Well, its happened. One of the five breast feeding babies in Kellan's play group has stopped nursing. The first baby to no longer be a baby. Her mother is pleased, as they desperately want to have another. I think that they're planning on a small army. Some of the others have slowed down noticeably. They'll soon tire of it, or their mothers will push them to tire of it. There are mothers who are ready to be done as well. Some for the sake of having more children, others because they're not sure that they should be nursing a baby beyond that magic first birthday mark.
I feel so differently about it. Kellan is still a very active nursling. He nurses many times each day and all night long. He's 14 months old now and able to respond when I ask if he "wants nursies". His face lights up, he crawls over at full speed, lifts up my shirt and climbs into my lap, ready for a nurse and a cuddle. When I get home from work in the evening, its all I can do to get my shoes off he's so impatient to get down to the business of nursing. And I adore the time that we have together. The quiet cuddling intimate time that becomes increasingly rare as Kellan enters toddlerhood. Nursing is our time. I hope that he nurses for another year or more. I know that its natural and that its the best thing for him both nutritionally and emotionally. I also know that I would be heartbroken if he decided to wean.
Here's hoping that, as far as the play group goes, we come in a distant fifth.
Thursday, April 28, 2005
Friday, April 22, 2005
Tuesday, April 19, 2005
Whirlwind Days
So, we bought a house this weekend. Didn't know we were looking? Neither did we! Our lease is up at the end of July, we're both very happy in our jobs (cross your fingers for funding renewal next year), and we like Springfield enough to settle here for awhile. So, we thought, we should start looking at houses, get an idea of what's out there. We saw one on Friday, a definite "no". Saw one on Saturday, gorgeous, bit too big and quite old which worried me, but a definite "under consideration". Saw two on Sunday. The second one was perfect. It was beautiful, great location, everything updated (though it only dates to the mid 1970s), new appliances, new doors, a beautifully painted nursery already in place, and a price that couldn't be beat. We didn't want it to slip away, so made an offer on Sunday afternoon. It was accepted and paperwork was completed with contracts signed on Monday.
Photos to follow in June. We're officially closing on the 3rd. The couple who live there now have a young baby and wanted a bit of time to make the move. Not a problem for us (see above re: lease).
We've also rearranged our work hours so that Nic will be able to do a more traditional day and we will have weekends together again. He starts very early and works all morning into the early afternoon. I then come into work for the afternoon and evening. I arrive home just in time to put Kellan to bed. Its exhausting, but also refreshing. We get weekends together as a family. I get to have Kellan for a long stretch each day, rather than the tired evening hours that we had previously. I feel like I'm giving him the very best of me. And he doesn't seem to notice my absence in the evenings. When I talked to them a few moments ago he was chattering away happily in the background. They were just about to have dinner and then head out to the park.
I did have a guilty moment before leaving for work today. We're trying to drop Kellan's morning nap. So far so good. Its making the afternoon nap longer and easier for Nic, plus making bedtime much less struggle. On the other hand, it can lead to a very tired baby by about 12 o'clock. I was nursing him before leaving for work today and he fell asleep at the breast. Not a big deal, except that I really needed to get going and he had no intention of moving anytime soon. He'd already taken most of the milk and was simply comfort nursing. So I tried to sneak away. Immediate mouth rooting around and whining, though still half asleep. I put the nipple back. Waited 10 minutes. Tried to sneak away again. He really wasn't taking any milk and I really needed to get going. This time it was major upset. I've never taken the breast from him before. Not in 13 months. He's always been allowed to nurse to his heart's content. I had to call Nic in to comfort him so that I could leave for work. And I felt like an awful mother. Forcing my son to stop nursing so that I could go to work. Where are my priorities? But, I have to say it again, he wasn't actually drinking anymore, just sucking. Ugh, working motherhood can be a real tug of war.
PS You notice that I didn't post anything further about the in laws. My father in law must have had words with my mother in law, as after the first horrible weekend, she stopped all of the comments and became almost friendly. We survived. They left last Thursday and it was almost sad. Kellan had enjoyed having them around so much and some small (crazy) part of me wished that they could have stayed on forever. Who knows what the future holds. They're both in their 70s and have no other family. Only time will tell.
Photos to follow in June. We're officially closing on the 3rd. The couple who live there now have a young baby and wanted a bit of time to make the move. Not a problem for us (see above re: lease).
We've also rearranged our work hours so that Nic will be able to do a more traditional day and we will have weekends together again. He starts very early and works all morning into the early afternoon. I then come into work for the afternoon and evening. I arrive home just in time to put Kellan to bed. Its exhausting, but also refreshing. We get weekends together as a family. I get to have Kellan for a long stretch each day, rather than the tired evening hours that we had previously. I feel like I'm giving him the very best of me. And he doesn't seem to notice my absence in the evenings. When I talked to them a few moments ago he was chattering away happily in the background. They were just about to have dinner and then head out to the park.
I did have a guilty moment before leaving for work today. We're trying to drop Kellan's morning nap. So far so good. Its making the afternoon nap longer and easier for Nic, plus making bedtime much less struggle. On the other hand, it can lead to a very tired baby by about 12 o'clock. I was nursing him before leaving for work today and he fell asleep at the breast. Not a big deal, except that I really needed to get going and he had no intention of moving anytime soon. He'd already taken most of the milk and was simply comfort nursing. So I tried to sneak away. Immediate mouth rooting around and whining, though still half asleep. I put the nipple back. Waited 10 minutes. Tried to sneak away again. He really wasn't taking any milk and I really needed to get going. This time it was major upset. I've never taken the breast from him before. Not in 13 months. He's always been allowed to nurse to his heart's content. I had to call Nic in to comfort him so that I could leave for work. And I felt like an awful mother. Forcing my son to stop nursing so that I could go to work. Where are my priorities? But, I have to say it again, he wasn't actually drinking anymore, just sucking. Ugh, working motherhood can be a real tug of war.
PS You notice that I didn't post anything further about the in laws. My father in law must have had words with my mother in law, as after the first horrible weekend, she stopped all of the comments and became almost friendly. We survived. They left last Thursday and it was almost sad. Kellan had enjoyed having them around so much and some small (crazy) part of me wished that they could have stayed on forever. Who knows what the future holds. They're both in their 70s and have no other family. Only time will tell.
Thursday, April 14, 2005
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