Weaned!

Yes, I weaned a toddler from breastfeeding. With no fuss. 🙂

Even though our breastfeeding experience did not exactly start off well, I’m happy and proud to say that I was able to breastfeed my baby for 2 and a half years, with months 2 to 6 almost exclusively, with just an occasional bottle of formula a day to tide him over till I get home from work. I recall how I used to lug around my bag containing my breastpump, bottles and cleaning paraphernalia, and a cooler to the office everyday, so that I can pump while working. Sometimes I even brought the pump to clients’ offices, where I pumped in the restroom while waiting for a meeting to start. I’ve also tried pumping while in a moving car. I even attempted to do so while driving, but found it to be very difficult (an accident waiting to happen, really), so I did not proceed. For the first few months after I gave birth, my schedule was pretty much controlled by Gabby’s feeding schedule, and finding opportunities to sneak in pumping sessions in between. It was hard, but I kept at it until breastfeeding and pumping came easily. It was a rewarding and fulfilling experience, and it allowed Gabby and me to bond.

Whenever I was not able to pump and nurse for long periods of time due to some circumstance beyond my control, I’d feel guilty. I became a sort of an addict, actually. But I loved doing it, because I knew I’m doing what is best  for my baby.

At around the 10-month mark,  my milk supply started to noticeably decrease. It saddened me, but the overwhelming feeling at first was actually panic.  I tried whatever I could to increase it again. But even though I was not able to do so, I still kept breastfeeding, figuring that any amount of breastmilk I can provide is better than none at all. At least, I was also very slowly getting used to the idea of weaning my baby from breastfeeding.

Now, at 2 1/2 years old, Gabby is weaned completely from nursing. It’s been more than a week now since I last nursed him. And, while he’d still ask to nurse once in a while, I’ve been able to persuade him not to.

How did we do it? Our process was verrrrrry gradual, which is how I preferred it (because, while I believe that moms should not be pressured into breastfeeding exclusively, I also believe in breastfeeding your baby as long as you can).

1.  When he turned 1, I stopped pumping when I’m at the office; I just nursed him whenever we were together. At this point, requests to nurse when outside the house became very rare, until it completely stopped. I nursed him when he woke up in the morning, then once more before I go to the office. When I get home, I also nurse on demand, then once before he goes to sleep, and a couple of times more during the night. During weekends he gets to nurse on demand.

2. When he turned 2, I stopped nursing him in the mornings, and confined nursing to before bedtime and when he woke up during the night.

3. At 2 and a half, I’d nurse at bedtime, but tried to limit the time (i.e. around 10-15 minutes only), and not let him go to sleep while nursing. I’d say, “that’s enough, baby,” and while he’d sometimes bargain for “last na lang,” usually he’d stop and turn away from me and ask that I tap him in the bum to make him sleepy.

4. Lately I either get him to go to sleep on his own without nursing, or ask his yaya to get him to sleep (more of the latter, because it reduces the chances of him asking to nurse). Then when he’s already asleep, he’s transferred to our room so he can sleep with us. He doesn’t wake up anymore in the middle of the night to nurse, and during the rare occasion when he did so, I just told him to go back to sleep and tapped him softly.

I think that part of our success in weaning is Gabby’s maturity. He understands and comprehends explanations now. He’s also rarely controlled now by his need to throw a tantrum when he cannot get his way. Even when he does, the tantrums are short and not as intense as before. We can now actually reason with him.

Also, I think I waited for the right time. There were attempts to wean before (halfhearted on my part, haha), but the protests were such that I figured he was not ready yet. And since I wanted to nurse as long as possible, I did not have to force him and me to wean even when we were not yet ready.

While we’ve been successful in weaning though, to be honest, there’s a part of me that’s sad–sad because this phase in our relationship has ended, and I feel that somehow I’ve lost some sort of unique connection with him. But I’m also happy. Happy, because he’s sort of moving on to other things. Happy, because he no longer uses nursing as a sleeping aid. Happy, because he can fall asleep on his own (sometimes). And happy, because since he does not wake up to nurse in the middle of the night anymore, he now sleeps through the night.

And, let’s face it: happy, because nursing a toddler with almost a full set of baby teeth actually hurts a bit.

“It’s A Accident!”

When I became a mom, my maternal instincts really kicked in, and I felt attuned to my baby’s needs and everything else related to him. For example, we co-slept (and still do, actually) ever since he was about two weeks old. I was at first afraid to do so, fearing that I might crush him if I sleep beside him, but realized that I am easily awakened even by the slightest stir from him. This made breastfeeding so much easier, especially when he was still at that stage when he has to feed every two hours. No more crying in the middle of the night ’cause he’s hungry, as I was able to anticipate his needs.

