S.M.
Hi M.:
I was soooo depressed to stop nursing- even the whole month before my target of 6 months too because I knew it was coming to an end. I get mushy when I see a nursing mom, like I want to jump in there or something haha! I had to do a lot of cognitive self-therapy to get beyond it. Meaning I had made the decision and that was final, I had to focus on that, rather than let the emotions take over. I turned my mind to other things, such as "getting my body back", the lack of inconvenience associated, etc. In the end the thing that made me feel the best was 2 thoughts
1- it couldn't last forever. I knew that no matter when I stopped I would be really depressed, even if I went 3+ years!
2- I will never forget the worst BFing experience i had- pumping while driving the narrow- incredibly crowed- streets of philidelphi while speeding to a client meeting. People literally 1 foot from my non-tinted window, waiting for the bus and looking around, while I sat at a stop light. Due to the time constraints that day, there was nothign I could do. It was crazy!! So focusing on not experiencing things like that really got me through.
I highly recommend homemade baby food- that really helped me get through it too. Although it wasn't nursing, I felt so good doing everything I possibly could to provide the best nourishment to my baby. This was a major help for me (and much better for baby too!!)
I still miss it, but what can you do? You can't nurse forever!
hugs!
-S.