Wean

My journey of breastfeeding this time around has been an absolute joy.

 Despite the beginning ( a little painful till we found our groove) we have had ZERO issues pertaining to the nursing process.

 No clogs. No mastitis. No pumping with my double pumper at all! I didn't even use it ONCE.

 With Dylan it was a different story. We struggled a lot with nursing. I had clogs, mastitis, nursing strikes and ultimately ended up exclusively pumping for 7 months...after all that I'm still happy to say he never tasted formula ( not that it matters, but after all that work i put in, I take pride in providing him 13 months of nutrition on my own).

The worst thing that has happened this time around is that Julia refused all bottles of breast-milk. And now she is not too keen on whole milk in a cup. But she'll happily drink water. And give the girl a juice box and she's your best friend. I actually have to hide them because she's obsessed.

My goal was to wean her by one but we aren't there yet. I still hold on to the morning, afternoon, and bedtime feedings. Probably more for me than for her.

I recently weaned her from one side altogether. My right side has always been a dud and it was just annoying to even use it. So we are part way there. And yes, i'm lopsided.

Just this week I gave up a mid-morning session before morning nap, and she didn't even flinch.  My goal is to have her totally weaned in a month. That's when I make my first ever trip away from my kiddos is more than a year.

IN fact, I've never left Julia for more than a couple hours. We are only apart when we sleep. It will be a challenging trip for both of us but a much needed respite with my dearest friends.  It also means that my husband will be in charge of everything for both kiddos. Something he is more than capable of but not yet tested on. I have lots of faith in him, and I know that he knows how important this trip is to me.