Weaning Day

In ancient writings, the word 'wean' meant 'to ripen" -- like a fruit nourished to readiness, it's time to leave the vine....Weaning was a joyous occasion because a weaned child was valued as a fulfilled child; a child was so filled with the basic tools of the earlier stages of development that [he] graduated to take on the next stage of development more independently. - The Baby Book, Sears and Sears.

Well, we finally arrived at the big day. August's last day of nursing was February 17. He claimed to understand that we would not nurse the next day and he was very excited to have his special cake. In preparing him for his big day, Aidan chimed in to tell August how he, too, had celebrated his weaning day with a cake. (Aidan was 3 years, 4 months old when he weaned--August, 3 years, 2 months old) It touched me so much that Aidan remembered that day and that he would take it upon himself to encourage August in this big step. It was a very big brother thing for him to do. In the second picture above you can see August looking at his brother with an expression that is an equal mixture of pride and admiration. I hope Aidan caught some of its magic, like I did.
Now I have to come to grips with the fact that a child of mine is not dependent on my breasts anymore, for the first time in 5 1/2 years! This weaning process is just as much my experience as it is August's. I was definitely ready to "leave the vine" and I trusted that God would give me the insight to know when it was best for August to leave. So, although it wasn't child led weaning, I do feel like it was relationship led weaning. And you should see this little guy now. He seems to be emboldened by this experience and is showing himself to be even more of an independent guy than we already knew him to be. I will miss the nursing, really I will. But I am incredibly excited about this next phase.