Night Weaning

I am so excited! Layla has been sleeping so much better the past few nights. She had been sleeping fairly well, but then decided that it was a good idea to wake up and try to nurse every couple hours. Naas....Naas

Well, that was getting to be a bit annoying since she is now 21 mos. old and doesn't need the calories during the night. I finally got over feeling bad about it and decided to cut her off for the night nursings.

I nurse her right before bed at about 9:00, the husband and I go to sleep around 11, and she doesn't touch my naas until its at least light outside. Its working pretty well so far.

It took me a couple nights to cut her off completely. After giving in only a time or 2 the past week, she finally realized that she can't bother me all night long. If I let her nurse early in the morning, she will usually go back to sleep until at least 8:30. Let's just say that we are all much happier with this arrangement.

Our next big hurdles are potty training and taking away the pacifier. At this point she won't sleep at all without it clipped onto her shirt. Since I've had so much trouble with her sleeping from day 1, I guess that I'm willing to put up with the pacifier for a little bit longer.

She is also talking up a storm. She has lots of 2 and even 3 word sentences that she uses now. I cracked up yesterday when she patted the couch and said "Mama, sit down!". She will also say "Layla do it."

She slept throught the night!

I woke up this morning around 6:30 and started to freak out a little. Why? Layla hadn't needed to get out of her crib yet and it was light out already. I had to check and make sure she was still breathing.
Her normal night routine looks like this:
9:00 She goes to sleep in her crib with little or no problem.
11:30-12:30 She wakes up during this time frame not wanting to go back in the crib. I nurse her cuddle her, and usually just keep her in bed with me because its easier.
4:00 Sometimes she wakes up again around this time and wants to nurse some more and if I'm lucky she will go back in her crib afterward.
6:30 She wakes up again wanting back in bed with me. She's sometimes crabby and wakes up on and off until about 9 from this point on.
8:30 Most mornings she wakes up for good around this time. Other days she sleeps a little later depending on how restless her morning was.

For some reason Layla is a restless sleeper and has a hard time getting back to sleep once she has woken herself up. She is still addicted to both the pacifier and nursing and I don't think I would have ever gotten any sleep if it were not for both of them.

Last night she did wake herself up, but just whimpered a little and got herself back to sleep instead of screaming for me. It was amazing! However, I also doubt that it will happen again for a very long time.

Angelina Jolie Poses Breastfeeding

While I am not an avid follower of celebrity culture, I am a big supporter of breastfeeding, whether in public or private. So when I read that Angelina Jolie would be on the cover of W Magazine posing while breastfeeding, I thought it was great.

Link to full article:

"Jolie appears on the cover of the W's November issue in a sleeveless top, which has been opened to reveal part of her left breast and a tiny hand ostensibly belonging to one of her twins, Knox Leon and Vivienne Marcheline, who were born in July.
The black-and-white photo shows Jolie smiling, her long brown hair cascading over her shoulder. The cover headline promises exclusive "private photos" of the 33-year-old actress by her partner Brad Pitt."

I can't wait to see how the cover was done when it comes out.

Tainted Chinese Formula!

Don't freak out just yet...This formula was not widely imported into the U.S., however it just demonstrates yet again how formula feeding will never be as safe and nutritious as breastfeeding is. Here is the link from CNN.
The formula was tainted with Melamine. This is the same chemical in the pet food that was recalled last year. I am so glad that I never had to even remotely consider feeding formula to Layla. Formula ingredients are specifically chosen so that the formulation can as closely resemble human milk as our knowledge allows. However, new compounds are being discovered in human milk all the time. Plus, formula is a processed food make in a factory in massive quantities. Thus, it can never be the same as human milk, which changes from day to day in response to a baby's own nutritional needs. After researching the topic extensively, I would only feed formula as a truly last resort.