How I weaned my 17 month old//tips for weaning your toddler

Hi friends...I actually wrote this post almost two months ago and never shared it here.  If you are thinking of weaning your little one and could use some pointers, I hope this post helps!  

It’s bittersweet. We are all done breastfeeding, and I couldn’t be prouder for having nursed my son for 17 months.

I had no time line in mind with regards to how long I wanted to breastfeed for prior to giving birth to Nicholas, but I did know that I didn’t want to nurse beyond the age of two.

Around the time Nicholas turned a year old, I started to think that I would like to begin weaning, and possibly be done nursing by 15 months. Well, that didn’t happen.

I just wasn’t committed enough to see weaning through. I did, however, stop all night feeds, and for awhile, it seemed to improve night time sleep. Sadly, that didn’t last when we got hit by a nasty cold and I was back to nursing Nicholas at night to help him breathe and bring comfort to my poor sick baby.

About a month later, I was feeling so thinly spread from all the night wake ups and nursing Nicholas what felt like a million times a day. He wanted to snack all the time, and I felt so completely exasperated with having my child constantly wanting milk, sticking his hands down my shirt or lifting it up, and then only having two sips before pulling off again.

Breastfeeding was far from enjoyable anymore, and I was fed up. It was around this time that I contacted an older friend for encouragement and prayer, and she was kind enough to send me some advice from other seasoned mamas she knew. That was just what I needed to make the decision to wean. My husband was fully supportive, and after doing a bit of research on how to actually go about the weaning process, I started with cutting all those bitty feeds throughout the day so that we were just doing 3 feeds a day.

The nap time feed was the next to go, and that was easy because I gave him a bottle of warm whole milk and he barely noticed not having “milkies” anymore. I had read that you should wean slowly so as not to cause any hormonal issues, so I waited a few days before cutting the bedtime feed. This one was probably the toughest one to cut, even though I did offer him some warm whole milk in his bottle instead. During this time I also had to pump a little here and there, because even at 17 months post partum, I still had a crazy milk supply, and just cutting a few feeds over the course of a few days, meant I needed to pump in order to ease the tenderness I was experiencing. I was also terrified of getting mastitis!

Around this time I started experiencing some extreme fatigue, headaches and even a little nausea, as well as heart palpitations. Even though I was weaning slowly, it still managed to cause issues with my hormones. I did find out that those symptoms aren’t abnormal, but I never expected to feel so sick! I then learnt I should drink sage tea a couple times a day to help dry up my milk supply. Honestly, it wasn’t as bad as I expected it to be. I also kept up with pumping once a day, and feeding Nicholas early each morning.

And then, just like that, he stopped asking me for milk in the early morning. He would wake around 4am, and I would go lie with him as I usually do, and he wanted a snuggle instead of being nursed. I anticipated the morning feed being the most challenging to cut, and it turned out to be the easiest.

After that I kept up with pumping once a day, and then slowly going from once a day, to every second day, and then I went to every third day. I continued drinking sage tea for another week or so.

Last week I fed Nicholas one last time. It was morning and my husband was still asleep. I read a few stories to Nicholas and we cuddled. He then asked for milk, and I gave in. I thought it would be special to have this moment to look back on. And I am so happy I did.

And that was that. He still asks me to nurse him every now and again, but I am quick to distract him with a game, story or a snack.

Here are a few tips if you are wanting to wean your toddler in the near future which really helped us during this process:

1. Use yummy (but fairly healthy) treats as a distraction. For us it was usually pure apple juice which I watered down a ton or warm whole milk which usually did the trick. Sometimes it was a homemade cookie or muffin. There are times when one just has to make use of a crutch for the overall greater good.
2. Speaking of a crutch, a bit of screentime was another thing I used to distract Nicholas while weaning. Currently he is obsessed with trains, so a few minutes of the old episodes of Thomas and Friends came to the rescue.
3. Remind your child of how much you love them. I told Nicholas how much I loved him, and how special he is to us, multiple times throughout the day. Obviously, this is something I do anyway, but I was more conscious of it, and whenever he did ask to be nursed, before distracting him, I would tell him that “milkies” was all finished but that I still loved him so, so much.
4. Don’t give them the opportunity to ask to be nursed. I made sure to not sit down for too long and have Nicholas climb up on my lap so as to avoid him even asking to be nursed. I was definitely more tired from not really getting a chance to sit down during the day, but it did help to not cause unnecessary drama.
5. Be fully committed and consistent. And make sure you have the support of your husband, mom or close friend, or all of the above. Encouragement to keep going really helps when you feel like caving and just giving your child what they want.
6. Lastly, be prepared. Go slowly. Purchase some sage leaves and brew yourself a cup of sage tea a couple times a day during weaning, and give yourself grace if you experience any unpleasant symptoms.

