Weaned! (and also a note on cloth diapering)

I suppose I should announce that The Squeaker has been officially weaned for over a month. Nursing two kids was just too much hassle for me. When I told people that I was still breastfeeding my two-year-old, a lot of people cited those fringe cases of five-, eight-, and twelve-year-olds still nursing. So...what you're saying is that my two-year-old is five?

Anyway, for about a week, any time The Squeaker asked to nurse, I would redirect him. "Would you like some juice instead? Or should we read a book on Mommy's lap?" He would voice his preference for nursing but reluctantly go along with the juice or the book. Things were going very smoothly until he had a really bad day after a week of no nursing. At bedtime he rubbed his red eyes and asked in a very small voice, "Pwease nurse? Widdle bit?"

He looked so forlorn I said yes. I took him on my lap and let him nurse just a little bit, and then he was ready for bed. That was the last time he ever nursed. He would ask to nurse for a few days after that, but soon stopped asking entirely. That was it. A pretty uncomplicated end to nursing, in my opinion.  I heard an argument against extended breastfeeding that was something like, "A toddler is harder to wean than an infant." And I guess that is true, but it still wasn't all that difficult once The Squeaker was ready. I'm glad I waited until he was two to wean him, because it became something he and I did together as a developmental milestone, instead of something that was done to him. 

He watches me nurse The Cookie and says, "Baby nursing! Oh, nice baby!" The Squeaker still likes to cuddle and sit on my lap, and he loves stories at bedtime. He is still my sweet little boy, and he is growing up.

On a related note, I am loving my cloth diapers more and more .I love changing my kids' diapers, now, and I love washing them and folding him. It's kind of a weird hobby, I know.As many diapers as I have to change every day, I might as well make it fun, right? The Cookie sometimes has some wet leaks if we go too long between changes, but he has only had one poop leak with the cloth diapers. I remember when The Squeaker was this age, we had blowouts at regular intervals.  I find as time passes, I am becoming more and more evangelical about cloth. The Squeaker has voiced his preference for them. Over Thanksgiving, he ate about thirty tangerines in a space of three days (I may be exaggerating here, but not by a whole lot) and got a pretty intense diaper rash. I didn't have any cloth-friendly rash cream with me, so I had to put him in a disposable over night. He wasn't happy. He asked if he could have a blue diaper instead. He went along with it, but reluctantly.

I do think it's good that we have options, though. I showed my bumGenius 4.0s to my sister-in-law and she indicated that she hated doing laundry so much, disposable diapers were a blessing. My friend Analei has the same opinion. And I think that's fine; what works for me won't necessarily work for other people. I've had such a good experience with the cloth, however, I feel the need to Preach The Cloth Gospel.

The truth is that cloth diapering is a ton different now than it was twenty years ago. Pocket diapers like fuzzibunz and bumGenius are hardly in the same league as prefolds and covers, although even that has been improved. We have better technology for washing them, and you don't even need to use pins thanks to the invention of the Snappi. I don't really see 21st century cloth-diapering as a step back to the basics, but rather a step towards something new. Yay for cloth!

Busy busy busy

There is so much I would like to blog about. Unfortunately, I just haven't found the time. When I am at my computer, I only have one hand free because of nursing the Cookie, and I require two hands for typing.

So, basic stuff that has been going on, in bullet points:

• I made this pattern out of bulky merino wool. It keeps the Cookie very warm. It's not the best spinning job I've ever done, but I wanted to make it quickly because the weather is getting cold. It still took me a month.
• I am currently knitting some socks. I spun and dyed the yarn myself. It is a gorgeous variegated peachy-coral colorway. They are a Christmas present so I won't say more. 
• Remember my beloved Styrofoam Unicorn? The Squeaker bit its nose off. I glued it back together with school glue, but it will never be quite the same. 
• I am re-reading the Harry Potter books while I nurse the Cookie, because otherwise I'd have to stare at the wall, and at 3 am, that is just no fun. I'm already on The Order of the Phoenix. It's kind of fun because even though I've read and re-read the books about fifty times, I still remember the first time I read them. It's a nice bit of nostalgia to remember the time I came home from Girl's Camp, seized Prisoner of Azkaban (which had just come in the mail from Britain because the American version wasn't out yet) and locked myself in my room for ten hours until I finished it. I didn't even take a bath first to wash off all the Girl's Camp grime. Ahhh, the memories.  I still remember how hard I laughed when I first read the word, "Wangobawime." (From Goblet of Fire)
• I think I will have to take a general break from blogging just because it is impossible for me to keep up on anything any more. Perhaps after the holidays I will have more time?