Lola and I will be embarking on a new adventure as I introduce more and more beverages and foods into her diet. I’m hoping that I’ll be able to start the weaning process with her and cut down on her nursing time gradually. This is a bittersweet moment in time for me, Lola is now almost 15 months old and I have nursed her for her entire lifetime. Nursing her has been such a blessing in my life, it’s taught me many things about motherhood and myself, I have loved the closeness and bond that developed so beautifully through this natural process. I also loved seeing her grow over the past 15 months knowing that I was providing her with whatever she needed to thrive, she’s beautiful and I’m so honored to be her mother.
I wasn’t able to nurse my first two children, my milk production and stress levels at the time caused me to bottle feed after they reached a few months of age. With determination, I have nursed the subsequent three children and have never regretted it, in fact I’ve relished the times when I was able to bring comfort to them through nursing. Now Lola is our last baby, so coming to the end of a long breastfeeding career is sad for me. I however do want her to learn that I’m here to comfort and care for her in many other ways, and always will be. I’m sure it will be most difficult for me to let go of this exclusive club Lola and I have had going, part of me is worried that she will feel abandoned by me and that’s why I am going to do this gradually over time.
Some of the most vivid pictures of my babies burned into my heart forever are times when I have been nursing them, and they look up smiling at my face as little dribbles of milk drip down their chin. Caring for another as their main source of food and comfort is the most beautiful and precious gift, I am so thankful for this chapter in my life. Now that Lola is non-stop motion I’m pushed to keep up with her pace, she is unstoppable and so I must be. I would love to stay enwrapped in her babyhood forever, I’m not quite ready to think of her as a toddler, she’s still my baby. She’ll always be my baby.
**A recent moment I was able to capture. I love seeing my boys play together happily. Dylan and Noah had so much fun that night.