Dominic's Weaning

Dominic has never been one of those 'milk addict' type of baby.  By the time he was 2 years plus, he was only nursing, on the average, 2 times a day - first thing when he woke up in the morning and before his bedtime.  Occasionally, when he was really bored, he would asked to nurse more.  He was long weaned from night feeds. 

As I said, I myself was only ready to wean him after he turned 2.  Very gradually, I adopted the 'Don't offer, don't reject' method of weaning the last 2 feeds.  He was absolutely ok with alternatives and distractions.  There was no crying or fussing.  No trauma.

By the time he was about 2.5 years, he was asking less and less to nurse.  He would go some days without asking.  About this time, Richard and I were also desperate for a holiday for just the 2 of us.  We were tired and needed a child-free break.  To prepare Dominic for the impending separation, we started leaving him with his grandparents overnight, which he loved because he got doted on and treated like a king and could stay up late and eat all the candies and junk.

The day finally came when Richard and I went for a 2 weeks holiday in Japan without Dominic.  After the 2 weeks of separation, he was completely weaned.

I was already pregnant with our 2nd child before the trip.  After we got back, there were a few occasions when Dominic would ask for milk.  I offered him my breasts as usual knowing full well that there wasn't much milk left for him.  I was just curious to know how he would take it.  He took a few sucks, realised that there was nothing for him to get out, and gave up.  In fact, he seemed to find it funny and we both laughed over it.  I also found that it was probably time that he wean in a sense that I noticed he seemed to lose his ability to suckle pretty rapidly.  You would think that he had been suckling for over 2 years of his life, it was something he won't forget quickly!

Thus, this is how my firstborn son was weaned after over two and a half years of breastfeeding.

For Memory's Sake

I actually took some pictures of him nursing, for memory's sake.  I have plenty of photos of him nursing discreetly but there were a few more explicit ones that I took when he was around 1 year.  I wanted something to show him that he nursed at my breasts, and I am glad I took the pictures.  Dominic enjoys looking at the pictures.  Perhaps when the baby comes and start another nursing relationship, the pictures would come in useful to show Dominic that he once had the very same relationship with mommy.

So, if you are still nursing your little one, don't forget to take some pictures before you lose the opportunity to do so.