DS has weaned, all on his own

[Sterla]

I've been waiting to post this, always thinking DS will come back and ask for 'booby' again... but after 7+ days straight of DS not having/asking for/ or even thinking of 'booby', I think it may be safe to say that he has weaned.

If you had asked me a few of months ago if I thought DS would wean any time soon, my answer would most definitely have been no. DS was still having a lot of feeds - maybe 5 in a 24 hour period. If I took him off before he was ready he let me know about it, or if he thought I wasn't going to feed him when he wanted all hell broke loose! He was still feeding overnight too, and it was the only way I could resettle him without any tears.

Even with me falling pregnant, I didn't think DS would be willing to give up 'booby' no matter what happened with my milk.
However, when I was around 10 weeks pregnant (?), DS got sick, and instead of wanting booby for comfort, he was flat out refusing me! I thought right there and then he was weaning, but he didn't. He did start asking for it much less though. I worked out after a little while that my milk had dried up - hence DS's fussiness. Even with my milk gone, DS kept going - comfort sucking, which I was quite happy to keep going with. He stopped waking for booby overnight, but still needed it first thing in the morning, before his day sleep and before bed for the night. Then somewhere along the way he stopped asking for it in the morning too.

A few weeks ago it started feeling really strange when DS was feeding. It just didn't feel right. I was determined to persevere through - and there was a lot of toe curling and interesting facial expressions in the process though. I started dreading feeds TBH, but I still always let DS feed if he asked. He may have picked up on how uncomfortable it was making me though, I don't know.
However, it wasn't long after that that we started having a day here or there when DS wouldn't ask for booby at all. Then, in the past week, he hasn't had it once. It took me a few days to realise that he hadn't had it because it happened fairly gradually. He stopped needing it before bed every night, and before I knew it, an entire week had passed!
He hasn't asked for it once, or even mentioned 'booby'. And he decided all on his own, which is exactly what I wanted.
I'll admit I did want to get to at least 2 years, but I'm actually quite happy with how our breastfeeding relationship has ended. It was a peaceful, gradual ending that both he and I were ready for.

So, we made it to 21.5 months - my beautiful breastfed boy .

[HotI]

That is gorgeous. Good on you!

[OceanPrincess]

Well done sterla - what an amazing job you have done!

[helle]

Aw gorgeous. It's sad, in a way but so good he made it on his own!

You give me hope, as the mother of a boobaholic sometimes I have visions of breastfeeding DS during his lunch break at highschool XD

[Sterla]

Oh, and I forgot to mention - all 21.5 months was done using nipple shields. Take that stupid MCHN who said we wouldn't be able to breastfeed beyond 3 months!

[ezymay]

Great achievement S!!! Good to know it can be done with shields for so long!!! You should be so proud!!

[Heaven]

Well done Sterla!! What an achievement!! Great to hear such a positive ending to your BF.

[MrsFabuloso]

Well done hun. I had a similar experience with my DS. Almost exactly the same actually, lol! Congrats to you and your little man!

[Jewel]

Way to go! Congratulations to you and your DS!!
What an awesome achievement!

xox

[onthefly]

Well done! you really showed that nurse!

[Manhattan]

Congratulations hun, to you and that gorgeous little boy of yours on a fantastic achievement. What a beautiful story you have to share, and an inspiration for so many women.

x

[LimeSlice]

Awesome job mumma!!

[Shanti]

Well done Sterla!!! What a wonderful achievement for you and DS

(us too )

[peanutter]

congrats, sterla. what a huge achievement!

[human bean]

Congrats! Fantastic

[Jennifer13]

Well done Sterla!!! What a fabulous start you've given your DS and what a lucky little boy he is whose Mummy has let him pick the time to wean. All the best for the rest of your pg, I'm glad your toes can now uncurl. Soon enough, the bbs will be back in demand.

[sloane]

that's awesome sterla! i'm so happy for you guys that it's worked out so well.

i hope you get a chance to set that MCHN straight

[Sterla]

Thank you everyone .

DS still seems settled in his decision to wean. Even last night when we had our first overnight wake up in over a month, in the past he would have wanted booby, but he didn't ask for it or act like he wanted it at all.

I think DS has found new ways to seek comfort from me. He has just recently started randomly wanting kisses from me through the day. He'll wander over, want me to pick him up, we have a quick kiss, then he wants to get down and keep playing. Very cute .