Little Shark Teeth
It’s official. We are coming to the end of our breastfeeding journey. It’s been real. It’s been what everyone talked about; difficult, horribly painful, completely exhausting, then it gets easier and it’s amazing and incredible and you can’t believe what your body can actually do. And then there's this bond we've created! So, I’ve been a little sad about it ending. I’ve been weaning the Little Monkey for a month and a half. I don’t think it should take that long normally, but it's hard to let go sometimes and it’s kinda sad. Well, I was sad up until this week… But I’m not sad any longer. Little Monkey now has shark teeth.
Not one, but TWO, little pearly whites popped out on her six-month birthday. No big deal. I had heard the stories. You always hear the stories. “They start biting.” “Most women stop breastfeeding when the teeth come in.” “That’s when I stopped breastfeeding.” “Did I mention, they bite?” But not MY baby. MY baby won’t do that! And she didn’t for a long time. But then she did.
The shock! The pain! The audacity! Those brand-new razor-sharp lower central incisors are a weapon of mass nipple destruction. And I am having none of that.
After my surprise and anger simmered, I started to really think about “the incident.” I think it’s the baby’s way of moving us forward. And I think that for one reason, she did it on purpose. She did. I saw her! At first, I didn’t think so. After I finished screaming, I thought she just had slipped. But then she looked directly into my eyes and DID IT AGAIN! She wanted to see what my reaction would be. To see if I’d scream again. And I did. I screamed so loud the dog came running over to defend my honor. Wide-eyed, I pulled her off and I’m pretty sure she smirked at me. “That’s it,” I said, “Shop’s closed.”
“They,” say that to get them to stop, you immediately put the boob away. Deny them. No more of the good stuff. Mother’s Gold. And I did just that… After she bit me three times. (I really did think it was a mistake!) I learned my lesson. I also learned that she’s not particular, a bottle will do her just fine. I need to stop putting my hang-ups on her. So, it time to wrap up this chapter and take my boobs back.
Oh, and by the way, I give TONS of props to all the mamas out there that can get over this hurdle and continue breastfeeding. It's no small feat! Kudos mamas, kudos.
