Dear Baby Z,

It has been a few weeks since we started night weaning you, and oh boy what a challenging few nights we had at the start. You are now completely weaned off breast milk, and what a journey it has been. To tell you the truth, even though Daddy and I wanted to be as gentle as possible, I was expecting you to cry yourself to sleep, at least for the first few nights. But you never fail to amaze me, because you actually did really well!

You only cried for a few minutes, though of course for me it was still so heartbreaking to watch, quite akin to torture actually. After that you sat in bed, resisting sleep but ever so ready to doze off, untill eventually about 15 minutes later you plonked onto your side, fast asleep. After that first night, it only got easier, and you finally understood that you simply had to drink water from your straw cup if you wanted any form of hydration. I was still there for the cuddles, and I gave you plenty of extra cuddles and kisses through out the day too. I will be sure to only increase that as you get older.

It was emotionally and physically very difficult for me to make that first step. Daddy did a great job of supporting me, especially by getting me a huge pack of my favourite Cadbury: Dairy Milk with Hazelnut! (Yum yum!). I was worried that once you were night weaned, our bond would perhaps weaken. Once again you’ve surprised me by returning many hearty hugs and giving the sloppiest of kisses, and increasing the dose of early morning snuggles! I am also surprised at how fast you weaned, which only means that you were ready and it was the right time to go for it.

I am so proud of breastfeeding you for as long as we did (a little over a year), and I am safe in the knowledge that I have given you the best start in life I possibly could. Now that you are weaned off breast milk, it does mean that I have to keep a closer eye on your food intake throughout the day. We weren’t so serious about breakfasts before, but now they are absolutely crucial to starting your day. I am also trying to pack in as many healthy, nutritious and beneficial food groups into you as possible, to replace the gold dust that is breast milk. This of course means that I spend half my time scrolling through healthy toddler diet plans on Pinterest, but hey that’s just the mummy in me! Thankfully, you are a great eater at the moment, and I really have nothing to worry about since you are always stuffing your face, going as far as demanding food that others are eating around you!

I suppose in some respects, weaning you was more challenging for me than it was for you (or maybe you just took it really well!?), in the sense that I had this emotional battle going on inside me. But now that we are at the other end, I am so proud. Proud of you, my little monkey. Proud of us. Proud of having survived weaning! We did it!

Now I suppose I better start reading up on Potty Training! Hmph!

To read more about my Breastfeeding Journey, please click here!