Nursing Days are Over!

I'm not talking about my nursing days as a registered nurse---although those might be over, too; but that is a completely different post. I am talking about breastfeeding. It has been two weeks since our last nursing session.

Technically, it has been far longer than that since our true feeding. For weeks, Nathaniel began to loose interest and would only need to breastfeed for comfort, mostly during naptime/bedtime. Eventually, he stopped asking and I stopped offering.

(photo credit)

As relieved as I am that my body is once again mine, I am still sad that it is over. I expected to continue nursing for at least a couple more months. I supposed I could have kept offering it but in the end, Nathaniel was just ready to wean himself.

Breastfeeding has both been a great and bad experience for us. I loved knowing that I provided the best and most nutritional food for my son during his first year of life. I loved our alone and bonding time that I normally would have shared if he was bottle-fed. But with that, I was also the main "feeder" and did not get a break especially since Nathaniel never learned to eat from a bottle. Then there was the initial latching issues, overproduction of milk (that could have fed twins or triplets!), and the dreaded mastitis. But overall, it has been a fulfilling experience and I consider it as one of (my hopefully many) great achievements as a mother.

Linking up to:

Diary of a Devil Dog Wife: Breastfeeding Blog Hop