Our journey

At 17 months, 2 weeks and 5 days our breastfeeding journey came to a close.  Oh what a great journey it was.  About 4 months in, I lost my supply in one breast (tried all the crazy things the internet suggested,haha) but kept going on the other.  When Hunter was 8 months old, he/we had Hand, Foot and Mouth and didn’t want to nurse.  I thought this was going to be the end of it and at the time, I wasn’t ready.  But after he got over Hand, Foot and Mouth he was good again.  When I was at work, I would pump.  For a few months I pumped 3 times a day, cut that to 2 around 7ish months, then to once around 10 months and by 11 months I wasn’t pumping at all.  I will say that day was joyous!  I don’t know how people exclusively pump…I hated pumping. But I’m very thankful my employer is very pro-breastfeeding and accommodating for nursing mothers.  After Hunter turned one, he basically nurse before bed and during the night and when he would wake up.  Sometimes before napping too.  Some would say he nursed during the night for too long but it was quick and got him back to sleep and gave me a few more minutes with him since I was working during the dayJ  In December Hunter slept through the night for 8 nights in a row!  I could tell that my supply was diminishing and each night we put him to bed I would think it’s the last time for nursing.  A few nights after Christmas was the last time he nursed before bed and then every few days he would nurse during the night.  The last day he nursed was to take a nap.  He was having lots of trouble going to sleep and was crying really hard.  I knew (and I think he must have known this is it) I had something but not much.  He nursed and fell asleep.  We now offer him milk before bed; sometimes he takes it sometimes he doesn’t.  He still takes a paci throughout the day and to sleep.  I'm not concerned about it.  Especially during the past few months with all the germs going around; I use it as a germ blocker:-) Another thing about this boy is that he loves to touch skin.  When I rock him at night he has to be touching my neck or my stomach.  I never thought about it while I was nursing but I guess the touch of skin makes him comfy.  

I never had a goal to nurse him as long as I did.  Each month that passed I was happy to have made it and I knew when it was time to stop, we would both be ready;-)  I’m so happy I was able to continue with breastfeeding Hunter as long as I did.