218-6

For the last 218 weeks that I have been either pregnant or nursing minus the 6 weeks between when Otto weaned and I got pregnant with Mette. (For the record, while I think it is cute when couples say "we" are pregnant, I think it is a bit strange. Eric fully admits that he wouldn't last more than two minutes being pregnant. I remember being pregnant very well and the entire time he did not look or seem to feel the least bit pregnant.) That is a long time. Over four years. Almost half of my twenties. Ok, when you put it like that it is a bit depressing. I have talked about Mette weaning before and it was starting to seem like it would never happen. Otto nursed until he was 13 months old and one day said, you know what, I am cool without nursing and that was it. He was of course also eating us out of house and home at the time. Mette didn't really start eating until the start of this summer, despite the fact that she started demanding food at 5 months. She wanted all of it, she just didn't want to EAT any of it. She is still a picky eater, but she now eats. She even drinks milk now which she wouldn't do before. Provided it is "bunny milk" which OMG I never thought I would allow that in my house, let alone let my child drink it every day. "Bunny milk" is strawberry Nesquick which I make very weak. She calls it bunny milk since it has a bunny on the can. I am hoping to wean her to just regular milk soon, but since she drinks it and likes it, I am going with it. It does have less sugar than chocolate milk and is fortified, but it also has food coloring. Seems a bit strange when I mix it with our organic milk, ugh. My goal at the beginning of the summer was to have Mette weaned by the end of the summer. At some point in June I was seriously thinking it would be Christmas before she stopped. She was still getting up more than once to nurse at night and was nursing two times, or more, during the day. Then she stopped nursing during the day except for bedtime and naptime. It also became obvious that she wasn't really nursing as much as using me as a pacifier. Then it all came to a halt. Her sleeping went from not great to horrible. She had a few days where she literally did not stop crying, she was so tired but just would not sleep. I didn't know what to do. She wanted to nurse all the time which I wasn't crazy about, especially since she really wasn't nursing as much as just sucking. Enter the PINK. Otto had a Nuk (pacifier) from day three. Once I saw how much it calmed him down I got over all my fears of nipple confusion and let him have it. He only got rid of it just before his third birthday. Mette went through a short phase of having one but quickly got rid of it. That was also fine. Until last month. Out of desperation as much as anything I bought her a cute pink pacifier at the store to try. At first it wasn't a huge hit, but then she started to want it. One day she took it, Bibi (the beloved blankie) Mun-key and curled up in my lap and fell asleep for her nap without nursing. Then she slept for 2.5 hours. And so began Mette's journey with a nuk. She calls it Pink. I immediately went out and bought more back-up Pinks. I am not dumb. We have tried others of the same kind that are just a different color and only in desperation will they do. Pink is Pink and there are no substitutes. So for the last week Mette was only nursing before she went to bed at night, for naps all she needed was Pink. I stopped nursing her in the night too. There were a few rough nights where Otto and Eric slept in the guest room and I slept in Otto's bed to remind Mette that I was there, she was ok, but she just needed to go back to sleep. And now, she sleeps through the night for the most part. She wakes up once or twice and calls out, if I go and, give her a Pink and just tuck her in she is back to sleep right away. Another week or two and we will stop that as well. She is also back to actually napping in the afternoon which makes her so much more pleasant which in turn make us all happier.

The end of it all was Tuesday night. She went up to bed with me and snuggled in my arms but did not nurse and just fell asleep. The rest of the week Eric took her up to bed and she just wanted to be snuggled into her bed and kissed goodnight. As long as she had Pink and Bibi she was set. Tonight I put her to bed without a problem. Being as she hasn't nursed since Monday night, I think we are done. WOW. 18 months and she is all done. It is great and liberating and sad all at once. I am more ready for this than I was for Otto, but still, it is the end of an era. She picked a hell of a week as it is World Breastfeeding Week. That is very Mette.

So there, I am a free woman. Eric said he thinks I should do a bunch of shots of Tequilla, drink a whole bunch of cough medicine and take some Excedrin Migraine. You know. all the things I have been wanting to do for 4 years. I am celebrating with not feeling guilty about a second or *gasp* THIRD cup of coffee and more than one glass of wine. The truth, I am now a total light weight. Guess I just have to work on that :)