Before we really get into it, I’d like to take a second to take a virtual bow because –

I HAVE COMPLETED BREASTFEEDING MY BABY FOR AN ENTIRE YEAR AND HAVE THUS COMPLETED BREASTFEEDING FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE!!

I feel like the majority of people I see, at least on social media, are always so sad to see their baby grow and transition out of different phases- out of the swaddle, out of the sleep sack, out of the bassinet, from bottle to sippy cup, transitioning to solids, packing away the newborn clothes, etc, etc. I see it even more from people who are done having children and post all about the “last baby” feelings.

While I can sympathize with those women, I could not be more different if I tried lol. I’ll be the first to admit- the baby stage is not my jam. Postpartum is the worst between the lack of sleep, the hormones, the body dysmorphia, its a mess and if I could have fast forwarded those first 3-4 months, I would in a heart beat. While newborn babies are obviously super cute and tiny, for me, the older they get, the better they get. I could not wait for Jaxson to turn 1. He’s more fun now then ever before and I can’t wait for him to continue to grow and be able to do more and more for himself and play more with his sister.

I also could not wait to be done breastfeeding! I know this is a super sensitive subject, especially with new moms, so take everything I’m about to say with a grain of salt. At the end of the day, you do what is right for YOU.

It was a goal of mine to breastfeed for a year, I did with my daughter and wanted to for my son as well. And because I tend to be very type A and goal oriented, no matter how hard it was and how much it sucked (it did), I knew I was going to do it.

I posted on my Instagram a little au revoir post as I started to wean from breastfeeding and while most people received it well, I did have a few DMs come thru with people saying “well you don’t have to stop just because he turned 1” and yadda yadda yadda. And those people obviously missed the point.

I’m proud that I made it a year, it was a ton of work! And I’m not sad it’s over, I’m actually thrilled. I can understand if someone was genuinely emotional over it being the end, and then wanted to keep going past that 1 year mark, to each their own. But for me, I made it to my finish line. And I don’t have any sadness about it being over, or about it being over for good (spoiler alert, I’m not having anymore babies!!)

I look back at those first few months, once my son started sleeping through the night- I was up by myself twice overnight to pump- and I am in awe of myself having the will power to do that and am so proud of what I did. I worked hard, pumping throughout the day while I was at work (when I went back to work), and then before I was finally going to bed at the end of the day. All while also physically breastfeeding my son when we were together. It’s honestly incredible.

In conclusion, as I reflect on this most recent chapter of my life, I feel so proud and so accomplished with what my body has done and how much my body has provided for my baby. I’m overjoyed to now begin really focusing on me– not that I didn’t before, because I believe in prioritizing my health in order to be able to take care of my kids at the highest level, but having that hurdle behind me is definitely a relief and something I relish in letting go of! I feel like now my body actually completely belongs to me and is now only in charge of keeping me strong and healthy for my kids. And that’s the bottom line for all of us moms, right?

Anyways, cheers to Friday and cheers to you all!

Thank you for reading and have a great weekend!