Many moms teach their kids a word or sign for nursing early on, and it makes sense-- babies who nurse on demand can do just that. Chickie stopped nursing "on demand" nearly a year ago when he got too distracted to nurse outside the home, so instead, we ended up getting on a little routine and nursed at certain times of the day (e.g. before naps or whatever). It was a little annoying, but it worked, for the most part. I made half-hearted attempts at teaching him the sign and word for milk, but nothing really stuck.
As I mentioned previously, we're night-weaning him now, and it sucks. He just gets up SO much and screams SO much and then can't get back to sleep and just knocks his head against the slats of his crib for hours. It really, really sucks. All 4 canines are really close, and that's really making things worse, but man, it's really hard.
Anyway, the good news is that he's eating well and has been trying new foods lately, so we started giving him cows' milk again. He doesn't totally dig it (although Dan foamed some milk for him and put some sugar in it, and Chickie started calling it "coffee") but he's slowly trying it more and more frequently. We're calling it "milk in a cup" and calling nursing "Mommy milk" to differentiate between the 2. Chickie has become SO much more verbal lately and really understands SO much and can also communicate very well, so much of what we tell him is starting to really stick. It's fantastic.
Anyway, today, he woke up from his nap screaming his head off and clutching at his gum where one of his teeth is coming in. I had to hold him and walk around the house with him forever before he could stop wailing. He finally said, "Mommy..." through intermittent wails, and I said, "I'm here, don't worry." He said, "Mommy milk." I nearly died. I wasn't going to nurse him randomly at 4 in the afternoon since the whole point of this process is getting him down to twice a day, but oh, that heartbreak of knowing that yes, that's exactly what he wants. That's exactly what would make him feel better right now. Oh, well. Everyone says that whenever you cut back on nursing, you need to make up for it in snuggle time, so that's what I did. We walked around the house and sang songs (well, I sang the same song 5 times because Chickie kept saying, "again? again?") and I guess he finally forgot about it.
4 comments:
Oh boy...that is definitely a little tiny heartbreak! Sometimes it is tough when they can communicate because you know that they want something they can't have and you have to deny them. When they are unable to express their needs, you can always say, "well, maybe that's not what was the matter anyway." and kind of make yourself feel better. It sounds like you are getting there with the weaning. The night time stuff must suck, but it sounds like you are really sticking to it, so congrats! I can't wait to see/hear chickie soon! it sounds like he is in a verbal explosion of sorts. very cool!
I am sure that must be hard, Div! But sounds like you guys are doing such a great job with him--I don't know how I would react to a baby crying for hours on end in the middle of the night (well, I guess I'll know soon enough)! Go, Monsoon Mama! And very cool, as Kat said, how he can verbalize so much now. That must be a really exciting time!
weaning can be a NIGHTMARE! i weaned my daughter by default. i had to go on a 4 day business trip (when she was 5mos old) and i was engorged the entire time! i kept having to excuse myself and go 'express' my boobs in the hotel room. i had no choice! i can only imagine if i tried to do it with her around!
the only thing i can say? this too shall pass. :)
well, last night, dan came home late, and i was just about to put chickie to bed (he was bathed and changed and everything), and dan and i started talking and got distracted, and the next thing i know, chickie is standing in the doorway to our bedroom saying, "mommy milk" with this look on his face like, "um, excuse me, i'm still the most important person in the world!" i guess this is why it can be easier to wean when babies are a little younger (although my boobs would have shot off my body if i had had to wean at 5 mos, MOFM)-- there are different challenges with weaning at different ages. i do think the night time stuff is SLOWLY starting to get better (and i will fucking kill something if i just jinxed myself), so i'm glad that we're stuck with it. it IS cool that he is talking so much... it makes most things SO much easier.
and, yes, this too shall pass :)
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