The little Bear is nearly 2 (just 3 more months!). I don't have a hard and fast weaning schedule by any means--I'm certainly willing to nurse for naps and bedtime for a while longer--but I want him to pretty much let go of random daytime nursings before his birthday. He doesn't spend a lot of time on them, doesn't need them for nutrition, and does them out of habit as much as anything. I'm hoping to get pregnant soon and SUPER tender breasts is one of my earliest and strongest symptoms of pregnancy, so I'd like to minimize pain and trauma for everyone involved here by getting him to ease off now while we have the time to do it gently. (I'm also trying to get him to let go of the mid-night nursings, and developing a habit of short nursing times rather than long ones will help with that I think...they'll just shorten up until they go away!)
Anyway, I decided to do counting with him. So when he comes up to me during the day and wants to nurse, I latch him on and then count to 10, then say "all done!" and we're done. The first time he gave me a funny look but accepted it. The second time he gave me a dirty look and promptly asked for the other breast (which I gave him--also for 10--and then he was satisfied). But since then he's gotten into the rhythm of it and it's going well. We count, he smiles, and readily lets go on his own when we get to 'all done'. He's even stopped asking for 'nurn' or 'nanu' much of the time--instead he comes over and pulls at my shirt and says 'wan, too?" (1, 2?)
He also wanders around the house saying things like "wan, too, ree(3), foe(4), sen(7), eight, nine, ten, AWW DONE!!" It is so stinkin cute!
Wanna read other cute stuff that kids say? Check out Tiny Talk Tuesday, celebrating our kids, the things they say, and their view of the world.
Love kids early words. I get the biggest kick out of the nanu word. Makes me think of Mork. Heh.
ReplyDeleteHubby taught him to say 'nanu' and yes, it was intentionally a Mork thing...which is all the more funny since I never saw an episode...yeah...
ReplyDeleteLOL!
i love his counting.
ReplyDeletealso very impressed that you are still nursing. i felt quite dedicated and proud and quit long before you. way to go!
I do the ABC song with my 2 1/2 year old when she is nursing. She has been able to sing it for quite some time now.
ReplyDeleteBut, it hasn't really helped her wean ;) She is still a very dedicated nursling.
OH I love when they count. So cute!
ReplyDelete