It's funny to me to think back to how I felt about some things before I had Walker. I always knew I would breastfeed him but I thought I would just pump and put it in a bottle and he would be perfectly content with that. I never planned on actually breastfeeding. Once Walker was born I got to hold him for about two minutes before they took him straight to the NICU. I was induced three weeks early because of Preeclampsia and Hypertension so Walker's lungs weren't fully developed. They say that boys' lungs develop more slowly than girls. Walker stayed in the NICU all night and I got him back around 5 am the next morning. They had to feed him in the NICU so they gave him a bottle of formula. When he came back to me, he refused to latch on and I had a very hard time breastfeeding him. Visitors were in and out over those two days so I gave into him and let him have the bottle more than I should because I couldn't do it on my own. I finally got a lactation specialist to come help me and from then on, we were good!
I planned to breastfeed Walker for one year. I thought that if I could make it to one year it would be a big accomplishment. When Walker's first birthday came around I just wasn't ready to stop. I kept waiting for Walker to just wean himself and he did a little bit. He got down to nursing only 2-3 times per day and it was usually just when he was going to sleep at naptime or bedtime. I decided that if he hadn't weaned himself by 18 months, I would start the weaning process. I tried once at about 15 months to wean him and it was miserable.
At 17 months, I decided to go ahead and really try to wean him and guess what? It worked! It has been thirteen days since he has nursed. The first couple of days were hard for both of us. I am not going to lie - I cried. Overall, I think it has been good for us. I was so worried we would lose our cuddle time but Walker is still my little lovebug and curls up in my lap, gives me hugs and kisses, and loves me just as much!
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