As soon as I felt like I had breastfeeding "under control," I was thinking about weaning. I’m sure my rocky start had a lot to do with it, but it was nearly impossible for me to envision breastfeeding longer than a few months. Going past six months? A year? No way. However, just like I had no idea what I was doing at the beginning of breastfeeding, I had no idea how to end breastfeeding, either. So, I had a few questions I wanted (read: needed) answered. What does weaning feel like? How does it work? How painful will it be? Will it even be painful? Am I asking a ridiculous amount of questions because I'm not as emotionally prepared to wean as I thought I would be?
Turns out, I didn't wean my son off the ole boob until he was two-years-old and counting (figuratively ann literally), and the entire experience was surprisingly chill (at least, for us). Who would have guessed the girl who couldn't think about breastfeeding for longer than a few months, ended up breastfeeding for more than two years, right? Definitely not me, guys. Definitely not me.
Thankfully, while preparing to wean my son I realized that other moms are happy to dish about their weaning experiences. Like labor, sleep-training, trying to take cute family photos that look natural and many other aspects of motherhood, we don’t always know how it’s going to go until it actually happens. However, when it comes to seeing and/or hearing about what other moms have experienced, there are some consistent themes. Mainly feels. Lots and lots of feels. Perhaps my own emotions are so raw (my weaning experience is still super-fresh), but if the stories here are any indication, weaning is clearly a significant milestone for many moms. So, without further ado, here’s how other moms describe what weaning actually feels like: