My one-year anniversary of breastfeeding

Ok so in reality what it really is, is my son's 1-year birthday. He had his party, which I begrudgingly granted my mother-in-law who was crestfallen when we first told her that a party was not going to happen. Back to the point. One year of breastfeeding, he had his party, now I am having mine.

What are the things I have had to deal with?

1. My mom constantly asking me how much longer I am planning to breastfeed. At first I didn't pay her any mind, I'm used to shrugging off the things she says. Lately though it's been really getting on my nerves, partly because she never stops asking and partly because her motives for wanting me to stop are completely irrelevant. Those motives as I see them are: so I can finally get to doing real exercise and get back to a size 4, so she can take the baby places without me, so my boobs can shrink back to normal size and I can wear correct-fitting clothes again, and so the baby doesn't become too much of a mama's boy.
2. A baby who is big enough to start really hurting me when nursing. He is a high-strung fidgety kind of kid, even when he is nursing to fall asleep he constantly kicks me in the stomach and pinches me.
3. Teeth. Lots of them.
4. Solid food on the boob. This is pretty disgusting. He will be eating fried chicken then 10 minutes later will want to nurse. Open wide! What do I see? Bits of chicken in his mouth ready to be washed down with breastmilk. Ick.
5. Pumping. I am so sick of pumping now I must confess. The good thing is, I hardly ever pump anymore. I have been breastfeeding long enough now that i'm pretty confident my supply is constant. So long as I am not away from him for more than 6 hours at a time then I don't have to bring a pump around. At this age babies also don't drink that much milk anymore, so demand is also lower.
6. Missing my boobs. My old boobs. The reasonable-sized ones that were high up on my chest and didnt' make me look like i was going to tip over because they messed with my center of gravity.

I used to say I will know when to stop breastfeeding because I would never get used to the idea of a toddler walking over to me in his shoes and shorts asking for dede. Yet here I am. You know why I'm still doing it? Because weaning is hard. It is hard for me, hard for baby, hard for daddy. It is a long project and is going to be emotionally draining. So I postpone because I'm a coward. I do expect to be fully depressed once he weans. It'll be so sad. I'll have more freedom, but i'll miss it so.

Gasp! TEETH!

Yes babies are very cute when they start cutting teeth, but teeth can be a nightmare for nursing moms. It's partly psychological really, how can breastfeeding a child with a mouthful of fully developed teeth NOT hurt?! It must, right? The agony of anticipating that pain is probably worse than the pain itself.

Photo credit: http://www.breastfeedingbasics.com/articles/teething-and-biting

Honestly I still don't completely know, my kid has 2 bottom teeth and is now erupting two more on top. I haven't dealt with a whole mouthful just yet. Lemme tell you though, those first two are a b*tch! Not something you can't get over, I did figure out, after much research, how to deal with them. As usual with breastfeeding it's all about latch and not getting lazy about making sure baby is on there properly.

Teething babies are miserable. They are uncomfortable, drooly, and irritable so they will be complaining and crying a lot. Not all teething babies will bite your boobs, however you do not want them to get into the habit of using your boobies as teethers, not pleasant. So here are a few tips:

1. Bottom teeth come out first, and the important thing to remember is that a baby cannot feed while biting so put him on the boob only when he wants to eat. To get the milk out, his tongue has to be on top of the bottom teeth. If he is just hanging out on your boob he is more likely to bite. When you see that he is done feeding, take him off, otherwise he might bite just to keep himself occupied.
2. Ice his gums first before nursing. I would take a little ice cube, wrap a lampin around it and use that as a teether. Works really well because the fabric is rough but thin so he gets the coldness and some friction to relieve his itchy gums. When he is no longer annoyed by his gums and seems calm, then start nursing him. It'll be cold on your boob for a bit so be prepared! DO NOT GIVE HIM JUST ICE! He can choke on it.
3. Make sure he opens his mouth really wide before latching him on. The further down the breastfeeding relationship we got, the lazier I got with latching him on properly. He'd have his mouth half-open and i'd put him on, while ok without teeth, once those two bottom ones pop out this maneuver will get painful.

The two front bottom teeth come out first, and those are the toughest to deal with. Top teeth are easier because their angle while feeding makes it so it's not painful, not a biting, just a little friction. I'm optimistic that since we have weathered the storm of the first two bottom teeth, the rest will be easier to deal with. Here's hopin'!