I can’t tell you the exact day or the exact moment Caden nursed for the last time but we made it to 1 year! He kind of weaned off slowly and we let it happen naturally since he was becoming too squirmy and too busy to nurse. My breastfeeding journey has come to an end. I nursed Zadie for about 5 months, I nursed Vera for a year, and I nursed Caden for a year. It was hard, it was stressful, it was tiring … It was also amazing and I had lots of proud super Mom moments along the way!

With Zadie, I had no idea what I was doing, I had no one to look up to or see as an example, and I didn’t know where to get the help or support. I tried but at least I didn’t stress myself out to keep going. With Vera, I was very determined to nurse, almost to my detriment and mental health. She had to have her tongue and lip tie cut and I dealt with months of the sleep regression stage. I didn’t have the energy to pump so I never got a good freezer supply going. Even though I sought out lactation consultants, Facebook support pages, and Friends… I was not prepared for everything that came at me. It was a long and hard year! With Caden, I was even more determined to be relaxed about my breast feeding journey but still had a goal set for a year. I took on every stage with the mind set of “it won’t last forever”! I was able to nurse and pump for several months to help build up a mini supply (nothing big) but I felt more relaxed and gave myself the grace I needed in those busy days so Russell could give a bottle! It took the pressure off me a little. I am realizing now it’s kind of like the Goldilocks story … I did too little, I did too much, last time around I did just enough! I’ve had a different experience with every kid and now that I am able to look back, I am very lucky and very proud of my journey.