Without really planning it, Second Daughter was weaned while we were on vacation. She had been nursing four times a day. A few weeks before we left, she gave up the 5 am one all on her own. Sometimes she would wake and want to snuggle, but she didn't ask to nurse.
A few days before we left, we missed the pre-nap nursing two days in a row. So I just didn't start up again when I had the chance. It's almost like she didn't notice.
Then, all on her own, again, Second Daughter slept through the night a few times. She was in a crib in my parents' room (with First Son and First Daughter in sleeping bags on the floor) and just didn't wake enough to wake them up to bring her to us (at the other end of the house). She started waking again after a few nights, but didn't ask to nurse.
So she was down to just once a day, right before bed. And then, Kansas Dad and I went on a date (more on that later, I hope). I missed bedtime and my mom said Second Daughter didn't even seem to notice I wasn't there. So that was the end. Friday, January 1st, 2010, was the last time I nursed my baby girl.
I had been trying to find the right time to wean her (you know, when she wasn't sick or teething and when Kansas Dad didn't have a million things to do and a million reasons to get a good night's sleep), but I still cried a little when I realized she was weaned. (Yes, Kansas Dad already pointed out how ridiculous I can be.)
When we got home, we started bedtime for Second Daughter in the kids' room. She has a crib in there, with First Son and First Daughter in the bunk beds. Though she had cried horribly when I tried it for nap time before, she was just fine. (She still takes naps in the crib in our room; I doubt First Daughter would ever let her nap otherwise.)
Last night, she slept through the night again. When I woke at 7 am and she wasn't in our bed, my heart almost stopped. It was, however, so wonderful and refreshing not to have her trying to sleep on my head all night.
She's been so sick the past five days, it was just a delight to spend the day with a baby girl on the mend who had a full night's sleep.
She also learned how to say "no" while we were on vacation. She's rather restrained in her use of it, for a toddler. In fact, she's quite adorable. She's really talking a lot and is nearly speaking sentences. She still doesn't say Mama, though, just "Mom!"
