots of food allergies and reflux! Good thing I took lots of pictures of those days because I look back at that time and don't even remember it!

Take care,
Joette

[Gina Grothoff]

My heart goes out to you Karen. It can be both exciting and sad when our children take steps towards independence away from us. I am expecting my third and likely last child in January. My other two nursed for so long, I don't know what I would do if this next child showed signs of weaning earlier. Not that saying no to nursing one time means weaning- yes, eventually. I know a mom whose child weaned shortly after a year and she is quite sad that he did. She wanted to keep nursing but he was too busy for that.

Knowing it is your last child, I imagine all those milestones can be that much more emotional.
I am imaging how it will affect me as a parent this time around as before I knew I would likely have more children.

[Terri Wilson]

Like Joette said that is bittersweet. Sending you lots of hugs and a ton of love. You did a good thing.

[Karen Shattuck]

Well, she still is mostly down to 3 nursings (from the 4) But she is no longer drinking a cup of milk after, so that must have been a growth spurt. Hopefully I can relax and enjoy the time we have left instead of freaking out everytime her schedule changes LOL.

[Karen Shattuck]

Good for you for making nursing work!