Adventures in Weaning: Or, How Sam Got Off the Boob

You may remember a couple months ago when I posted about my experiences with breastfeeding, and some of the struggles I was having with weaning. I have some good news to update:

Sam is officially weaned!!!

Want to  know how we did it? It was hard. You may remember the difficulties I had with cutting her off from the naptime nursing sessions. Up until that time, we were slowly easing into the weaning, cutting back one meal at a time and replacing it with the sippy cup. Once we got to the nap situation though, it was a problem since it was a comfort thing for her, not a meal. I finally had to just buckle down and get it over with though. Her teeth were so painful, I could hardly stand to have her latch on anymore. Especially since she wasn't really nursing anymore, she was really just using me as a pacifier. Ouch.

Week one, we cut out the afternoon nap nursing. That one wasn't so bad, since probably 3-4 days out of the week she naps in the car while we're out in the afternoons and wasn't nursing to sleep anyway. That week went fairly well. She did cry and try to go for the boob when I rocked her to sleep, but we got through it okay.

Week two was the WORST. We always do morning nap at home, and she had a really strong association between breastfeeding and napping in the mornings. I had to just pin her down in my arms while she flailed and screamed and flopped, trying to get at my boobs. It probably only lasted a couple minutes, but it felt like forever. But eventually she'd calm down and fall asleep in my arms.

Week three - at this point, we were down to just early morning nursing and bedtime nursing. Mike has been putting her to bed most nights, so I really wasn't even nursing her to sleep most nights anyway. Whenever I put her to bed though, I would nurse her. I decided that we would drop the nighttime nursing first, since the early morning was convenient for me - we would bring her in bed with us so I could nurse her, and I'd get an extra hour or so of sleep. ;) This went fairly well. Mike put her to bed almost that entire week, so it wasn't until the last couple of days that I had to try putting her to bed without nursing. It was no problem at all! She was already so accustomed to going to sleep without me that she didn't mind at all when I didn't offer the boob.

We really didn't even have a week four. The last day of week three, I gave her the boob in the morning when she woke up, and it was just pointless. She wasn't getting anything out of it, and it was just hurting me. It felt forced. She took it because I offered, but she totally didn't need it. And that was the last time I nursed her! (I might also mention that things, um, changed with my body at week three, so that probably has a bit of something to do with her lack of interest in my milk/lack thereof.)

It has been several days now, and we are doing great. She still fusses for naps when I rock her to sleep, but she doesn't really go for the boob anymore. She does like to keep her hand on them as she falls asleep, but I don't mind that, if it makes her feel comfortable. (As long as she doesn't pinch the nipples...I hate that!!!)

Now, our next step is getting her to go to bed without being rocked to sleep. She's starting to get so long now that she seems very uncomfortable in my arms while I'm rocking her. I think she's outgrowing the chair. Hopefully that's a step in the right direction, so that she'll be more comfortable falling asleep in her own bed. I'm sure we'll have another adjustment period for that, but we're getting there. For now, I LOVE my cuddle time with my baby as I rock her to sleep. These days are almost over, and we'll never have them again, so I'm cherishing every sweet moment. :)

Adventures in Breastfeeding

So, I figured I'd write up a little post about my experiences with breastfeeding. As some of you may remember, I was a little weirded out about the idea of breastfeeding and I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to handle it. I was determined to try though, and my goal was to stick it out for at least 6 months, then 9 months, then one year. From the beginning I was pretty certain that after a year I would want to stop nursing.

Here's a little recap of how things went for us:

At day one, Sam latched on like a pro and got the nursing thing down right away. Strangely enough, it didn't bother me to have a little person sucking on my boob. Other than a couple of rough nights and days when my milk first came in, we really had no problems at all. Things were working out great!

Around 7 months, I decided that I wanted to start weaning her for some personal reasons. We decided that after the holidays we would start slowly switching her to formula. My plan was to drop one feeding a day and replace it with a bottle of formula. This worked well for a week or two - she took the formula with no issues at all. I never got past one or two formula feedings a day though. I found that nursing is just SO much more convenient. When we were out and about I would bring a bottle of formula and I could just give her that in the stroller, so that was nice. But at home the boob was just much easier. Sam and I had gotten into the routine of nursing her to sleep for naps, so we ended up sticking with that routine. And then we ended up cutting back on the formula too. And then she got sick, so I wanted her to have nothing but breastmilk so she could get healthy faster.

