We always thought about having him in our bed until he was a year old, but that all changed quickly. When Ayden was around 8 weeks old he started to kick my tummy while he would sleep and this caused me to have choppy sleep. Decided on putting together his crib and have it as a co-sleeper next to our bed to keep him close to nurse. The gate was off of the crib and had our bed tightly pushed up against it to insure no gaps. This worked great for the quiet sometime until he became more mobile. He was rolling and crawling out of his crib onto our bed. His mobility posed a problem with the possibility of him falling off our bed. With this in mind, we put the gate up on the crib. Since then, he has slept in his crib until he wakes for his first nursing of the morning and then he is in bed with me. So, you can see how hard it will be for this separation to occur for more reasons than one.

I guess I will have to get used to being separated from Ayden for long periods since I am working towards my doula certification. Next month I will be assisting/attending a ladies birth and will be separated from my little boy for many, many hours. Not to mention not nursing for MANY hours... OUCH! I can feel the pains of engorgement already. Although I'm thinking of taking my pump just in case I can have a little break. This is just the beginning of long separations from my little boy for helping couples in labor. Breaks my heart to leave him and am afraid that these long separations will cause nursing problems. I will just have to take a break every 3 to 4 hours to pump unless I cannot. Then I will pump whenever I can. It is not likely that I will be gone for these extended periods assisting/attending births more than a handful of times in a month. I do believe that Ayden's nursing and my milk should not be affected.

Eventually, I will be going to school in pursuit of being certified as a nurse midwife. By then Ayden will be over a year old, nursing less frequently and more dependant on solids for his nutrition. I seriously doubt this little boy will ever wean himself; he loves nursing too much to give it up. I am planning on letting him decide when he's had enough and wean himself. I am, however, thankful he hasn't decided to do this before now. I would have been seriously heartbroken if he had. I have heard of some babies just refusing to nurse and after that day they were totally disinterested. Just another reason I am so thankful for what a beautiful nursing relationship we've had.

Don't get me wrong, we've had our downfalls. Ayden has just started sleeping better through the night at around 6 months old. (Now is going on 7 months, March 1st) He would wake up every 2 to 3 hours to nurse and I am not kidding. It was really taxing me emotionally, physically and in my relationship with Joe. Now he is sleeping longer during the night before he wakes up to nurse. Momma is a much happier person these days now that I am getting some actual sleep. This is a reason why we want to give him his own room, so that he may sleep better through the night. That we may sleep better, too.

I am going to end this entry on that note... I have plenty I have to do around here before the big moving day Friday. Hope that everyone has a terrific week!

Love and Hugs to all!

Celena & Ayden