The End of an Era: My Little Apple is Weaned.

I can’t believe it: my little girl is completely off the breast. The last time I wrote about weaning, it was the end of November and there was no end in sight. Now, it’s actually been three weeks since she’s tried to suckle, and the reason she stopped was so heartwarming it brought tears to my eyes: she didn’t want to hurt me. I have been traveling so much for work that my milk has dried up, and each time I would come back, she would zealously try to extract the milk with her teeth, causing me more than a little pain.

Two Sundays ago, in the middle of nursing, I yelped, “Ouch! That hurts Mommy.” Just like that, she stopped, and has never tried again. Well, I should say, that she inserts her chubby little fist into my shirt and starts copping a feel instead. But at least it’s better than letting my ta-tas get chewed on by a barracuda. Sometimes she will also start playing whack-a-mole on my nipples with her thumbs, attempting to invert them back into my chest. But as soon as I protest, “Ow,” she will stop.

Do I miss it? Well, a little bit. But it’s been 2 years, 5 months, and 11 days of nursing, and I think I was finally, FINALLY ready to stop. Yes, I am a tiny bit sad when I think of the fact that one stage of her life has ended, and that I will never be able to go back to it. But I was able to treasure it while it happened, so I have no regrets. In fact, I am really glad that I gave her the prolonged nursing time and the freedom to stop on her own…it is the one thing I am most proud of having accomplished as a mother. My biggest fear was that she would no longer want to be close to me for sustained periods of time, but that has so far not materialized. She still likes to cuddle up and lay her head against my chest several times during the day, and at night, she insists on falling asleep while snuggled up next to my side (yes, I will need to address this issue eventually, but for now, I like it).

So hallelujah, we are weaned. Now, on to potty training!