Please get off!!!
March 18, 2008
My darling Ali. He is my precious, my sweetheart, my baby, my love. He is also two and is not weaned! I seriously thought about making him go cold turkey when he turned two on Jan 24th. But I decided against it because I thought it would be cruel. After all he doesn’t know that he’s been at this way WAY too long. I have been told; just try cutting out one feeding a day. That didn’t work because he would give it up and then when I was working on another feeding at a different time he returned to the old feeding.
I know people will say I need to be firm, after all he can’t force himself on me. But we are talking about a child who chases me through the house yelling “SIT!” Crying and screaming for his milk. I mean MY milk. I guess I just don’t have enough back bone to shut him off completely. The problem is not so much the temper tantrums he has when he can’t get it; but what slays me every time is the hurt puppy look in his eyes when he is denied. He looks as if I have just put him out in the cold and told him to never come back.
What to do, what to do? I’ve tried all kinds of milkshakes, ice creams and snacks that he enjoys to divert him away….but at the end of the day he always comes back. It does work if we spend our day out away from the house but at night…fughettaboutit! I’m at my wits (and breasts) end. Is there any compassionate and easy way to wean him or am I just going to have to live with the betrayal and wrath he will launch at me until it’s over? Ya Allah(Oh my God) …I hope not.
Entry Filed under: Mommy Reflections. Tags: breastfeeding, Muslim, muslim babies, muslim children, Muslim Mom, problems with weaning, weaning.
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1.
saffiyah | March 19, 2008 at 12:12 am
Oh my Gosh!!! I just read this info about weaning…”Breastfeeding advocates generally advocate child-led weaning. In other words, let your child self-wean. This means that your child decides when he does not want to breastfeed anymore. This can happen anytime, but usually not before 12 months (unless there are some other physiological reasons or your own interference).
Child-led weaning is believed to be the least traumatising to your child. Your child may decide to wean off suddenly or gradually decreasing his nursing sessions” Lord, does that mean I have to wait for him?!!!
2.
Muneera | March 19, 2008 at 8:26 pm
Salaam sister,
I was forced to wean my daughter who was 15 months last year because I was entering my 3rd trimester with my second daughter. Believe me, she was nowhere near weaning herself but the breastfeeding was becoming unbearably painful. So I bought this stuff called “Nail Biter”. Its just this bitter liquid that people use to stop biting their nails. I put it on my breasts and she only had to try each one once and that was it. I spent a few days trying to soothe her in other ways to fall asleep but it worked alhamdulillah. Quitting cold turkey is difficult, I went through a little depression because I was just as attached to it as my daughter and your hormone levels change drastically too but after a week it was all okay and she’s never asked for it since.
Wasalaam