He's Weaned...

I just discovered a couple posts I never actually published! Yikes! --This one was from November 30th, 2008.

Well, it's been about a week and a half now since Taggert last nursed. I weaned him gradually, taking out half of a feeding at a time, and it went really well! At the end, I had just taken out his last daytime half-feeding, and all he had left was one full feeding before bed and a half-feed when he woke up in the middle of the night (which was almost every single night). I just had a feeling at that point that he didn't need any of his bedtime feeding anymore. So I just took it out all together, and planned to still nurse him in the middle of the night if he needed it. Well, he went to bed fine that night--he didn't even notice that the nursing session was skipped! And he hasn't needed even one middle-of-the-night nurse since then!

...I have lots of exclamation points in that paragraph... but I'm writing this post because I am kind of missing that bond at the moment. There's just something magical about being able to make a baby so peaceful and satisfied, just with yourself. I might always miss it.

It truly is tough to let your babies grow up, isn't it? It's hard because the more they grow up, the less they need you... well, the less they need you for instruction and micro-managing. They never outgrow the need for your support, interest, encouragement and enthusiasm for who they are! That's the good news :)

*Now that it's been a little over a week and a half since he's been weaned, I have something to add to that post: I have learned to love Taggert growing up! It's awesome to see him learn and improve himself, even in little ways, like learning to fold his hands when we pray. And although it is definitely true that he is constantly outgrowing the need for my help in the areas he masters, it's also true that he is always learning new things that I delight to help him with! That, to me, is more happy than his growing up is sad. Life is good, no matter what day it is or what stage we're in. Learning to love the dynamic nature of life is essential, and when we learn that as parents, we will naturally teach our children the same skill-- and how many of life's waves will they be able to ride with excitement and wonder when they know how to deal with change?!