and after over 26mths of nursing c he has self weaned (although some of the weaning is surely the drop in supply during this pregnancy
i do plan on pumping milk for him for as long as his sibling nurses.
nursing my former preemie for over 2 yrs is one of the biggest accomplishments in my life so far.
and i honour it
i honour him
and a relationship that brought him from tubes and isolettes to a healthy, robust (albeit slim!) toddler.
c was stubborn about learning signs, but he picked up the one for milk early
i think back to how we started and i am really proud of myself
and that the challenges we had showed me that i had strength previously unknown to me
c would not nurse at the breast for almost 3 mths.
i pumped and pumped some more and never supplemented
i'd pump for up to an hour in one session
10-14 times a day
i learned of every possible galactogogue
herb
massage technique
pumping technique
latching technique
dietary restriction
that one could possibly learn
i would pump and cry
i would try to latch him and he'd cry
and i'd cry
i fell deep into the darkness of motherhood
the hopeless, depressed, struggling side
and then one day
magical
he latched
even though failure was the stronger bet to take
we beat the odds
and made it past 2 years
and it restored my trust in my body
in myself
i am glad and grateful to have been able to turn our struggles with nursing
into energy and action and helping other new nursing mamas in their unforeseen challenges with breastfeeding
i learned of blessings
and gratitude
and rejoicing in the small miracles
that each day can bring
all of this
reminders
from the trials to the triumph
in our long term nursing success
i celebrate the commitment of women who are extended nursers
it is not an easy path
but now that the supply is gone temporarily
i celebrate them
am grateful for the changes that they are bringing
in acceptance of something so pure and natural
and am honoured to be part of them.
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