I can’t actually explain how good it feels to be done breastfeeding.

And I feel like my hormones are slowly stabilizing too and I am getting back to feeling more like me.

I feel so blessed to have had the privilege of breastfeeding my son for almost a year and a half. I am so thankful to have had no issues with supply, latch or anything like that as I know that isn’t always the case. I am also grateful for the support I received from my midwife, mom and husband.

I am curious to know how long you breastfeed your little one(s) for?

How did you approach weaning?

Share your experience in the comments!

With love, Kelly

we took a road trip//time with family & attending the knifemaker's guild show

 Hi dear readers.  By now you have probably noticed a blog title change.  Welcome to Her Handmade Life.  I am over on Instagram under the same handle @herhandmadelife if you would like to follow me there for daily natterings and such.  

I figured that it was high time for a change.  Time is marching on and I am approaching 27, and I just don't feel so much like the little country girl I was when I started this blog back in 2016.   My baby is a year and a half already and I've been married to my handsome man for almost two and a half years, and life looks a lot different than it did when I was just 19.  My, but I have changed so much and see things so differently, and I want to embrace this new version of me.

So if chats about homemaking, motherhood and simple, creative living sound like your jam, do stick around and let's be friends.  I would love to have you along for the ride.  And if you have been around since the early days...thank you!  

Anyway...

For those of you who know, please tell me...what happened to Blogger's advanced theme editing?  I would love to change fonts and backgrounds and all that sort of thing, but their current options seem somewhat limited compared to what used to be available.  And if you know of someone who does simple, pretty blog designs...please do share their details in the comments below or email me.  I am thinking that my blog needs a bit of a refresh.  

And now that we have chatted about all things bloggy, let's move on to the exciting bit...

Last month our little family of three took a long road trip all the way up to Pretoria, which is about ten to twelve hours away from where we live in the Eastern Cape.  My husband is a member of the knifemaker's guild of South Africa, and around halfway through the year they have a show in Johannesburg, which he exhibits at.  

This year it was my dearest wish that Nicholas and I go with him so I could attend for the first time and support my husband, and also so that we could spend some time with Rucus' side of the family who all live in Pretoria and Mpumalanga.

We were blessed to be able to buy a new (to us) car two-ish months prior to the trip, which allowed us all to go because of it being way more comfortable and spacious and suited to longer trips.

I spent weeks planning activities for Nicholas to do in the car.  I also borrowed a couple new (to us) books from my mom to read to him in between, and we also had some Thomas & Friends episodes on hand for if when the wheels really started to come off.  

On the way up, Nicholas managed the trip so well.  We did seven hours the first day, stopping every few hours to stretch our legs, grab a cup coffee and snack on something I had already prepared at home to save money, and because homemade is always healthier, before continuing our journey.  We stopped over for the night in Bloemfontein and were sadly pretty disappointed with the accommodation we had booked.  One really needs basic comforts on a long, tiring trip!

^We stopped for a lunch break in Graaf-Reinet.  Nicholas enjoyed getting to run around a bit before getting back in the car and taking a good nap.

^Here we are in Colesburg.  

^We needed a bathroom break and a quick snack.

^He's getting so big!

The next day it was a much shorter distance to my brother and sister-in-law's house in Centurion, Pretoria.  We purposely got as much of the driving done on day one when we were all fresh.   I plan to share tips and advice for anyone travelling with a busy 18 month old sometime soon.  The key is to be as prepared as possible with snacks and activities, and to stop for a refresh every two-ish hours.

The Friday (the day after we arrived), Rucus left early for the show, and Nicholas and I hung out and watched Netflix and ate rusks and drank coffee (don't worry, he had good old raw milk which I had brought from home).  

^Breakfast time for Nicholas...

Later in the morning, my sister-in-law took us out for breakfast before we all went to the show.  Natasha was so gracious - by this time, our little country bumpkin toddler had seriously started acting up and was a real handful at brunch and screamed pretty much the entire 30 minutes it took to get to the show.