Also kicking in is the protectiveness which I immediately felt with my baby when he was born. However, a year and five months of motherhood has made me realize that we as mothers can’t completely protect our children from all the dangers we can think of, whether big or small. Short of making G wear a helmet and knee pads all the time, scratches, bruises and bumps were inevitable. The best we can do is be vigilant, attentive and possess a nice big helping of foresight.

Of course, not all booboos can be foreseen, as I have experienced first hand (and much to my husband and baby’s chagrin :P). One time, I was taking care of G; we were sitting on the floor next to the coffee table playing. He was sitting, but not on his cutesy baby bum (I hope you can imagine the picture I’m trying to paint here 🙂 ). All of a sudden he got out of balance and boink! hit his cheek on the leg of the coffee table. The result was a bruise on his face which lasted for a week :(.

What gives me comfort is that, contrary to what we may think and fear, it is true that babies are not as fragile as they look. 🙂 They’ll cry when they get hurt, the intensity and duration of which depends on the degree of hurt they feel. And we comfort them and try to make them feel better. Then they get over it, forget and move on. And so will we. 🙂

Preparing for Mommyhood – the Boobs Edition

A couple of weeks back, my pregnant friend and former officemate A texted me, asking about nursing bras and breast pads. She’s now on her 7th month and apparently has begun to leak colostrum. Now, that didn’t happen to me when I was preggers, but I read from several sources that it does happen.

As you may have heard, or are experiencing first hand, a soon-to-be mother’s breasts will increase in size in preparation for breastfeeding. Pregnant women may resort to bra extenders, and eventually to buying larger bras. I skipped the bra extenders altogether and got the bigger bras when my regular bras got too uncomfortable. I didn’t get a lot though, as I thought that I won’t be using them for too long.

Even through all my OC-ness and preparation, my baby G arrived a few weeks ahead of due date, and at that time I was really not yet done with my baby things shopping (and, I have to admit, there were stuff that I didn’t think to get; that will be the topic of another post :)). Included among the things I was not able to buy were nursing bras and breast pads.

In my defense, I was not able to buy nursing bras before I gave birth because: 1) G arrived ahead of schedule nga; and 2) it’s a bit difficult to buy bras when you don’t know how many sizes you’ll go up from your current one (for the inability to buy breast pads ahead, I have no defense.). However, my guess is I went a size and a cup bigger from my pregnancy size after I gave birth, especially once the milk came in. In the end, it was my husband, A, who bought the bras and the pads for me (hahaha!).

Going back to my friend, I told her that I got mine at SM department store, but the particular bra brand I got did not make nursing bras with cup sizes bigger than B. Now, a newly lactating mom most probably would need bras with bigger cup sizes (even me, and I am petite!). Since I was a new mom then though whose time was all taken up by caring for my baby, I cannot go out of the house for too long to search for nursing bras, and I eventually settled for those. I got them in bigger size but still in cup B. I figured that was the best I can do.

However, if you have the time (probably before you give birth is the best time to do it),  you can try shopping in the bigger department stores and malls. Specialty shops like Mothercare also carry nursing bras, and you will probably have better luck finding ones that fit there. My advice: just buy around 3, especially if you got the pricier ones, so that you’ll always have one to wear while the other/s are in the wash. Breast size will fluctuate you see; for example, once your baby starts solids, you’ll notice a decrease in breast milk supply, and subsequently a decrease in breast size ( I know, sad :P). Also, select ones which will be easy to snap/unsnap using just one hand; you’ll only be able to use one hand while you’re carrying your crying hungry baby.

As for breast pads, there are two kinds: disposable and reusable. I prefer the reusable kind; it’s more environmentally friendly, you don’t have to worry about running out of pads, the ones from Avent are made of cotton and therefore breathable and comfy, and you don’t have to worry about the pad disintegrating and bits and pieces of it being ingested by your baby. Avent makes really good ones; a pack of 3 pairs costs a little over P1000, and may be bought in SM Baby Company, among others. There are other cheaper ones though, you just have to ask around. Usually they’re found in the baby section of department stores, but again, specialty stores also carry those.

There you go. Hope you got the info you need. Happy shopping! 🙂

Hey mommy, hello!

As a working mom to a 1-year-and-4-months-old (as of this writing) toddler, I realized that when it comes to getting the information I need in taking care of and raising my son I have come to rely not only on my just-recently acquired maternal instincts, but also on tips from the supermoms in my life, my baby’s pedia, the Internet, and my beloved friends, the What To Expect series. However, I found that sometimes, they don’t have all the answers (or maybe I was not able to find them myself? Hmmm.), and I had to rely on good old me. So I would like to share, for the benefit of all mothers and mothers-to-be out there, some tips, experiences, advice, and what-nots regarding my pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, and taking care of my baby in general, in the hopes that what worked for me may also work for you.

🙂