Weaning process

I started this post on 1-24-13; Jacqueline had turned one 2 weeks before that date, she's now almost 14 months.

Technically I started weaning months ago when Jacqueline began eating food.
As I stopped pumping at work & only feeding Jacqueline at home (3-4 times a day M-F, feeding her on demand on weekends), we transitioned from less breast milk to another milk source (soy primarily) & MORE food.

Weaning myself from the pump at work was a process - it took 3 weeks which I didn't expect, but it's a step down process like with BFing sessions. I do not want to get an infection and/or being wicked uncomfortable! It's also strange to shift your mindset. For a year you've been feeding a baby constantly and now you're trying to stop (eventually it happens). However, I remember when you're feeding a newborn 12 times a day, every 2 hours, then it's 10 times, finally only 8 times, and 6 times a day was our regular routine for the last 6 months or so.

• Week 1 was 2 times, stretching out the time between each pumping session, being comfortable with every 4-5 hours instead of 3 hours. 
• Week 2 was 1 time, feeding Jacqueline at home at 5:30-6a, stretching the time until a pumping session around 12-12:30p, getting comfortable with it being every 6 hours. 
• Week 3 was 1 time also, again feeding Jacqueline at 6-6:30, stretching the time until I pumped at 1:00p on Monday, then 1:30p on Tuesday, then 2:30p on Wednesday, trying to be less uncomfortable until I'd leave for home & feed Jacqueline at 4:00pm! 

In week 3 I also pumped for 5-10 minutes only instead of usual 15-20 minutes, again trying to tell my body to make less milk. Finally I told myself on Jan. 31, this is it. I am NOT pumping in February!  I did have to pump one time in February, the next week because I had faculty meeting & I could not make it through the meeting with that discomfort!  I left the pump at work in case (it's still there, I keep forgetting to put it in my car!). However, the best thing to do at this point is to be slightly (hopefully only a little!) uncomfortable until you get home, then find your baby & hope she's not taking a nap when you get home.

If she is, oh, well, she probably won't be asleep much longer, especially Jacqueline. She could be a better napper, just 1 good nap a day is all I ask (Jai really!). She never took 2 long naps like Julia did and we were sad when Julia transitioned to the 1 long nap, but at least we got that 1 nap consistently for years now. Julia still takes a 2 hour nap 4 days a week (not TU & TH because of school & usually once on weekend to my disappointment!). We are not looking forward to that loss if Julia starts K this year! In MNPS Pre-K, the students take a short nap.

Back to Jacqueline & weaning!
Now she eats almost anything, but rice cakes, soy butter, goat cheese, whole grain bread, beans, rice, quinoa, hummus are some of her favorites, especially beans!

I don't think she drinks enough milk during the day, but she still nurses 3 times, sometimes 4, but we're working on dropping the 1-2a feeding. That's a whole another process! I've been getting lots more sleep which is lovely. However, in order to train Jacqueline, Jai has been the one to handle her when she wakes up. Luckily it is before he goes to sleep anyway, but she is sleeping in the Pack-N-Play in the guest room so that is where Jai goes to sleep. It's been a solid week, almost 2, of consistently feeding her around 7-8p, then again at 6-6:30a.

The next step is getting Jacqueline in her crib OUT of our bedroom & hopefully NOT waking up at all. I wish we could put her in Julia's room, but I don't think they are ready for this step.

Actually they would LOVE to be in same room, but they'd keep each other awake! : )