^So proud of this man of mine!  He worked so hard in the months leading up to the show!  And of course, how cute is my blue eyed, blonde haired boy on my back?!

I put him in my Ergobaby carrier before going in to the event and he was a perfect angel the whole time.  It was so special to be able to be there with Rucus for an hour or so, and I was able to witness him winning the best sword category with the rapier he had made and entered.

That evening my precious mother-in-law arrived and Nicholas spent some time with her and my brother and sister-in-law.  Rucus' sister and her husband and baby girl (we got to meet our sweet little niece and Nicholas's cousin for the first time!) arrived the following afternoon, so it was a very festive evening we had together, catching up and enjoying his mom's good cooking.

^It took awhile for Nicholas to warm up to Ouma (Afrikaans for Granny) again, but once he did, they played so nicely together.

The next morning, the Saturday, Nicholas and I again went to the show, this time with my mother and brother-in-law.  Rucus didn't know I'd be able to come again, especially with Nicholas acting up as he did, so I surprised him by showing up when he was just expecting me to call and check in with him.  Nicholas hung out on my back again and actually eventually drifted off to sleep while I stayed with Rucus, met a few other guild members and enjoyed looking at the beautiful pieces on show.

You can see more pictures from the show and pieces Rucus had on display over on his Instagram over here.

PART 2 coming soon!  I think this post is getting a bit long...

Blessings on your day, sweet friends!

the approach of spring//chatting treasured pastimes and hopes for springtime

There is something about the approach of Spring that makes me feel inspired to take up favourite pastimes once again. Blogging is one of them. Reading is another hobby I have been enjoying lately, and I am fairly itching to get into the garden and feel the dirt between my fingers and the warm sunshine on my back.

Of course, I am not able to do everything I used to be able to do now that I am a busy mama and homemaker. But I am trying to keep my expectations very low and find small pockets of time here and there to devote to these treasured pastimes...

One way I do this is to be very intentional about my day. I like to block out time for each task and then work towards having time during Nicholas' nap to work on the things I enjoy.

I am also being diligent about putting my phone away in the evening and reading a few chapters of my book instead before switching off the light. My hope with this is to not only to get more reading in, but also improve the quality of my sleep, which, after a year and a half of chronic sleep deprivation, is pretty messed up.

One thing I know I need to be better about, is training Nicholas to keep himself busy when I am working on things such as gardening or sewing.

Both these activities delight my heart and fill my soul, but they also bless my family, so I know I shouldn't feel guilty about giving him the opportunity to learn to entertain himself while Mama is busy. I plan to spend some time preparing a couple toddler activities to do with him for half an hour or so each morning before I head into the garden to fill up his little tank first.

I know I can be over ambitious when it comes to gardening, especially in this season of life, but I am hopeful that I'll be able to grow a lot of the food my little family need. And perhaps Nicholas will discover that he enjoys helping mama, too...although I think at this stage he might be a bit too excited about helping to pull up weeds and pull up all my little seedlings in the process!

We recently shifted our house around, so all my sewing paraphernalia is lying dotted about each room.  I need to spend an afternoon gathering and organizing everything so I can tackle a few small sewing projects when I feel so inclined.

I am longing to make pretty things for my home, as well as some of the more practical things, like curtains for my big kitchen, and turn a double duvet cover into a 3/4 size cover for Nicholas' bed. I thrifted a cream and beige check duvet cover over a year ago, and have yet to get around to making it usable!

And of course, Springtime calls for a touch of Spring cleaning, and this big old house could most certainly use some scrubbing and polishing! Windows need to be washed, and shelves organized. I have been doing a bit of purging too and selling a few items we no longer use, too.  And Spring is also a wonderful time for adding a few fresh decorative touches here and there and making my home look and smell lovely with little posies and vases of blossoms.

And that, my friends, concludes this rambly post. Nicholas is now awake and there is absolutely no way I can write with a busy toddler around!

Oh, and my fellow mama readers...if you will, do leave any tips you have for doing the things you love without neglecting your home or little one in the process....

Most of the time I feel inspired to find creative ways to still do the things that bring me joy in amongst motherhood and keeping my home, but sometimes I get so down and discouraged because the energy is simply lacking and all I want to do is take a nap myself or watch YouTube...and then I feel even worse because I didn't make use of naptime and work on my hobbies! I would truly appreciate any advice or encouragement you have to share!

With love, Kelly