OMG I THINK I FINALLY DID IT!!!!!

My boobs are freeeeeeeeee!

Yes, after almost a year of unsuccessfully trying to wean my 17-month-old from breastfeeding, I FINALLY found a trick that worked!! Stay tuned if you're interested...I bet you you've never even thought of this before ;)

As you know from my last blog,
Janelle was a bit sick with diarrhea...I opted for the B.R.A.T. diet and thought it cured her...boy was I wrong - I spoke way too soon!

After a whole diarrhea-free hour, it came back, and back with a vengeance!
I mean it was back-to-back. My poor baby was in constant pain as I wiped her clean, only for another to occur immediately. After each diaper change, I slabbed on half-a-bottle of diaper rash cream and caked it with cornstarch. I knew that if this wouldn't end by morning, I would have to take her to the pediatrician. I nursed my poor baby to sleep and held her in my arms all night.

It's morning now, and the diarrhea has progressed to an even worse
state! I have no clue how it could have gotten worse, but it did. And my poor baby's diaper rash was in the worst condition I have EVER seen - it was completely red from front to back, and even when she saw a wipe she would have a panic attack and cry "NO! NO!". So I would wash her poor little booty in the sink with cold water every time it needed to be cleaned. I also decided against a diaper until we were right about to leave to see her pediatrician.

We're in the waiting room now,
and can I just say I HATE waiting rooms?!? Sick kids everywhere, trying to get in my daughter's face and talk to her..and since their parents never do anything about it, I have to say something like, "She's [my daughter's] really sick baby, you shouldn't get close to her" to try to keep these diseased kids away and not sound rude.

For what seemed like forever, we were finally called in.
Janelle was weighed on the stand-up scale instead of the lay-in scale for the first time EVER (and it hit me again - my baby's growing up, *tear*). We went to our assigned room and did some more waiting while I carried her in my arms. Our pediatrician came in to check her out and OMG she was MUCH more sick than I could have ever imagined!! My baby is never sick, so this was a complete SHOCK.

A double ear infection
Severe sore throat
Fever
& of course, diarrhea

Are you kidding me??
My pediatrician could see it in my facial expression, "How the *$#@! did this happen!!??" She caught me sniffling and asked, "Are you sick?" And I explained to her that when my allergies act up, I usually get nasal drip and it results in a sore throat. This was something that happened often, and since breastfeeding didn't allow me to take any meds, I would have to tough it out with home remedies like I usually do. She explained to me that my sickness was probably worse than I thought in order for Janelle to be as sick as she was. My baby was prescribed antibiotic, ear drops, and prescription diaper rash ointment. (Quick note here - the prescription diaper rash cream did NOT work. I had to send daddy out to buy a container of TRIPLE PASTE, the only stuff that I've found to actually work effectively and most importantly - immediately. They sell it at Target, Walgreens, etc....it's pricey, but more than worth it.)

That was it. NOW was the time to finally wean her.
Every time she would nurse she would get diarrhea almost immediately. It was almost pointless to be putting her on a strict bread & banana diet while feeding her my fatty breastmilk all day long. Plus, I needed to get better in order for my baby to get better - and echinacea tea & cough drops were just not cutting it this time around. I needed NyQuil & TheraFlu.

Let's take a moment here to point something out - I did not just say,
"She's sick, that's it, no more boob!" Much thought had been put into this. My princess is 17 months old now...trust me, I've done my time. Every time she saw me sitting or standing she would attack me and yell "BOOB!" or "Night,night"(which is really just another word for boob to her) while she lifted up my shirt and proceeded to suck. This was especially fun while grocery shopping. She would pull down my shirt and expose my great set of puppies to every Publix shopper. All I could do was tell her "No, not now", while I held back my laughter & dashed to an empty aisle. To say my daughter is obsessed with breastfeeding is an understatement. This girl seriously came out of the womb, latching on to my nipple for dear life. The nurses would come in to check on us and write down her feeding times on their charts and they would ask "How long has she been nursing for?" and I would tell them, "Ummm..we're going on 2 1/2 hours" and their jaws would drop! lol...and that was only the beginning.

Initially I had wanted to stop breastfeeding after she was 6-months-old.
She absolutely refused the bottle so I figured 1 year was the most recommended time to stop anyway. 1 year passed and when I would try to wean her it was torture. I always gave in because I felt horrible about taking her favorite thing, her comfort, away from her.


17 MONTHS AND I FIGURED IT OUT!
I dabbed my nipple with vinegar...and sat down on the couch. She lifted my shirt up, looking up at me and saying, "boob?". "Go right ahead!", I thought.

OMG IT WAS THE FUNNIEST THING EVER!! LOL
She didn't even take a sip when she released my nipple from her mouth with the most disgusted look on her face! She looked up at me with the most confused expression and I told her "EWWWWW huh? Mommy's milk has turned yucky". "Ewwww", she agreed.

And ever since then she has referred to the boob as "eww" and has not given it a try ONCE! I am proud to say we are going on day 4 and I cannot BELIEVE it was this easy! It just feels sooooo good to not be the bad guy keeping the boob away from her. She really wants nothing to do with the way she thinks it tastes now.

She, of course, still cries because she misses her comforting boob before she takes her naps and goes down for bed, but she won't dare try to breastfeed anymore. She usually falls asleep in my arms, while I stroke her little back with my fingertips, and holds on to me all night long. I love her so unbelievably much. My big girl.

Janelle's diarrhea & hideous diaper rash are both gone (after much Triple Paste and running around nakey), and her health seems to be at 100% again. We'll be getting a check-up just to be sure. But my baby is back to her usual happy self.

I hope this blog will be of some help to you if you are going through a similar situation, or will one day in the future. At the very least, I hope it was amusing and worth the read ;)

I'm pleased to say Janelle has moved on to a different obsession - DORA!
These past few days we have watched the same DVD over and over and over, at least 5 times each day. 5 hours of dora is enough to drive anyone insane.

But I do LOVE the adorable way she says "Oooooh MAN!" every time Swiper the fox comes on. Seriously - cutest thing ever.<3




XOXO Janissa (JM)