The Week of Weaning

Yes, it is past 3 a.m. and I am awake writing a blog. Is it because I am so dedicated to telling the incredible stories of being a mom that I will even forgo sleep to do so? Um . . . no.  It’s because I have decided this is the Week of Weaning! Uriah is now over a year old and while I love breastfeeding my babies, I am also very ready to be done once they turn one. My other two boys were much easier to wean, I just gradually cut out a feeding every once in a while until by the time they were one, I was only nursing them at bedtime or done completely.

Uriah is a little more attached though. He does not take a binky and I have become his replacement. He likes to wiggle around during breastfeeding sessions, often trying to watch what his brothers (or anyone else, if I am in public) are doing while nursing. This is annoying, uncomfortable and potentially embarrassing. I think if you in public and your one-year-old walks up and starts pulling and shaking at your shirt, that’s when you know it’s time to start cutting back!

But the worst is that I have let him develop bad bedtime behaviors. Even though Uriah is one, I have still been feeding him once in the night. I actually blame Uriah himself for this problem. He was such an easy-going baby that I hated to let him cry for anything. Not that I was happy to let my other two cry, but I kept in mind that sometimes it was good for them so they could learn to sleep through the night. I am also a much better mommy when I get a full night’s sleep! Anyway, so here I am with a one-year-old who I am just now training to sleep through the night and to only nurse at bedtime. Better late than never, right?!

Well, it sounds like Uriah just finished fussing for this small round, which means I better try to catch a few more hours of sleep. By the end of the week, I hope to report that, after an entire year of broken up slumber, we are both getting a full night’s rest!