bittersweet ending

Since I spent so much time at the beginning of Michael’s life talking about our “journey” with nursing I feel like it is only right that I also provide a conclusion to that chapter in our lives. As of his 1^st birthday Michael is officially done nursing. I had heard that this would be bittersweet, that by ending that I would feel as if part of his babyhood was over, and yes part of it is, but to be frank, it was just sweet to be done.  For us nursing was great, everything worked as it should, he understood how to do it from day 1, he got enough food, and I only had minor skirmishes with infection etc, but by the time he turned 1 we were ready to be done. We started to introduce cow’s milk about 3 weeks before his 1^st birthday (evil I know), and his initial reaction was one of shock and disgust, but slowly, what seemed like ever so slowly we replaced one feeding after another with cow’s milk. We tried all sorts of sippy cups to no avail, he would drink water and on occasion juice from a sippy cup but milk, you have got to be kidding! So we introduced the bottle, he had been given a bottle from time to time but it wasn’t really his cup of tea, he never really understood what to do with it and if I was there- forget it! But he would take milk from a bottle, so I bought a few (yes when my child was almost 1 I bought bottles, I know it is ridiculous) and things went better. Now he loves milk, we aren’t quite up to the recommended ounces per day (just a few shy today) but things are looking up, we are getting so close. Now he has learned a word for milk “ma!” and he loves to drink it, especially when it is accompanied by cuddles or a good book. Nursing before bed and naps has been replaced by reading books, brushing teeth, and singing, and after a few rough weeks we are settling back into a routine. Yay for Michael moving on to bigger and better things! It has been great having him drink milk, I am no longer beholden to the clock and he has gotten to spend a lot of quality time with his dad!