WHY-Wednesday: Why I weaned my second-born at 10 months.

(Warning-- if you are weirded out by breastfeeding, I would stay away from this post :p )

I love breastfeeding!

And not only that-- I am a huge advocate of it.

"You must nurse for at least the first 12 months of your child's life" 

-- I say.

I nurse in public, and most of the time don't even cover up.

(I am okay with that-- people need to learn that nursing is natural, and if they are okay with skimpy bikinis at the beach and boobs hanging out of a lady's blouse, then they better be okay with me nursing in public... uncovered).

The health benefits linked to breastfed babies are outstanding.  

Even formula containers say that breastfeeding is a better option than formula-feeding 

(I am sure they are required to say this, but whatever).

I love the cuddles I get with my babies when I nurse them.

I love not having to carry around (or deal with) bottles everywhere.

(I love not having to wash the bottles).

I love that breastfeeding is free.

So why did I wean Baby Byron before his 12-month mark?

I was tired.

I was tired of the weird bras and hot undershirt tank tops.

I was tired of having to stop eating mid-supper to nurse my cranky infant who just wanted to go to bed.

I was tired of having to revolve my schedule around my child's feedings.

I was tired of having to pump if I wasn't going to be around him during one of his feedings, and therefore having to mess around with the milk afterwards.

I was tired of leaking in the mornings.

I was tired of having to adjust my gym workouts so that they would coincide with "right after" a feeding, instead of a "right before."

I know these are selfish reasons, but the older BB got (and the more he continued to get sick regardless of whether he was being exclusively breastfed or not), the more I became convinced that my son's success in life was not going to directly depend on whether his mama nursed him for a year or not.

Other things would.