Lactindependence

I forgot to mention another thing that happened recently - I stopped breastfeeding Skipper.

There are people who think 17 months is really old for weaning, and people who think it's young. For us, weaning was a compromise with both kids. They would both have been happy to keep nursing, but I wasn't enjoying it, especially this time around, and once the kids were eating a respectable volume and variety of foods, I was ready. Skipper took longer because she loved the boobs. Dutch weaned when she was about 15 months old, but she nursed only for sustenance and not for comfort.* Skipper weaned without too much protest, but she would happily have kept on nursing 20 times a day for the rest of her childhood, I think.

Last night, I lay down next to Skipper at bedtime (the time and position in which we were doing the only nursing of the day for about a month) and she asked to nurse. I said no. "We don't nurse any more, honey." She started to cry, and I hope it was only my sentimental tendency that made it sound like a deeply heartfelt wail of sorrow.

I miss the intimacy and cuddliness of breastfeeding, and I feel a little pang that I'll never nurse another baby, but I'm also very glad to have my body back to my own self.

* For comfort, she sucked on my neck. Seriously. Look: