2 years, 2 months, 18 days

So we have reached the end of an era:  As of June 15th, Matilda is no longer a nursing toddler. I always guessed I would be one of those closet nursing moms, who breastfeeds her toddler for way longer than most people deem appropriate. I just never knew for how long Matilda would nurse, or how it would end. After years of counseling parents at my work about breastfeeding, it is interesting to finally have experienced the whole spectrum of nursing (newborn nursing, toddler nursing, mastitis, engorgement, weaning, etc.) for myself. The really nice part was that the transition was clearly a harder change for me than for Matilda. She had not been nursing at all during the day for several months now. It was clear she was ready to wean but I held out past our red eye trip so I could have the boob as my secret quieting weapon for a cranky, sleepy toddler on the flight. 

Last Sunday we talked with Matilda at dinner about the plan to cut nursing out of our bedtime routine. She took the news with a look of quiet concern and then changed the subject. During her bath that night she brought the subject up to Tim again, "Nurse?" He reiterated the no-nursing-plan and reassured her about the standard book, song, hug and kiss, then the Biscuit story routine. A "Biscuit story" is a story that Tim or I make up, in which Biscuit, a dog from her storybooks, does some variation of events that Matilda did that day. Biscuit stories have become an integral part of the falling to sleep routine of la

te. 

When it came time to execute our plan, it went seamlessly. Matilda queried about nursing, we said not tonight, and without hesitation, she panicked about her Biscuit story. The only indication I got that things might not be a-okay was the long moments pause it seemed I might not get my goodnight kiss. Matilda looked me over seriously but did eventually lean over and grant me a kiss. I started to weave a tale about Biscuit going to the beach and she was out within two minutes. Tim & I left the room incredulous. I had always envisioned weaning to be a big struggle with lots of crying from M so it was so nice to have her be really ready and accept it so easily. While time consuming and challenging at times, I would never change any of the choices we made in breastfeeding Matilda. 

As a funny epilogue to this sappy story, I was standing in the mirror yesterday assessing and complaining about my new post-baby, post-nursing boobs. Tim joked, "Matilda's not getting her deposit back, that's for sure!" I could not have laughed harder.