Before Olivia was born, I'd heard how hard breastfeeding was. I was scared, but knew I wanted to try to nurse her for at least 12 months.
In the hospital, we had a rough start with so many woman man-handling my breasts! Talk about an uncomfortable experience.
First breastfeeding session in the hospital
Olivia was not able to latch well at first with her tiny little mouth, and we used a nipple shield for the first week. I was so anxious to get rid of that little plastic torture device! Thankfully, we weaned off that easily after about 7 days.
From there on, it was smooth sailing. No soreness or other issues, and my milk came in strong. Also, Olivia's pediatrician constantly referred to my breast milk as "milkshakes."
At (4 days short of) six months, I introduced solid food to Miss O. She loved playing with it, she loved tasting it. She did not love eating it. She did not truly swallow food for nutrition until she was 14 months old!
So obviously, my twelve month breastfeeding goal came and went.
Nursing on her 1st birthday
She showed no readiness to quit nursing. Neither did I.
Around sixteen months, she was eating food regularly and started to slow down. From then on, we were down to about two or three times a day.
Nursing at the beach (9 months)
Our routine went on ... and on ... Several times I thought she was going to quit, but she never did. Finally, when Olivia was thirty-four months old, I went out of town for four days. She was asleep when we got home that night. The next morning, she crawled into my bed and nursed for the last time. I knew it was the last time and really appreciated those moments. That night before bed, when she asked, I responded with, "There's no more milk. It's all gone." She asked one more time a few days later, but got distracted before she even got an answer. I was just shocked at how easy it was to wean her. I was also relieved, because it calmed my fears. She was ready.
Just a couple weeks before we quit, the amazing Lyndsay of Life in Motion Photography captured one of our last sessions, and I'm so happy to have these photographs. In this day and age, we take a lot of pictures on a daily basis, but my nursing photos are something I truly cherish.
Thank you, Lyndsay, for taking these photographs! I tear up every time I look at them.
Thank you to everyone else who was so supportive of my decisions for Olivia over the last thirty five months. Approaching Olivia's third birthday, I feel like I'm going in with a strong, healthy, little girl.
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