A Night's Tale
I almost don't want to post this...but I will, despite the fact that most of you won't want to hear about it, will be bored to death, or will disagree with my parenting tactics. My apologies in advance...but this has been a red-letter event in my small existence. For the past couple of weeks we have been working on helping Basil to wean from nursing at night. I chose to keep nursing him through my pregnancy and after the baby is born...I know it may sound weird, I once thought it so, but there are lots of mothers out there who have done it and plenty of info on the topic (benefits, health, nutrition, logistics, etc.). Anywho, that's besdes the point. The night weaning is partly in preparation for the new baby and may hopefully lead to Basil sleeping all night in the toddler bed beside ours. I must admit that as glad as I am to have my body to myself for the night, there is a bit of sadness.
I have nursed the little lamb every night since he was born and yet as time has shown, he and I are apparently both ready for the change. While it hasn't been easy to get the point across that "Mom's all-night diner" is cutting back its hours, Basil is starting to realize that the world will keep on spining and that Mommy's not going anywhere even though her "nursers" are. Last night he woke up a couple of times...I patted his belly and sang to him as he quickly and quietly drifted back to sleep. It's nice to see him responding so positively to the adjustment in our wee-hours relationship.
All in all, I am pleased with our choices in the nursing realm. I love parenting with gentleness and concern for Basil's needs even if they aren't convenient for me to meet. I really think this is the ascetic essence of parenthood. I'm not proclaiming to have figured it all out or done it all perfectly, Lord have mercy. I have loads to learn, that's for sure. I just wanted to share my experience...and say, hooray for sleep!
I almost don't want to post this...but I will, despite the fact that most of you won't want to hear about it, will be bored to death, or will disagree with my parenting tactics. My apologies in advance...but this has been a red-letter event in my small existence. For the past couple of weeks we have been working on helping Basil to wean from nursing at night. I chose to keep nursing him through my pregnancy and after the baby is born...I know it may sound weird, I once thought it so, but there are lots of mothers out there who have done it and plenty of info on the topic (benefits, health, nutrition, logistics, etc.). Anywho, that's besdes the point. The night weaning is partly in preparation for the new baby and may hopefully lead to Basil sleeping all night in the toddler bed beside ours. I must admit that as glad as I am to have my body to myself for the night, there is a bit of sadness.
I have nursed the little lamb every night since he was born and yet as time has shown, he and I are apparently both ready for the change. While it hasn't been easy to get the point across that "Mom's all-night diner" is cutting back its hours, Basil is starting to realize that the world will keep on spining and that Mommy's not going anywhere even though her "nursers" are. Last night he woke up a couple of times...I patted his belly and sang to him as he quickly and quietly drifted back to sleep. It's nice to see him responding so positively to the adjustment in our wee-hours relationship.
All in all, I am pleased with our choices in the nursing realm. I love parenting with gentleness and concern for Basil's needs even if they aren't convenient for me to meet. I really think this is the ascetic essence of parenthood. I'm not proclaiming to have figured it all out or done it all perfectly, Lord have mercy. I have loads to learn, that's for sure. I just wanted to share my experience...and say, hooray for sleep!
3 Comments:
yay for long term bfing, family beds and tandem nursing! Believe it or not, those days do go sailing by on a breeze and soon enough they are over. I tandem nursed two sets of sibs (four kids total), and don't regret a minute of it. One thing I did for night weaning was keep a sippy of water on had. Often the weanee was just thirsty in the middle of the night, and the water did the trick.
Thanks for the encouragement, Alana! Always nice to get a veteran's take, and to know I'm not just conducting some great experiment. Also good to hear it breezes by because sometimes it's really trying...and the baby's not even here yet!
Rather disputable.
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