Our Weaning Journey

So this weekend we are about to celebrate 2 weekes of weaning!  Our baby is 22 months and I say we because this has truly been a join effort.  I have to give major props to my husband, because I know this would not be possible without his involvement.

When I first found out I was pregnant, I received mixed messages from the medical community regarding breastfeeding while pregnant.  The nurses told me I should stop because it could cause me to go into early labor, and my OBGYN said it was fine, but I would want to stop for my own sanity.  I didn't want to hear either of their voices because initially I felt fine nursing while pregnant.  But then the pain got worse.  And worse.  It felt like every time she latched she was bitting harder, but she was not, it was just that my breast were getting more sensitive.

I tried to start telling LO, no more nursing, and she would kick and scream and cry and throw a fit!  I tried to distract her with other activities, toys or a drink but she was not having it.  I tried rocking her to sleep and night and sometimes that worked, but then the next night it wouldn't.  So I would give in and nurse.  My darling husband, would tell me I had to be strong if I wanted to really wean her.  He has always been supportive of me breastfeeding from day 1, and never told me when we should wean, but he saw how much agony I was in every night.  We would be off again on again, weaning for a few days then nursing again.  I was not ready yet so we kept nursing.

Weeks later I realized I wasn't producing any milk.  I am not sure when my milk actually dried up, and I was in denial at first, but I tested it many times, and sho nuff, my milk was gone!  This caused another set of emotions to rise within me, which I will blog about later.  But once I realized the little one was dry nursing, I was even more encouraged to wean.  However this time, I took off night duty.

I discussed with my husband how I could not do this on my own and he had to put our baby to sleep at night, and he gladly took on this responsibility.  He put on some nature sounds, rocked her, and sometimes gave her a bottle of coconut milk, and I would leave the room until she fell asleep.  A couple of nights the hubby has been busy with work and she kinda just fell asleep on her own.  What a blessing, this felt like a miracle!

She still asks to nurse at night and during the day, but now she doesn't kick or scream when I say no or try to distract her with something else, she just moves on.  I keep thinking one day she will forget about nursing, but I don't think that will be soon.  This weekend will mark two whole weeks and this is the longest stretch by far we have ever gone without the boob!  I am proud of us, and feel blessed that the transition has been going smoothly.  Hallelujah!

Chocolate Cup Cakes

• 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
• 1 1/2 cups of So Delicious Unsweetend Coconut Milk 
• 1-1/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2/3 cup white sugar
• 1-1/4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil
• 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup Bakers Cocoa Powder 

So the above recipe was for the family, but I had some left over batter and added some oatmeal flour, brewers yeast and flax seed meal and made some lactation mini cupcakes, but they taste like brownies!

Japanese Yam, Brown Rice and Coconut Milk

So the other day I was shopping at Whole Foods looking for sweet potatoes.  I didn't find them but I did see some Japanese Yams.  They looked just like regular Yams to me so I bought them.  Little did I know that when you peel them, the inside is white!

This frightened me at first because I have never cooked these before and I worried that my little one would not like them.  I steamed them anyway and did a quick google search on the Japanese Yam.  

Simultaneously I steamed some organic brown Basmati rice in coconut milk, I use the unsweetened kind for my cooking.

When they were all done I tasted the yam and to my surprise it was sweeter than a the sweet potato I was used to.  I mixed the rice and yams together in the food processor and added more coconut milk to make a nice thick puree for my baby.  She loves it, and I like it too.