And Just Like That, He's Weaned

Winston surpassed 19 months of age this past week. He just gets cuter and cuter as his personality is becoming more prevalent.

About a week or two before Thanksgiving, Winston had a few very rough nights in a row. I was working one evening and Sam put Winston to bed before I got home. I thought to myself, "if he sleeps through tonight without waking, I am going to stop nursing." And he did. That morning, Sam said to me, "I think you should be done nursing." Funny we thought the same thing.

And so, just like that we were done.

The following week Winston started a fever and had his 18-month checkup with the doc, who found an ear infection. Winston was miserable all through the week of Thanksgiving. I remembered previous times he was sick I nursed him through it, and wished I hadn't stopped the week before. Once during that week, he was absolutely inconsolable so I gave in and nursed him. He went right in as if had never stopped, but he couldn't quite figure it out. It was as if he forgot how. He finally just pushed me away, while I chuckled. We were both ready to be done.

He hasn't really seemed to notice the difference. In fact, since he got over his little ear infection, he has slept better than ever. Since stopping, he has turned to me a few times while getting pj's on and patted my chest like he used to at bedtime just before nursing, but a distraction with a book quickly satisfied him.

I never thought I would nurse as long as I did. Before Winston was born, I thought nursing was kind of disgusting, but I knew it was the best I could give him. Nursing wasn't the easiest thing to figure out when Winston was first born. We used a silicone nipple shield for months before he finally decided he would nurse without it. But other than that, it has been a great experience. I have fond memories of his little nursing antics, from rolling his eyes in the back of his head, to playing with my hair, jewelry and clothing, to patting my skin as if it were soft fur.

I have nursed Winston virtually everywhere, from my desk at work, to the kitchen table while eating, to airplanes and conferences, to various stores and restaurants, to the tops of mountains and while hiking down a mountain, and even during a performance appraisal at work (which I still think is totally amazing my supervisor is that supportive!). It's been a great experience and I'm glad we did it. I'm also glad to be done.

One of my friends, Amanda, shared this blog with me. It's a photography blog of nursing mothers, if you're into that kind of thing. Some of the photos and stories are simply beautiful, amazing, and empowering (and some are much more liberal with nursing than I'd ever be, but all power to them!).