A Year of Nursing

I was determined to nurse for a full year, I remember thinking, "The only way I won't is if I have supply problems." 

So, when I was about three or four weeks in to working past my anatomy issues that was forcing us to use a shield... I remember thinking, "Nope. Not doin it." 

Cory was so encouraging, but, let's face it, as a man they have no idea what's going on. They just cannot understand the struggle of nursing a baby. 

First off, at times, it was so painful. Like, labor level painful. Especially those first few weeks when his nursing would cause my uterus to contract. Or when when your lovely lady lumps are so engorged that you can't stand for them to be touched. Or when they're so tender that just wearing a shirt feels unbearable. 

Ya know... those types of things. 

But, I remembered my reasons for wanting to, I accepted the encouragement from my clueless husband and I pushed through.

Eventually it got easier, I'll never forget when it just suddenly occurred to me one day that nursing was no longer a dreaded, painful thing - and we'd even managed to wean off of the nursing shield (which I promise was a whole separate feat on its own). 

Of course, right around the time we'd gotten the act itself down is when Nolan's reflux surfaced.This presented a whole new challenge and we set out to find what was in my diet that could be worsening it. I went through a pretty intense elimination diet, bringing foods back one at a time for week long sections before adding more back in. 

Finally, we figured out what it was I had went about seven months with absolutely no dairy or soy in my diet. I'm one of the lucky ones who was able to incorporate small amounts back in around the 10 month mark without it bothering him.

Challenges aside, it's a bonding experience that really can't be shared by words. I have loved having these moments with my son, and I'm so glad I didn't trade them in just to escape a bit of discomfort.   

Nolan has never had any formula, and I'm proud of that. Not in the smug, it's not as good as breast milk way, but in the I worked hard for this way. Plus, I know a lot of nursing moms have to resort to the extra supplement anyway because of supply or work or other things that just make it undoable.

When we approached the one year mark, I started having such mixed feelings about our weaning process. On one hand, I was ready. I was ready to be done with timing our outings based around nursings - because I am just not the mom that is going to pull it out anywhere. The whole 'I should be able to feed my baby anywhere' wasn't so much a factor for me, not as much as modesty anyway.

I was also ready to hand over some of the core feeding responsibility to Cory, and I was ready for Nolan to be at a stage where he could eat more of what we eat.

Of course, by the time a child reaches one, the AAP recommends that your child should only be receiving 16 ounces of milk a day (no matter what kind of milk you're giving them). At this age, it's time to transition liquids into beverages to compliment meals and not used them as meals themselves. 

The way I'd structured Nolan's nursing times made this transition fairly easy. I nursed him right before eating solids. So, it was pretty easy to just give him a sippy cup of cow's milk at meal time. He still likes to drink his milk pretty much before eating any of his solids, but he is limited to 4 ounce amounts (4 times a day). He can have water when he acts thirsty outside of those times and does get 3-ish ounces of Pedialyte a day as well.

On the other hand, weaning him feels like a more tangible result to the fact that Nolan is growing. Some day, I'm going to look back on these times and wish they were my present. I'm going to miss the night time cuddles, and the attachment. I've liked being able to provide something for my baby that no one else can.

It's been a crazy ride with many, many ups and downs. It is an accomplishment and I've done it, I nursed him for a whole year. And, I've done it, I weaned him by his birthday :)