breastfeed no more

to wean lil han @ age 2 was by far the hardest thing for me to do. i was literally torn! my milk supply is definitely drying up & when i'm not working, he'd be stuck to me 24-7, refusing to drink powdered milk & preferring to attach himself to his comfort zone as we call it.

i was told by some to stop, others to continue & many gave suggestions on ways to deter him from my breasts. i've even heard stories of mothers nursing their child up to primary 6. the first word that crossed my mind was YIKES! but i'm sure of one mother (wife to an old friend of hubs) who nursed her daughter till primary 2. how did she do it? beats me!

an opportunity was presented to me in the form of a short trip with hubs (without the boys) for 4 days 3 nights. i've never been away from han since he was born & what better way to help him forget his comfort zone in the gentlest possible way.

did it work? YES although not instantly! when hubs & i went to fetch him from my parents-in-law's place, he seemed shy with me initially & played with hubs mostly. as we got into the car, he sat on my lap then turned towards me & pleaded for his ne-nen! he cried almost all the way home as we were doing our utmost best to distract him. once we reached home, i asked hubs to distract him further as i rummaged through the drawers looking for gauze & first aid bandages. i then covered & taped both nipples thoroughly & applied amway's tropical herbs baby oil on the exposed gauze bandage for added effects. i was ready & went upstairs to face han. the minute he saw me, he struggled away from hubs & headed straight for his ne-nen! lo & behold! han's stunned expression came next when he saw his bandaged ne-nen. he slowly pulled my t-shirt down & told me to "close". i explained to him that mommy's bleeding & in pain, so the doctor "put medicine" & covered my wounds. he believed me.

han still snuggles up to me when he sleeps. he'll put his hand on my chest & say, "mommy painful. bleeding." he's really trying his hardest to adjust (so proud of him) & i must say he's doing pretty well. we've also noted an increase in his food & formula milk intake which is a great sign. hopefully he'll put on a few more kilos in the months to come.

to breastfeed han till the age of 2 has been a personal accomplishment for me as an didn't take to my breasts too well & i only managed to nurse him for 2 ½ months. i used to think something was terribly wrong with the way i breastfed him & may be i was doing it incorrectly. now i know that there's no right or wrong in breastfeeding for every child is different.

i reckon it was a good 2-year stint for han & mommy. i'm sure he feels the same way :o)