Thanks for the Mammaries!

I have mentioned before that Adam was formula fed. Not by my choice. We had a very difficult start. Not only did it take 30 hours to extricate him from my body, but it was rather traumatic for the both of us. I was severely dehydrated and he was not a happy newborn. It just didn't work for us. We tried. For 3 good weeks, but eventually I gave in and fed him some formula (which he gobbled up at a pace that most 3 month-olds couldn't match).

So, I was humble in my aspirations to breastfeed Natasha. In fact, I had planned on just starting off formula feeding her, but decided to give breastfeeding a shot at the last minute. Her birth was a planned cesarian, so it was much easier by comparison (and the process lasted about a full day less than Adam's birth). I drank tons of water and prepared myself for weeks of hard work. But it was never really hard with her. She was just extremely patient and naturally knew what to do. This was my first piece of evidence that two babies from the same exact lineage could be so different.

I didn't plan on breastfeeding for 2 weeks or 2 months or even 6 months. I just decided to keep on going as long as it felt like the right thing to do and worked for us. And here we are 12 months later still going strong. This, I am afraid, is not by my own choosing. The benefits are really no longer with me (relaxation, weight loss - a joke for me!). Nutritionally, we are really almost at the point where breastmilk should be less important than solid foods. So weaning should be in our near future.

In truth, I have been trying to "gently" wean her for the last 6 months. But my Natasha is a girl who knows how to get what she wants. And what she wants is the booby. Or, "the boobies"...because I do have two. I am thrilled that it has been so easy for us. I mean, we had some tough moments right in the beginning, but compared to a lot of women, it has been a cakewalk. No thrush, no mastitis, not a lot of pain (except for when she decided to experiment using me as a teething ring once).

My only complaint is that she still loves to breastfeed SO much. Like, if I let her do it 24 hours a day and never gave her solid foods, she would be fine with it. At one year old and only 16 pounds, I am quite anxious for her to get on with solid foods. Breasteeding her doesn't bother me and it's very convenient when we are out and about. I don't have to pack along bottles or anything, but she will soon, sadly, be big enough where people will start to think she's too old. This is a hot debate and I don't care what your opinions on the subject of when a baby is too old to nurse might be. But it's getting to be that time for us.

Unfortunately, she has a radar for when I decide to wean her. The moment I say to myself "let's try to wean her" that's when she decides to want to nurse non-stop. She just got over yet another ear infection and cold and nursing was the only thing that would comfort her. What am I going to use when she is weaned?

At the rate we are going, I am going to have the only daughter in college still nursing...and the only son in college still not potty trained.