14 months 1 week 3 days

14 months. 1 week. And 3 days.  That’s how long I was able to breastfeed my daughter.  My goal was to breastfeed for the first year and I’m so very grateful that we were able to meet, and exceed, that goal.

We ended up weaning Caroline over the course of three months {this included weaning myself from pumping. As a working mama, I logged a lot of time with the pump to be sure I could breastfeed my daughter for as long as possible. I began weaning when we introduced cow’s milk and was done with pumping by her first birthday}.  Around 11.25  months, with the blessing of our pediatrician {talk to yours before introducing cow’s milk to your child—every baby is different!} we started introducing Caroline to cow’s milk.  It took her awhile to grow accustom to the flavor, but eventually she started drinking it with every meal, while nursing in the morning and at night.

The plan was to allow Caroline to continue nursing in the morning and at night until she decided she didn’t want to anymore or she turned two, whichever came first.  I always imagined that the nighttime nursing session would be the last to go, but around 13.5 months, she really lost interest in the nighttime session.  So instead of nursing her, I let her have her milk cup after dinner until she went to bed.  Then we brushed her teeth, read a book and put her down without nursing.  She didn’t even notice the change!  I was shocked, but happy that she was able to wean herself.

Our morning routine was pretty predictable—when she woke up I would go in, change her diaper, get her dressed then we would go sit on the couch, watch the news and check my e-mail while she nursed.  One morning she woke up, looked at me as I was changing her diaper and said, abba? {Abba is her word for her milk cup. We don’t know why.}  Since she asked, I gave it to her instead of nursing.  It broke my heart to think that the last time I nursed my girl I was watching the news and checking my e-mail, not knowing that it was the last time.

As I was crying about that fact later in the day, my husband suggested that I nurse her one last time the next morning, knowing it would be the last time. So I did. No news, no phone, just me and my girl snuggled up on the couch.  It was perfect.  As if she knew that it was the last time, the next morning Caroline woke up and said, abba?

I expected to be a lot more emotional about the end of breastfeeding.  I was sad for a day and I did cry but after that I was okay.  My baby girl is growing up, she’s healthy and thriving and I got her there by nursing her for the first 14 months, 1 week and 3 days of her life.  How can I really be sad about that?

Right before Caroline was born, I still thought of breastfeeding as this thing I would do because I should.  Had you told me at that time that I would breastfeed my daughter past 12 months and that I would love it, I’m not sure I would have believed you.  I am so proud of us for getting over the hurdles early on and sticking with breastfeeding.  It has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life and I feel so proud, lucky and grateful to have been able to experience this part of life with my daughter.

A HUGE thanks to my husband for being my biggest cheerleader when it came to breastfeeding Caroline.  Without his support, I’m sure we would not have been nearly as successful.

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Tagged as: breastfeeding