The end of attachment- Part 2

Now that it has been well over a week, I am happy to say that Pi is weaned- and not once has he asked for Mummy's milk. Even when my boobs were in his face. It is such a relief that he prefers to have 'moo moo juice' at night- he asks for it, and is excited by it.  After he is finished his milk, we lay down together for a long cuddle so he still has that closeness.

My body has dealt with it fairly well too. I was expecting the worst, but the hot flushes were minimal and the pain was bearable.

As soon as I finished the last feed, I made sure to drink some sage tea (A spoonful of dried sage leaves in a cup of hot water). Dried sage can be bought at your local supermarket in the herb section.



The next morning I woke up sore, but with the help of cabbage leaves in my bra it wasn't too bad. I found about 36hrs after the last feed I had a really sore blocked duct. Remembering that expressing a little is okay, I gradually worked out the blockage and by the next day it was much better.

Over the first three days, I had either a spoonful of sage mixed with peanut butter, or some sage tea twice a day. I found I only needed cabbage leaves that first day.

There was very, very, very minor leaking that first week (just a couple drops per day) and then it was all finished.

Now that the weaning is finished, I am glad that I did it. I do miss that special connection, but the cuddles that we have every night before he goes to sleep are just as lovely.

His dad is also happy that he gets to participate in the bedtime ritual a bit more too.

The end of attachment... Part 1

I have been putting off and putting off weaning Pi. There was always an excuse to delay weaning- wait until he finishes teething, wait until the end of next month, wait until he gets used to ichijihoiku (the three ours he goes to daycare on Wednesday mornings) wait until he turns two, wait until his cold is finished. In my heart I really didn't want to stop feeding him. The only real drivers to do it, were that he is getting older, and I want to get back on antibiotics (that I can't take when breastfeeding).

Lately, has has been refusing to let go of the boob at night. For a long time he always wanted a little bit longer, and then a bit longer again, but this last week it has been ridiculous. He would stay there all night if it were up to him. It figured it was due to one of two options, he either wanted lots of milk but there just wasn't very much left in the boobies, or he just liked it so much. After a particularly long session the other night when he refused to let go, I decided that it was probably a good time to try weaning him.

I intended to do it the next night, but I wanted our last nursing session to be something special and not him getting angry at me because I was trying to unlatch him. So I took a long time nursing him on Friday night, and then come Saturday I started. I really wanted to get him a 'weaning book' to get him used to the idea of no more milk, but as he was only on one feed a day I didn't want to make a big deal of it and make him realise what he is missing.

For the last few weeks we had been introducing a new part of the bedtime routine. After bath, but before Mummy's Milk, Daddy has been reading him a few books. It has been nice for his dad to spend a bit more time with him. Come Saturday night, I told Pichan that he would get special "moo moo juice" tonight, as Mummy didn't have enough milk (which is actually completely true- it has been just a few mouthfuls for weeks now) and that Mummy would still give him lots of nice cuddles while he drank. To my surprise, he was more than happy to have his Moo Moo juice. Not a word of protest, and after he finished he asked for more (I didn't give it to him though as I don't want him wetting through his nappy).

I was really surprised that he took it so well. I, on the other hand was an emotional mess. For me, feeding Pi has been such a beautiful thing. As the mother of a squirmy octopus the night time feeds have been a nice way to hold him and have lots of cuddles (mind you with those cuddles comes pulling, grabbing, pinching and slapping).

I will really miss it. Probably more than him. It was the last thing that I could do for him, that only I could do. However, the fact that he has taken it so well makes it that much easier.

It is early days yet, and he may suddenly remember about Mummy's milk and have a meltdown. However, I am hoping that the cuddles and the moo moo juice will be an equally good substitute.

こどもの森わんぱくらんど Kodomo no mori wanpaku nando- Children's forest naughty land.

Out of the back of Odawara there is a fantastic park called : こどもの森わんぱくらんど- Kodomo no mori wanpaku rando.

This place is huge.  It is on the Yokohama side of Hakone, and actually feel like you are already in among the mountains. It is a huge park surrounded by forest. There is a rope bridge, two trains (one that runs on the road, and one that runs on a track), lots of grassy areas, a big long grass forest path, a big rope skills obstacle course for the older kids, pony rides, feeding of goats and sheep at certain times, a splash river for kids to paddle in, and lots of playgrounds.


It was such a lovely day and quite hot, so Pi loved the splash river. If you think your kids might go in don't forget the towel and change of clothes.

He also had his very first pony ride at the park. They don't have an age restriction, but the child must be able to sit up by themselves. Parents aren't allowed in the enclosure, but we voiced our concerns and one of the workers walked next to him to make sure he didn't fall off (One worker is always leading the horse). Pi loved it. I think it was 300yen for the ride, which was quite short but worth it for the experience.
 

Pi also LOVED the train. While we were playing on a grassy field, we could see the 'road train'  (a train that runs on the road) come past every now and then, and every time it captured his attention. We promised him a ride, and the smile on his face was worth any cost. I think it was 300yen per adult. Children under school age are free. I think school age children were 100yen.




Pi also had fun on the various playgrounds, and just running around.

It was a really lovely day.

Entry to the park itself is free. Car parking was 510 per car. There aren't really any places to eat, but on the day we went there were a few food vans. On that day there was Yakisoba, crepes, pizza, and a Koko ichibanya curry van. If you have time, maybe bringing a bento is best. There are plenty of vending machines and toilets. Oh, and there is a camping ground attached too.




All up, I highly recommend it.

The links below are in Japanese. I recommend running translate through chrome.

Access to the park: http://www.city.odawara.kanagawa.jp/public-i/park/wanpaku/park/wanpaku-access.html

About the park: http://www.city.odawara.kanagawa.jp/public-i/park/wanpaku/park/o-wanpaku.html

BCG scar- one year and a half on.

It has been about a year and a half since Pi had his BCG scar. It was done in January 2015.

The scar often gets comments when we go back to Australia, as it is unusual to have there. His scar looks white in the holes where the blisters where, but he is quite pink and blotchy around it. It's not super noticeable, but noticeable enough. 

I think he will always have a scar there, due to his sensitive skin, but at least he should be protected against TB.