Breastfeeding is my happy place!

Throughout all the struggles I’ve had as a Breastfeeding mom I have to say that when I am taking the time to feed my children the way nature intended, allowing them to drink their milk from the source, giving them all the wonderful nutrients and antibodies that breastmilk can provide for my children, taking this time out and spending these bonding moments with them is truly my happy place.

We have been going through a mountain of emotions during the up and down of the baby/child led weaning process. There are days my daughter only drinks first thing in the morning. There are days my daughter drinks several times throughout the day. I think that this has a lot to do with emotions and stressors the child will feel throughout the day.

Some days when I’m able to occupy my family with bonding activities, exercise and distractions my daughters don’t wish to breast-feed throughout the day

Other days when they’re not feeling well, one or both of my daughters will breast-feed. I’m still making plenty of milk, so I don’t see this as an issue.

I want to be there for my children whenever and wherever they need me when they feel that they need the comfort of mommies breastmilk or even the nutrition of mommies breastmilk when we are out and about and might be hungry between meals.

If you are a mommy that is going through the weaning process, I wanted to talk to you today about withdrawals. Yes, this is actually a thing!

I have always been an over emotional person and an empath that feels the energy of others. Unfortunately, sometimes it is hard to distinguish whether it is me who is depressed or others around me and sometimes I absorb other peoples energy whereas I can walk into a room completely happy and once I feel that the energy around me is a very negative energy. I start to feel more depressed and sad as I am taking on the energy of others.

So, with that being said, the withdrawals from weaning on occasion have left me feeling excessively blue, mildly depressed, and very anxious.

On days that my children, nurse a lot I am a much happier mommy, as I am not getting those withdrawal symptoms from the lack of oxytocin, and the lack of the hormone release that happens when a mother breast-feeds their child.

Even if you are the happiest mom on earth, when it is time to wean, you may experience, mild depression, sad feelings, tearful days, or ultimately, just having a hard time dealing with the day as it goes on when you first start to wean. Mommies beware! In order to lessen these effects, it is important to slowly wean your baby and maybe pump a few times in between in order to slowly dry up your milk supply to not experience the full on crushing withdrawals of discontinuing breast-feeding.

I’m not quite 100% ready to stop breast-feeding my children, but I will be when they are done. I am leaving it up to them to choose when they don’t need to drink milk from the source anymore.

During this time, I will be transitioning over to Pumping routine again, because I am terrified of allowing my liquid gold to dry up. Yes, literally terrified. I feel that making milk is my superpower. I have used my breast milk to heal wounds, clear up eye, infections, heal, diaper rash, exema, I’ve also used it to not only nourish my children, but my family as well.

My husband and I routinely drink my milk, adding it to recipes making Popsicles with fruit juice and adding it into our own diets for our own health reasons. It has helped with arthritis, symptoms, headaches, and all sorts of other issues.

It is my belief that society has gotten too far away, drinking the milk of other creatures rather than the milk that mother nature provided for humans human consumption of milk should be only human milk.

Human milk was made for humans to consume. Animal milks are not biologically or nutritionally stable for human consumption. Our bodies are made to absorb and use the nutrients that are provided through human milk.

If society would realize how healthy human milk is for all humans (except the few who unfortunately have galactosemia making it dangerous to breastfeed! we will get into this later) we would be a more powerhouse of a society with less diseases and allergies as human milk was made to give humans the immune systems that they need in order to fight off certain diseases, cancers, and other ailments of the human condition.

I plan to make milk for as long as I possibly can.

Oops I got off course again all put that into the ADHD I deal with on a daily basis.

Withdrawals from weaning can also lead to migraines, which are very bad headaches, menstrual changes such as either heavier periods, lighter periods, fluctuating periods, certain people will experience, heavy mood swings, and some even will experience depression similar to that of postpartum depression, which may need to be addressed by a healthcare professional.

Acne and dizzy spells are also a strange reaction to weaning. Be ready and prepared to experience strange things as your hormones start to regulate, and your body starts to get back to normal.

It is always important to consult your healthcare provider if you are experiencing any of these symptoms, and they are troublesome in your daily life . Being prepared and educated about this helps for a safer and more stable weaning experience.

Best of luck mommies!

One piece of advice. If you are experiencing heavy withdrawals, break out the pump and pump for half the time you normally would have before weaning it will help tapering off will help your hormones regulate faster and not give you that whoosh and terrible withdrawal all at once, making it easier to deal with.