678 days of milk

I'm happy to say that I was able to provide Greyson breastmilk for 678 days. For the past 3 days he hasn't nursed at all - after 678 days we are officially weaned.

I have mixed feelings about this. In theory I would have liked to keep going until his second birthday, but we were both done.

678 days, I'm pretty proud of that.

Is this how you do it?

I pumped around Greyson 8 to 10 times a day for his first 6 months. But since he was a tiny baby at the time he didn't get it at all. Now that I'm pumping again he totally understands it.

I've only pumped in front of him a few times because it really makes him mad. As far as he is concerned those breasts and everything in them belongs to him. He tried to sit in my lap the last time I pumped when he was awake. That did not work so well. Greyson is still all about nursing. I've tried, but he's just not ready to wean yet and that is okay.

So now my pumping is only done after Greyson goes to bed.

Of course that doesn't stop him from grabbing my pumping supplies and playing with them.


*Don't worry Jen. I re-washed the parts after Greyson played with them.

Great Ad!

Pumping Again!

Well I'm back at the pump. A friend's baby needs breastmilk and luckily I'm still breastfeeding so I've pulled out the pump! It's weird to be doing it again, it was a year ago this month that I packed it away. The feeling is VERY different from nursing, I'd forgotten.

Luckily I have - The Hands Free Nursing Bra - it makes pumping so much easier. Any pumping moms out there, get one NOW!

(YAY - first session = 43mls Not a ton, but not bad either!)

No matter how long you were able to provide breastmilk for your child you've given them a great gift!

What if I Want to Wean My Baby?
by Diane Wiessinger, MS, IBCLC

Here are the benefits week by week and month by month.

IF YOU NURSE FOR A DAY...
Breastfeeding your baby for even a day is the best baby gift you can give. Breastfeeding is almost always the best choice for your baby. If it doesn't seem like the best choice for you right now, these guidelines may help.

IF YOU NURSE YOUR BABY FOR JUST A FEW DAYS, he will have received your colostrum, or early milk. By providing antibodies and the food his brand-new body expects, nursing gives your baby his first - and easiest - "immunization" and helps get his digestive system going smoothly. Breastfeeding is how your baby expects to start, and helps your own body recover from the birth. Why not use your time in the hospital to prepare your baby for life through the gift of nursing?

IF YOU NURSE YOUR BABY FOR FOUR TO SIX WEEKS, you will have eased him through the most critical part of his infancy. Newborns who are not breastfed are much more likely to get sick or be hospitalized, and have many more digestive problems than breastfed babies. After 4 to 6 weeks, you'll probably have worked through any early nursing concerns, too. Make a serious goal of nursing for a month, call La Leche League or a Lactation Consultant if you have any questions, and you'll be in a better position to decide whether continued breastfeeding is for you.

IF YOU NURSE YOUR BABY FOR 3 OR 4 MONTHS, her digestive system will have matured a great deal, and she will be much better able to tolerate the foreign substances in commercial formulas. If there is a family history of allergies, though, you will greatly reduce her risk by waiting a few more months before adding anything at all to her diet of breastmilk. And giving nothing but your milk for the first four months gives strong protection against ear infections for a whole year.

IF YOU NURSE YOUR BABY FOR 6 MONTHS, she will be much less likely to suffer an allergic reaction to formula or other foods. At this point, her body is probably ready to tackle some other foods, whether or not you wean. Nursing for at least 6 months helps ensure better health throughout your baby's first year of life, and reduces your own risk of breast cancer. Nursing for 6 months or more may greatly reduce your little one's risk of ear infections and childhood cancers. And exclusive, frequent breastfeeding during the first 6 months, if your periods have not returned, provides 98% effective contraception.

IF YOU NURSE YOUR BABY FOR 9 MONTHS, you will have seen him through the fastest and most important brain and body development of his life on the food that was designed for him - your milk. You may even notice that he is more alert and more active than babies who did not have the benefit of their mother's milk. Weaning may be fairly easy at this age... but then, so is nursing! If you want to avoid weaning this early, be sure you've been available to nurse for comfort as well as just for food.

IF YOU NURSE YOUR BABY FOR A YEAR, you can avoid the expense and bother of formula. Her one-year-old body can probably handle most of the table foods your family enjoys. Many of the health benefits this year of nursing has given your child will last her whole life. She will have a stronger immune system, for instance, and will be much less likely to need orthodontia or speech therapy. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends nursing for at least a year, to help ensure normal nutrition and health for your baby.

IF YOU NURSE YOUR BABY FOR 18 MONTHS, you will have continued to provide your baby's normal nutrition and protection against illness at a time when illness is common in other babies. Your baby is probably well started on table foods, too. He has had time to form a solid bond with you - a healthy starting point for his growing independence. And he is old enough that you and he can work together on the weaning process, at a pace that he can handle. A former U.S. Surgeon General said, "it is the lucky baby... that nurses to age two."

