A Time to Wean

For a multitude of reasons, Jax is weaning.

It's a bittersweet time for me. On one hand, I'm sad to see the last vestiges of his baby days disappear. He's my last baby, and I've cherished the special relationship that we've been able to have. Any time he's hurt, or sad, or overwhelmed, nursing has been his go-to method to re-center himself, and I've been happy to provide that for him. Nursing has enabled us to bond so securely and enabled him to be very independent. I'm eternally grateful for that. I'll miss having that special time with him, and I'll miss having a very easy way to calm him down no matter what.

On the other hand, he hasn't nursed more than twice a day in months. He's slowed down considerably, is eating a wide variety of foods, and I know that nutritionally, he'd be fine. If he was still nursing a dozen times a day, I wouldn't even consider letting this natural weaning happen, but as it is, he's no longer using nursing as a nutritional supply but instead is just using it for comfort. He hasn't night nursed in almost four months, and during the day he'll only nurse once or twice if I don't offer.

Daddy is able to put him to bed, and I know he enjoys getting to have that special time with our little man.

So this is it. My baby boy is growing up, and I have to let that happen. I'm really sad, because let's face it, I'm never going to get to be pregnant again, so this is it. I'm also excited though to watch him grow up in to even more of a little boy. It just goes by way too quickly.

It's been a wonderful 14 months. Here's to the next chapter in our relationship!