So, there we were a few months later, and we had made no more progress towards weaning. I think that part of it is just the fact that I wasn't as ready as I thought I was. I had heard from so many of my friends that their babies just weaned themselves around 10 months, so I was hoping that Sam would be the same. But no, this girl is addicted to the boob. Her bottom teeth came in, and I was a little scared about how that would feel. I could kind of feel the pressure from them but it wasn't enough to be uncomfortable. Well, now her top teeth are coming in, and OH BOY does it hurt. Almost every time I nurse her, the discomfort is almost unbearable. Add that to the fact that I am sick of my crappy nursing bras and longing to wear normal ones again, and I am SO ready to wean her. Mike and I will be going on our first overnight trip away from Sam in just a few weeks, so we really need to start getting her used to not having boob all day and night. Since her birthday is coming up in just a couple weeks, we went ahead and let her start drinking cow's milk. We give her organic whole milk, and she loves it! She's been drinking it in her sippy cup with meals, and (other than letting it drip out of the corners of her mouth, down her neck, and all over her shirt and hair) she is doing great with it.

Now for the hard part: cutting out the nursing to sleep routine for naps. I still nurse her at night most nights and I'm okay with that - I'm not ready to quit nursing cold turkey, I just want to cut out the daytime nursing for now. Mike is able to put her to bed some nights without her needing me to nurse, but if I put her to bed? Forget it. The boobs are right there, and she wants it. So this week I've decided to start attempting to put her down for a nap without nursing her. Yesterday I tried to give her a bottle of milk in the rocking chair, keeping the rest of our nap routine the same as always. She was not having it. She drank an ounce or two, and then she was UP and running around. Today I tried to give her the bottle again. She took a couple of sips and then had a complete meltdown: screaming, clawing at my shirt and trying to pull my boobs out. I felt awful. I hate withholding something from her that is so important to her. It's our special bond, and it's heartbreaking to have to end it. She eventually cried herself to sleep in my arms, and now she's napping peacefully. I'm hoping this episode won't be repeated too many times before she starts accepting the new routine. I hope she understands that just because I'm not nursing her to sleep, we can still snuggle together in the rocking chair and share the same closeness we've always had.

Does anyone who has been through this have any suggestions on making weaning easier? I want it to be as minimally traumatizing to us both as possible!

Breaking the Nurse-Sleep Association

I need help. I am beyond frustrated right now. The only way I can get Samantha to sleep at night is to nurse her while lying down. This is fine most nights, but it presents a problem when we want to leave her with a babysitter, or even just when Mike and I would like to have some time alone in another room.

I read the No Cry Sleep Solution and I've tried to do everything I can think of - when I nurse her, I pull the nipple out of her mouth before she falls asleep. I try to put her down for a nap in the swing when I notice that she is tired rather than nursing her to sleep. She also will fall asleep in the car seat. Those things all work well, but when it comes to night time it's a whole different story. I've tried setting a routine and putting her down in her bed while she is almost asleep but she just cries and cries. Even on nights that I've successfully gotten her to fall asleep on her own she wakes up within an hour and starts screaming, and the only thing that will calm her is to nurse, even if she just ate an hour ago. This happens almost every night. She's not hungry, she's obviously just nursing for comfort because as soon as I give her the boob she's out within seconds.

We want to leave her with a babysitter in about a month so Mike and I can go to dinner for my birthday, so I need to figure out how to break the nurse to sleep association. Right now she won't even take the bottle as a substitute to get her to sleep - all she wants is Mom. She screams if Mike tries to calm her to sleep. We have a month to figure this out, and I need some suggestions! So far the sleep routine thing hasn't worked so well, so we need to come up with a simpler routine and schedule that will be easier for us to stick to. I really want to be able to put her to bed on her own without having to hold her and have her attached to my boob. I would love to hear any suggestions on how to break this nursing to sleep addiction!

BabyBond Review and #Giveaway!!!

