Elijah has weaned

Well, Elijah has officially weaned.

I have mixed feelings about this.  On the one hand, I loved our nursing relationship.  I’m sure that he loved our nursing relationship.  And I guess I really wanted to be one of those European-eque mothers who really extended breastfeeding.

On the other hand, he’s sleeping through the night now and my appetite has been cut in half.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends breastfeeding exclusively for the first six months (which I was unable to do when I returned to work), and to continue breastfeeding in conjunction with solids for at least a year, and as long after as is mutually desired.  The World Health organization recommends the same, except that breastfeeding should continue in conjunction with solids for at least two years.  World wide, most babies wean between ages 2 and 3, or so I am told.  In America, most babies wean at 3 months.

Elijah and I made it 15 months.  Not bad, I suppose.  Great, by American standards.  And even though I had to supplement with formula when I went back to work when he was 10 weeks old, I think I still did pretty good keeping the nursing up.  I have no regrets (except for how soon I fed him solids, he now appears to have an egg allergy – I don’t know if its related, but doctors say the number one reason to delay solids for six months is to decrease chances of babies developing food allergies, and there are no food allergies in my family), but sometimes, I do miss our special cuddle time.

Here’s how we did it.

I went to Arkansas for two weeks for some good, old fashioned, Army training.  Elijah stayed home with my mom.  When I got back, he asked to nurse, so I tried, but it hurt and I got a sore on my nipple (just like the first time he nursed!  Why, oh why won’t he latch on correctly?), and he was frustrated because there wasn’t any milk there.  And that was it.  He asked a couple more times, but I instead offered him his sippy cup or a bottle, and now he doesn’t even ask anymore.

He and I still cuddle a lot.   We still show each other a lot of affection.  We’re still cosleeping (although that might slowly come to a halt in the coming months as well, since he’s sleeping better and better at night).  We just don’t nurse anymore.

What’s your weaning story?

The end of civilization as we know it

So my holistic moms group has been all atwitter (is atwitter one word or two? atwitter? a twitter?) about this speech given by Dmitry Orlov February 13, 2009, at Cowell Theatre in Fort Mason Center, San Francisco, to an audience of 550 people, called Social Collapse Best Practices or (as the Organic Consumers Association titled it) Getting Prepared for the Great Collapse.  I thought I’d share it with you.

What do you think of this?  Do you think its possible?  Or, more accurately, do you think it’s likely?  What if something like this does happen?  What will you and your family do?

Personally, there is a part of me (the part that likes action movies) that actually looks forward to this possible future.  But then theres a part of me (the part that gets sad when faceless, nameless characters in action movies die) that hates the idea of the senseless violence mentioned here.  Could I be a squatter, if need be?  Yes.  Could I claim a peice of ignored land to set up a community farm?  Yes.  Could I run an establishment like the health clinic mentioned in this speech?  Oh certainly yes (I’ve begun looking into midwifery training, by the way).  Could I have a donkey.  Yeah, that would be cool.  But could I hire a mentally unstable former cop or Soldier to commit violent acts on my behalf to intimidate people who get in my way?  I’m not down with that.

What do you think?  And what are you doing to protect yourself in this economy?