IF YOUR CHILD WEANS WHEN SHE IS READY, you can feel confident that you have met your baby's physical and emotional needs in a very normal, healthy way. In cultures where there is no pressure to wean, children tend to nurse for at least two years. The World Health Organization and UNICEF strongly encourage breastfeeding through toddlerhood: "Breastmilk is an important source of energy and protein, and helps to protect against disease during the child's second year of life."* Our biology seems geared to a weaning age of between 2 1/2 and 7 years**, and it just makes sense to build our children's bones from the milk that was designed to build them. Your milk provides antibodies and other protective substances as long as you continue nursing, and families of nursing toddlers often find that their medical bills are lower than their neighbors' for years to come. Mothers who have nursed longterm have a still lower risk of developing breast cancer. Children who were nursed longterm tend to be very secure, and are less likely to suck their thumbs or carry a blanket. Nursing can help ease both of you through the tears, tantrums, and tumbles that come with early childhood, and helps ensure that any illnesses are milder and easier to deal with. It's an all-purpose mothering tool you won't want to be without! Don't worry that your child will nurse forever. All children stop eventually, no matter what you do, and there are more nursing toddlers around than you might guess.

WHETHER YOU NURSE FOR A DAY OR FOR SEVERAL YEARS, the decision to nurse your child is one you need never regret. And whenever weaning takes place, remember that it is a big step for both of you. If you choose to wean before your child is ready, be sure to do it gradually, and with love.

*Facts for Life: A Communication Challenge, published by UNICEF, WHO, and UNESCO, 1989
**K Dettwyler. A Time to Wean. Breastfeeding Abstracts vol 14 no 1 1994
©1997 Diane Wiessinger, MS, IBCLC 136 Ellis Hollow Creek Road Ithaca, NY 14850

Witty comebacks to breastfeeding comments!

Luckily, I've never had to use these, but it's nice to be prepared!

Witty comebacks for replying to breastfeeding harassment.

Here are some of my favorites!

"Are you still nursing?"

"Everyone asks that, it must be because he's so incredibly healthy."

"Yes, he deserves only the very best. "

"Of course, I am glad you keep asking. It shows you want the best for him."


"When are you planning on weaning?"

"When are you planning on minding your own business?"

"I hope not for a while. We're both enjoying our time together."

"I don't know. He seems to still enjoy it and I enjoy those extra 500 calories I burn."


"Breastfeeding is gross!"

"So is changing diapers, yet people do it all the time."

"Hello? Did you not realize that humans are mammals?"

"Seems to me that you have some issues you need to work out."



"Why would you want to nurse when you can just get formula?"

"Gee, I don’t know. It must have something to do it with being free, always the right temperature, portable, what nature intended, and the best way I can nourish my baby."

"Have you checked out the price of formula lately?"


"You should go feed her in the bathroom."

"Do YOU eat in the bathroom?"

"If my breastfeeding offends you, I will be happy to ask your waiter to bring you your food in the restroom."


"Don’t you want your husband to be able to bond with the baby?"

"You’re right, holding the baby, talking to the baby, changing the baby, bathing the baby, and spending time just being with the baby sure won’t be enough for him to bond with the baby."



"You want to get up in the middle of the night to nurse?"

"I’d rather nurse in my sleep than schlep to the kitchen and try to mix, heat up, and feed my baby formula in my sleep … because I sure do love sleeping."

"We co-sleep. I just roll over, give him the breast, and go back to snoozing!"


"Isn't he a little old for that?"

"What?! He's not even out of diapers!"

"Aren't you a little old to be randomly coming up to strangers and asking impolite questions?"


"He doesn't NEED to nurse at this age!"

(laugh) "Where did you hear that?"

"And you don't NEED to eat that doughnut, but you still are."


Miscellaneous Responses

"If you are offended by me doing this, then you are looking too closely."

"Do you often look this closely at women's breasts?"

trying to night ween again

Greyson was sleeping through the night for awhile, then he caught a cold and we fell back into the nursing several times a night routine. Really I don't mind nursing him at night, but he tends to be a happier baby when he gets longer stretches of sleep.

So last night instead of getting up twice, maybe three times for 10 min each time, we were up for HOURS. Oh the screaming. It was not good my friends. I'm really hoping that tonight will be better.

I'm Officially a Milk Donor!

I have been very, very lucky when it has come to producing milk. I've always had enough to meet Greyson's needs and then some. When he was in the NICU he was eating so little that I was able to store a days worth of milk 25+ ounces almost everyday from December 13th until he came home on January 20th. Although in an attempt to "rotate stock" we've used the milk from the 13th until the 27th of December. Since then I have still been able to freeze about 10 ounces about every-other day. Now that he is nursing most of the time and I'm showing no signs of slowing down my production I have decided that now is the time to donate. On Monday I'll be shipping off 250 ounces of breast milk. 150 ounces to a preemie girl who was adopted and therefore cannot be breastfed. I'm sending her my oldest milk since it was pumped when Greyson was still very much a preemie and milk adjusts to meet the needs of the child. I'm sending another 100 ounces to a woman with a 5 month old who cannot tolerate formula.

While my freezer is by no means bare it did make a size-able dent in my stores. It actually makes me a little nervous knowing that that is 250 ounces less I'll have for Greyson in my attempt to keep him in breastmilk for a year and a half. We are a third of the way through! He is now nursing so beautifully that it was time to share the wealth.