The times they are a changin'

Last night eric, Mette and I embarked on a new journey. I am no longer going to nurse Mette during the night. For the first 14 months of her life Mette got up to eat every two to three, sometimes four, hours a night. Then she started getting up maybe once, but usually twice. I kept thinking that if I just hung in there she would start stretching out. I have come to the conclusion that it is never going to happen if I don't help. I am also going to start down the weaning path. She will be 16 months old next week and I think it is time. For the past 4 years with the exception of 6 weeks I have either been pregnant or nursing. Which is fine, I have been happy to do it and I am so glad I did, but the time has come for me to have my body back. I don't want to think twice about having more coffee, drinks with dinner, going out and getting back in time for her to nurse. It has been a wonderful run, with both kids, but they are strong healthy well bonded children who no longer need substance from my physical body. I don't expect or want to wean to quickly. Judging by how I felt this morning after her not nursing all night I think that would be VERY painful for me. I do want to start moving in that direction though. So, we are staring with nights. I have to say it went pretty well last night. She nursed before she went to bed and slept until 1, a long stretch for her. At 1 I went in and instead of nursing her I told her it was time to go back to bed. She was not too pleased, but not hysterical like I thought might be the case. I asked her if she wanted any water, she nodded yes so I offered her a sippy cup. She took two tiny sips and pushed it away in a true moody 16 year old maneuver. She asked to nurse (she signs it) and I told her we weren't nursing in the night and it was time to go back to sleep. She was very tired and I could tell wanted to go back to sleep but was annoyed I wasn't going to pick her up and nurse her. I went back to bed and she fussed. Eric went in to comfort her later on and it took her until almost 3 to really go back to sleep, but she did eventually go back to sleep. She also never really lost it. She was pissed, but also really tired and the tired won out. She slept until 5:20 at which point I nursed her, (boy did that feel good!) and she went back to sleep!! She slept until 7:15. If she can start sleeping through the night until 5ish then nursing and going back to sleep I will keep that up for a bit. Nothing before 5, but after 5 if she will go back to sleep I'll cut a deal with her. Pre-6 is just WAY too early to get up and if I don't nurse her she is up for the day. When I went in a 5:20 she was standing up bright eyed saying hi. Nursing and more sleep works so much better for all members of the family at that point.

I have no idea how tonight will go. It seems that sometimes these things get worse before they get better but I am sticking to it. While she may want to nurse in the night, she does not need to. What she needs to do is to learn how to sleep through the night, and that is our goal here. Then we will start working on getting her down to just a couple nursings a day. I think I am going to shoot for once in the morning, once before nap, and MAYBE once after nap, then once before bed. This will of course require she eats more food, but I think the only way to get her to eat more is to not nurse her as much. Now this part is really not going to fly. She will scream and throw fits if I offer her food when she is hungry instead of nursing her, but I am determined. I have an aresenol of yummy snacks she likes at the ready and I am mastering a yogurt smoothie she likes that I can offer when she really just wants to nurse. This is where Otto liking milk made it so much easier. Mette won't drink milk so there is no substitute. But the yogurt smoothies may just work. Milkshakes would work too since she sucks those right down but I am not that desperate yet. I really do feel that if I don't take the initiative with Mette to wean that she will happily nurse until she goes to Kindergarden which I am not cool with. I am all about extended breast feeding, baby wearing, co-sleeping when it works, but there is a line for everyone and we are getting close to crossing my line. I would like Mette to be weaned by later this summer. We'll see how that goes.

Wish us luck!