After 6 years and 11 months, my breastfeeding journey has come to an end.
I started breastfeeding immediately after I delivered baby J back in October 2012. I breastfed her even when I was pregnant with baby A. Baby J only stopped breastfeeding when I was nearing my third trimester of pregnancy.
Now, baby A has finally stopped breastfeeding, after 37 months. For the last three nights, baby A has not asked to latch on. My breastfeeding journey has finally ended.
Before baby A turned 3 years old, I was already telling her that we will stop our breastfeeding journey after her third birthday. She would always say yes. But when her birthday came, and she still asked to latch on, I knew I had to continue. After all, people always said it is best when kids self-wean. So, every night for the month after her third birthday, she would still latch on. But surprisingly, the night she turned 3 years and one month, she just slept without asking to latch on. It has been that way ever since.
So, how do I feel? I feel both sad and relieved at the same time. I feel relieved because my body is my own again. I can finally sleep continuously at night without having to raise my shirt for my baby to latch on. But, I also feel sad. I feel sad because we won’t be sharing that bonding experience anymore, an experience that only the two of us share every night. I feel sad because I have to tell myself that I no longer have a baby. She is now my little girl.
It has been a wonderful journey for me. I feel lucky that I was able to breastfeed my girls for so long. I feel lucky that I never had any milk supply issues. But most of all, I feel lucky that this experience has created a very close bond between me and my girls. And I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world!
I started breastfeeding immediately after I delivered baby J back in October 2012. I breastfed her even when I was pregnant with baby A. Baby J only stopped breastfeeding when I was nearing my third trimester of pregnancy.
Now, baby A has finally stopped breastfeeding, after 37 months. For the last three nights, baby A has not asked to latch on. My breastfeeding journey has finally ended.
Before baby A turned 3 years old, I was already telling her that we will stop our breastfeeding journey after her third birthday. She would always say yes. But when her birthday came, and she still asked to latch on, I knew I had to continue. After all, people always said it is best when kids self-wean. So, every night for the month after her third birthday, she would still latch on. But surprisingly, the night she turned 3 years and one month, she just slept without asking to latch on. It has been that way ever since.
So, how do I feel? I feel both sad and relieved at the same time. I feel relieved because my body is my own again. I can finally sleep continuously at night without having to raise my shirt for my baby to latch on. But, I also feel sad. I feel sad because we won’t be sharing that bonding experience anymore, an experience that only the two of us share every night. I feel sad because I have to tell myself that I no longer have a baby. She is now my little girl.
It has been a wonderful journey for me. I feel lucky that I was able to breastfeed my girls for so long. I feel lucky that I never had any milk supply issues. But most of all, I feel lucky that this experience has created a very close bond between me and my girls. And I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world!