Since the beginning of my pregnancy, I knew that I wanted to breastfeed my baby. I did a lot of research and looked into every type of nursing accessory that I could find. I knew a nursing cover would probably be important since I am always on the go, and I didn't intend to stop getting out and about after my baby arrived!

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months. There are so many benefits to breastfeeding! It decreases the possibility that your baby will get a variety of infectious diseases, ear infections, diarrhea, etc. Scientific studies have shown that it is also good for the mother's health. It definitely helps to burn off a lot of that baby weight, as well as reducing the risk of breast and ovarian cancer. And don't forget that breastfeeding is lean, green, and clean, too! Breastfed babies are at a lower risk of being obese. Breastfeeding also saves you money and it saves water and energy. Plus, breast milk is always fresh and ready to go! I think it is important that breastfeeding moms feel comfortable nursing in public so that they can continue to reap the benefits even when they are on the go.

The BabyBond is a unique nursing accessory that does not cover your baby's head. It keeps you covered while still allowing you to make eye contact with your baby. Many babies do not like to have their heads covered while nursing - it can get really hot and uncomfortable underneath a curtain-style nursing cover. Curtain-style nursing covers can also blow around and expose Mom on breezy days. The BabyBond is a great alternative! The BabyBond is worn like a sash and functions like a nursing top. It has two layers that separate so baby can latch on while each layer of the sash covers you from the top and the bottom. There are three different BabyBond styles - the Original, the Flex, and the Couture. The Flex includes a detachable burp cloth. The Couture can also be worn as a belly band to cover the belly area when nursing from under the shirt.

BabyBond was designed by a mom that was looking for options to cover herself, but not her baby. She created her first cover by cutting and sewing one of her husband's old t-shirts. Since then, she has come up with the three options available now. All three styles are available in several great colors to match or accent your outfits.

I have the BabyBond Couture nursing cover. I chose this one because I liked the fact that it is a hybrid style, allowing me to cover up from above or below. I haven't invested in many nursing tops since I've found that most of them are pretty ugly, so I have had to come up with ways to nurse while wearing most of my standard tops. I have been working out regularly, but like most new moms I'm still not thrilled with my abs (or lack of them!) so I definitely like to be able to hide my belly when nursing from under the shirt. And when I DO wear nursing tops they all open from the top so everything just hangs out for all to see! So far I've had a hard time using the sash when nursing from the top of my shirts. Whenever we use it, some skin still shows. This doesn't bother me too much, but lately Sam really likes to grab onto things while nursing. She keeps grabbing the sash and completely exposing me! I really like being able to use the BabyBond as a belly band though. It's nice to just throw it on while nursing, and then take it off easily when I'm done. It also folds into it's own little self-storing pouch so it's super easy to carry around in the diaper bag! I really like the sash idea though, so I am going to continue to try to get it figured out. I hate having to cover Sam's head while I nurse her!

How would you like to try a BabyBond? You can buy your own BabyBond at http://babybondnursing.com for $35 each. Or, you can try to win one! I am giving away a BabyBond Couture in "Riviera". It's a beautiful turquoise color! One lucky reader will win this great nursing cover.

To enter: 
You must first be a public follower of this blog AND then go to BabyBond, come back here and leave me a comment telling me which style you like best.

For extra entries you can do any or all of the following (leave separate comments for each):

-Like BabyBond on Facebook.

-Follow BabyBond on Twitter.

-Like The Vanilla Bean on Facebook.

-Follow The Vanilla Bean through Facebook.

-Follow me (@alannanoelle) on Twitter AND Tweet:
"WIN a @BabyBond nursing cover from The Vanilla Bean http://alannasvanillabean.blogspot.com (via @alannanoelle) #giveaway #bfing"
(Leave me the permalink of your tweet, you can get this by clicking on the time of your tweet. Tweets must be at least 4 hours apart!)

-Subscribe via RSS to my blog.

-3 extra entries - Blog about this giveaway!
Make sure you link back to this post. Must be a new blog post written by you (leave me the link or it will not count).

This giveaway will close on September 16th, 2010

Make sure you leave me an email address so I can get hold of you if you win, Or if it's on your blog that's fine too! Good luck!