Before you read, you might want to join my giveaway! I'm giving away a copy of Certified Positive Daily Interact planner!As a hardcore breastfeeding mom, I never thought I'd come to a point when I would willingly wean my son off the breast. But I did.
I already told you about it last Monday when I talked about the reasons why we stopped breastfeeding. Now here's how I did it.
First, you need to know that Yuri is not only a clingy toddler but also a rabid nurser. Weaning was something that was definitely far from his mind (but, later on, I would discover he was ready anyway), so I initiated it.
He cried.
My next approach is more dictator-esque. I would just tell him "no" each time he wants to nurse.
This time, he did not just cry. War ensued and I was afraid a neighbor would call Bantay Bata 163.
I was desperate and none of the approaches worked, so I decided to just follow Job's mother's and my parents' advice: rub something unpleasant on the nips. #TMI
I was against that because it sounded like a mean thing to do, but after I read this blog, I was determined to try it. I didn't want to use something bitter or spicy, though, because that definitely would be cruel.
Instead, I used something sour. Since we slice kilos of calamansi (native lemons) and squeeze the juice into jars, I just got a few drops and rubbed them. The vitamin C of the juice is also a bonus.
I was prepared for the worst.
I imagined Yuri throwing a tantrum when he tastes the sour taste. But that did not happen.
Instead, he tried to nurse and ended up making a face because of the sour taste. "Maasim," he said. He tried nursing at the other breast and said, "Asim din!"
He drank water and moved on. That's it! There was no crying and no fussing. I asked him if he wants to nurse, and he said, "Ayaw ko kasi maasim."
One of his favorite games is pretend phone conversation (with himself) and made up this conversation:
Yuri: Anjan Mommy?I asked him, "Bakit maasim na?" He responded, "Kasi iba na. Big na Yuwi." That's when I thought he had been ready all along.
Yuri's pretend answer: Meyon po.
Yuri: Ah. Anjan dede?
Yuri's pretend answer: Waya na po, asim na po!
Me: Sad ka na wala nang dede?It has been more than 3 days and Yuri only nursed a couple of times. Those occurred during dawn when he would cry and I would intentionally make him nurse because I was too tired to pick him up (haha). He forgot about those times immediately upon waking up though. Take note that I never used the calamansi juice again. I didn't have to. Yuri himself lost all the interest.
Yuri: Hindi. Okay yang.
If you're planning to wean, too (not that I recommend it), here are the things I've done that may help you:
1. Decide to wean point when breast milk is no longer a main source of nutrition. I suggest you start from the 2-year mark.
2. Make the decision on your own. In my case, no one knew I was weaning until after I've done it. Why? Because this is a life-changing decision that you need to make based only on your and your child's well-being. Announcing it will only result to conflicting pieces of advice which will only confuse you.
3. Prior to actually beginning weaning, prep your child by telling him that nursing will be ending soon. The reason depends on what you think would work best with your child.
4. Talk about weaning positively. Don't talk about it as if it's such a somber event - if you feel somber about it, then perhaps now's not the best time to wean. In my case, I promised Yuri that I will buy him cool toys and books once he's weaned!
5. Document your final nursing moment. I actually haven't done this but I should have! This is because the decision to do the "pagpupurga" was spontaneous and I didn't really believe that it would work.
6. Be prepared to give lots of hugs and kisses. Toddlers commonly nurse not for food but for comfort, and since this is taken away from them after weaning, they should be constantly reassured of our presence. You may also want to prepare a new "lovey" for him, though we didn't seem to need one.
7. Fulfill the promises you might have made in number 4. Even if you didn't promise anything, it helps to buy some weaning tokens because they are fun, they mark a milestone, and they can distract the child if necessary!
Here are the tokens I got for Yuri over a number of days. I will talk about more of my finds later this week!
J.Co is not yet open in Davao City, but I was able to buy these donuts from my old college roommate (here's her Facebook account). The branch is opening this week, but I may probably still order from her time to time to save myself from the long queues! By the way, these are so yummy!
Yes, I have truly gone overboard when I bought "tokens" for Yuri. You can follow suit or you can be more practical and buy just one token. Basta it would mark the milestone so that your toddler will remember not the separation but the celebration!
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