After 2 weeks, I can say that my little boy, at 22 moths, is finally weaned. He no longer asks for “dede” and no longer wants to “dede” too. Well, the weaning process was a gradual one. I actually started to wean him when he turned 18 months. I gradually lessened our feeding time and feeding frequency and I taught him to go to sleep without nursing. I did this by adding new stuff to our routine. We played with a “special” toy, a toy that lights up in the dark. We only play with this toy when we are about to go to sleep. We read books together. And whenever he wanted to nurse just before we sleep, I would often remind him that he is now a big boy and big boys don’t “dede” anymore.
I was hesitant to wean him. Partly because I know this means he is now a little boy, not a baby anymore. Probably my motherly instinct doesnt want to let him go yet… Another reason, I was afraid that he was drinking too little milk supplement. One more reason, he can be really loud when he cries. But eventually, I decided to stop breastfeeding him altogether. He already is drinking milk supplements from the cup (about 2 cups a day) and I really wanted him to sleep through the night already. I knew that nursing him at night was the reason why he keeps waking up every 2 hours or so.
So, one night, I just told him, “sorry Toby but no more “dede”, only milk from cup.” Of course he cried and cried when he woke up the first time on the first night. He cried for 30 minutes to an hour. Then he fell asleep while I was holding him. After 2 hours, he woke up again, but this time he only cried for 10-15 minutes. The next night, he cried for about 10 minutes or less. It took him about 2 nights. The third night he no longer woke up. But after a week, he woke up again and was asking for milk. Probably he was still adjusting. Now, its been a week since he last woke up at night.
Consistency is what he needed to learn to fall asleep without nursing and to be weaned… finally.
I sure miss our nursing time but I know that it is time for him to go and grow. Ah…the joys of motherhood.
