It’s Officially Over

Nursing, that is. Last night was the last time I nursed Abriella at bedtime. I had finally decided I was ready for it. She loved that time, and I’m not saying I didn’t either, but I decided it was time. I had posted before that she did fine without that final nursing, as she had done once before, but the last time I worked, she did not do well. She cried for a couple of hours or so before finally going to sleep, and then she woke up just after midnight, and it was not the crying you could ignore. I went in and she nursed for almost an hour, and then she went back to sleep. I think a big part of that was that she hadn’t seen me except for a couple of minutes in the morning, so she wanted some Mommy time, plus another huge factor was that her naps were practically non-existent that day, so she was over the edge anyway. Oh, and the time before when she went to bed fine without the bedtime nursing, I was still nursing her in the morning, so she had some time with me that day. Anyway, it was a tough day for her. Poor girl.

Anyway, last night as I nursed her, I cried, and then I cried afterwards, too. It’s such a special bond, but I was more ready emotionally for it now. So, at just shy of 14 months, she is no longer breastfeeding. Tonight, I told her as we were finishing getting her ready for bed that we were going to do things a little differently now. I told her that she wasn’t a little baby anymore, so she would now get all of her milk from her sippy cup. She did great! I was proud of her. We read, sang, prayed, and rocked, and then to bed she went. She fussed a bit more than usual, but I figured that would probably be the case, but overall, I think it went really smoothly. And, hopefully, she will not be my last child to nurse, so that helps ease the sadness.

Today, we went out bike-riding again. Abriella loves the seat that her Grandma and Great-Grandma bought her! It gives me more of a workout, too. That extra 20-25 pounds makes a difference! Anyway, it’s funny because she’ll sit back there and talk, and then every so often, she will reach her hand up and start patting me on the back, as if to say, “Good Job, Mommy.” Or, “I love you, Mommy!”. So sweet!! My Mom had a child bike seat when I was little, too, and I still remember riding behind her on that. I have such fond memories of that, so I hope Abriella will too. Oh, and if any of you wondered by looking at those last pics of her on the bike, yes, she does have a bike helmet (as do I), and after that initial trial ride in the neighborhood, we both had our helmets on, AND I did NOT wear my flip-flops. 🙂

So, Stephen and I had our first go at teaching 2 year olds on Sunday. All, I can say is WOW! Well, there are 18 on our roll, and many are regulars (a couple of them they have not officially moved up to our class, but will in the next couple of weeks). So, we had 10 show up this Sunday. Well, the problem was that one of them that came was hysterical. Stephen spent the entire time trying to console the child, who did end up crying the entire classtime. Next time he comes, if the same thing happens, we won’t hesitate to page his parents, or invite them to stay in the class until he’s more comfortable. Anyway, so Stephen spent his time holding this little guy, and I was trying to teach, and we had a few wanderers that I couldn’t keep at the table. Stephen was trying to help, but there was only so much he could do with a child crying in his ear over and over, “I want my Daddy, I want my Daddy!” We also had one little guy that spent a good 10 or 15 minutes standing at the door crying, waiting on his Mom to come back, but he warmed up to us eventually (his Mom said he would probably do that). Anyway, aside from the cryer, most of the kids did end up listening to the Bible story, and were happy by the time their parents arrived. We learned a few things from our first go at it. We have 12 more weeks to get better at it! HAHA!

Ok, onto some more pictures. As you can see, I finally figured out how to make the pictures a normal size on here. It was a real “duh” moment for me, too. Oh well. These first ones were actually taken in July. I realize I’m behind. Sorry.

Here’s an example of our nudist before bathtime, wandering in the house. Isn’t her toosh cute!?

Here she is reading with me.

Here, we have put her to work in the flowerbeds. Isn’t that why you have children…to make them do work?!

Ok, that’s all for now. Hope you all had a wonderful Labor Day!!