Eleanor weaned herself at about 19.5 months (late Oct/early Nov). I tried pumping a few times after that point but got about 1/3 of an ounce for a two hour effort my first time, nothing the next time. So I bagged that.
I was pretty upset when she first weaned, but now it’s just the norm. I am thoroughly enjoying my cheese and yogurt again, haha! Man, I missed cheese. We haven’t tried giving her any dairy straight yet, I’m thinking sometime after her second birthday we will. No reason to rush it. I still wish she had continued nursing until she was at least two, but I know she stopped when she was ready. I didn’t put any pressure on her to quit (at least not consciously – I never did quite enjoy it though, so perhaps that came across to her) and kept trying to get her back on the breast, so I try to focus on that. Next time around I hope the whole process of breastfeeding will be easier!
Christmas was good: we got her the Melissa and Doug kitchen and she absolutely loves it! Family supplied her with play food and cookware, though she still needs a few odds and ends. That was definitely one of our best toy purchases ever. It wasn’t all that difficult to put together, either. Just took some time, but we put on a movie and made an afternoon of it.
Some time in January I finally took her in for the MMR vacc. I had wanted to do the individual shots but they haven’t been available. So I finally bit the bullet and just got her the normal vacc. I was worried – three live viruses at once is a lot for a little body to take – but I was starting to get antsy about her not being immunized, too. Blame the microbiologist in me. : ) She didn’t react too badly – just a little fussiness for a few days. She’s been sick since, but we all have so I think that’s just coincidental. She’s actually been less sick than we have so I guess she has a pretty steady immune system in place now.
Nothing else new here, hence the slow posting lately. Things were so chaotic the first year of her life but this year has been much calmer, largely in a good way. She’s talking like crazy, even forming several word sentences, is more self-sufficient, and is developing such a personality. I spend more time talking to her than about her now! I’ve always loved this age and it’s even more wonderful experiencing it as a parent. Though she does try our patience at times (sometimes for multiple days in a row, nonstop) overall we’re really enjoying this stage of her development.
It is definitely bittersweet, though: she is not a baby anymore and needs me less and less every day. I miss my tiny babe, though I pretty clearly remember how hard those days were, too. I have never wanted to relive a period of my life – I’ve just never enjoyed looking backwards like that, even to days or times that were truly happy. For the first time ever I find myself wishing I could relive certain periods with her. I suppose I should just cherish those memories and focus on building new ones every day, right?
I feel ya on the shots- 3 is about the max I’d want my little lady to have at once! Glad Miss Eleanor is doing well.
It’s scary how fast time goes!