JANUARY 2005
So, 2005 has started - time to put my New Year’s Resolution into practice - to stop breastfeeding. My plan was to slowly start reducing the day feeds, but to keep on with the night-time feed(s) for the time being.
So, I stumbled at the first hurdle. Not because I don’t want to stop, but because Callum really needed it. For the best part of three weeks Callum had eaten very little. Whilst he got the New Year off to a great start by eating some of our New Year’s Day dinner up at our friends house (Joe & Dawn‘s), he still wasn’t eating enough, so while ever he was asking for the feeds I didn’t want to refuse him.
Eventually Callum’s appetite started to pick up and I started to think more about reducing his breast feeds. It’s so hard. I think I still need it as much as Callum does. However, I knew I had to start making some plans to stop.
My first tactic was to stop being as ‘open’ about my breastfeeding… no more feeding on demand in public places unless absolutely necessary, and reducing the number of feeds I would give him front of friends. I was never embarrassed or ashamed to breast feed, after all, it’s the most natural thing in the world and it is what they were made for! However, Callum is older now and feeding him discreetly is not as easy as it used to be, not just because of his size, but because he fidgets about and lifts my top to show the world what he has got! This tactic is working well so far.
My second tactic was to introduce bottle feeds when he is with me… Bottles are not new to Callum, he has cow’s milk and formula milk when he is with my parents, or when he with Shaun and I am not around. He also has the odd bottle on occasion to give me a rest. So, in practical terms, the introduction of bottles was an easy step to take. In emotional terms though, I found it more difficult. It felt mean and selfish to refuse him feeds from me. It just didn’t seem right to make him wait for his drink while I got him a bottle and warmed it up - let’s face it, I had what he wanted and it didn’t need any preparation. Still, I held back the tears and made sure that I gave him at least two bottle feeds each day. Callum adjusted to this quite well, he does enjoy cow’s milk- although he still does like a drink from me. After a few days, I started to adjust to it better, and found it easier and easier to give him a couple of bottles. Throughout the month there were probably only three or four occasions where Callum asked for a drink from me despite me trying to give him a bottle. I’ll update you next month on how we are doing with the quitting!
The big news of the month was that Callum cut a back tooth! It didn’t bother him as much as I thought it would have. Ok, so he was very ‘drooly’, a little sickly and had a rosy cheek from time to time, but in the main he sailed through it with only a few grisly moments.
The other big news is that this month Callum has really come on with this sign language. All of a sudden he has started using his signs more. Not just repetitively after us, but to communicate properly. Ok, so he has always pointed out every light he saw, and would sometimes sign to say he wanted a new nappy, but now it’s different. It’s hard to say how, but I suppose it’s more ‘consistent’ and ‘structured’.
When he sees the fire he will sign ‘hot’. When he sees a dog, whether it’s an actual dog; a picture; or on TV, he will sign ‘dog’. The same with ‘cat’ - although a lot of animals still get referred to as ‘dog’, he does seems to now be starting to distinguish between dogs and cats, he still needs some practice though! He regularly tells us he wants his bottom changing. He also tells us when he is hungry and wants a drink or something to eat. Equally, he will tell us when he has had enough. It’s amazing, even signs that we haven’t used much since the first few weeks, have all started flowing now. We are so proud of his progress. In additional to these everyday words, he is trying new signs all the time.
As for us, Shaun is settling into his new job well and I‘m doing fine. I must warn you all thought that we have a lot of work that we need to get done in the house over the next few months - we are planning some major changes and it will involve builders and mess - so it may be difficult to find the time to update the site as often as we would like to. This is part of the reason why it has taken so long to update the site with the last few months’ diaries. Please bear with us, we will publish updates the best we can. I still need to put some more photos on the site - but as I have explained before, I have to be careful about the size of the pictures I put up - it can be very time consuming resizing them all before I upload them. Hopefully I will get some done soon.
Well, I’d better go get some work done. I will try not to leave it so long next time!
Take care,
Amanda xXx
