The Great Shnook Wean

Ok friends, many of you know already, but for those who don't...I'm pregnant. 

That's right. After all this, I'm going to do it...all.over.again. It's not even OVER and I'm doing it all over again.

I mean, it's never over, but I think we all know what I mean, right? RIGHT?

Until a week ago, I was still nursing the Shnook. For some, nursing while pregnant is no big whoop. In fact, for me it was no big whoop for the first few weeks. Then, (prepare for TMI) my nipples became UBER sensitive. By sensitive, I mean horrible wince-worthy stinging pain every time he latched on and throughout the entire nursing session. Add to that the fact that I wanted to throw-up on my child every time he nursed, and you have a nursing relationship that has gone sour.

I never intended to nurse the Shnook as long as I did, it just kind of kept going and it didn't feel right to stop, so I didn't. Then suddenly, it did. Well, it did for me. I knew he was not going to like it, but here's how it went:

We had already reduced the Shnook's feedings to two a day, one right before bed and one right when he woke up. This was working out fine, until he would get sick or fly on a plane and then it would increase to four or five times a day or more. The flying was out of control. Since we were going back and forth so much due to TSA's mom's health, the Shnook and I went on NINE flights in the month of January. That's nine take-offs and nine landings. For those that aren't in the know, nursing during ascent and descent really helps the ears. There are other methods, but when he's used to the boob, the other methods don't really stand a chance. So, when we finally got home and got him back to twice a day, we quickly took away the morning one which he didn't seem to notice. The big one was the night-night nurse. This is the one he asked for all day with such a longing in his voice that any parent would melt just from the look in his eyes.  I had NO IDEA how I was going to make this happen.

Well, we pulled the plug last week. We replaced mommy 'nah-nah' with daddy 'choo-choo-bus.' This means Daddy races home from Irvine (a 50 mile commute) to lie in bed with the Shnook and watch youtube videos of steam trains and buses around the world. You'd be amazed how many videos there are of these things. The Shnook was completely duped by the whole thing. In fact, one night I was getting him ready for bed and he started to say "Nah-nah?" but then cut himself off and quickly switched it to "Daddy Choo-choo?" That's when I knew this was it. 

In retrospect, it was kind of like ripping off a band-aid. The act was a lot easier than the thought. I mean, there were no major tears, which was one of my worries. 

Now, a week later, the Shnook still asks for Nah-nah, but then he says, almost instantly afterwards, "Nah-nah all gone, Daddy choo-choo-bus night night." He clearly misses it, which is heartbreaking for me, but I suppose this is just one of the many heartbreaks I'm going to experience in motherhood. Check this one off the list.

There's one teensy weensy fear still lurking. TSA is leaving town tomorrow for another 5 days. Maybe this is where the tears will come. Wish me luck.

Comments

[jamiebeth]

GOOD LUCK! I'm so happy things are going well. I stopped nursing 2 weeks ago and I miss it, but Nora doesn't seem to mind one bit. We've had a terrible week over here and last night we took her to the ER with a fever of 105 ... she seems to be ok now, but I've wanted to nurse her almost every day since we stopped... Miss you.

[Maggie]

Congrats! The wince-worthy pain was a sure sign that you needed to stop. I love the daddy choo-choo train. Oh and Makenna calls in "nuh-nuh", maybe it's some kind of universal baby thing. Good luck when TSA is out of town. Maybe you can do Mommy choo-choo train while daddy is out of town.