It Was Time :)

Posted by: stella on: July 20, 2011

• In: Diary of a Miracle | family | jaden | mommyhood
• 3 Comments

For those of you following my breastfeeding posts, you would know that I had struggled with weaning (and whether I should be weaning at that time in the first place).

Well, I have closed my much-cherished breastfeeding chapter. For about a month now, Jaden has been getting goat’s milk formula and a whole lot of solids.

As much as it saddens me that I didn’t get to go the whole year, it was a blessing that I stopped when I did. There is no way I could’ve planned and executed the weaning process better. No, it wasn’t me — I attribute it to the God of perfect timing.

When I wrote about my struggles to wean, or whether or not to wean, I’ve actually begun spacing my pumping schedule further apart. Sometime later, I ditched my pump and directly breastfed Jaden twice or thrice a day. From there, the frequency became less and less until we hit 10 months, and I said goodbye to making milk… for this baby, at least :)

I said perfect timing because of an array of reasons. June was an unusual month for our family, to put it very mildly. I had to entrust Jaden to my mother-in-law for 4 days and 3 nights, as I focused on taking care of Julz who got hospitalized. If I had not started weaning then, I’m positive I would’ve been in a lot of pain too. Not to mention the anxiety over being able to produce enough milk for Jaden.

At the risk of sounding selfish, I must say that I also had to take extra care of myself. I’ve gone even thinner than I was before getting pregnant and if you know me, that’s alarming. One of the many things June taught me was that I should be strong for my family, physically and emotionally, so that I can carry them on my back when it’s their turn to get weak. That, and because really, we moms are a deep reservoir of strength if we just let ourselves be.

In the end, I believe the weaning was still for Jaden’s best. He deserves a a family that is happy and healthy, not just physically, but also emotionally and spiritually.

I said goodbye to breastfeeding about a month ago, and now I am taking with me a wealth of wisdom and affection in being a nursing mom. I am damn proud of this achievement. Someday, I’ll tell Jaden all about the first 10 months of his life and how Daddy and Mommy worked hard to give him only the best start in life.

My happy boy at 10 months old :)

I love you, Jaden :)