The Slow Weaning Process
I have begun the slow, and slightly painful process of 'weaning'. To be exact, 'weaning' actually means the process of gradually introducing a baby to food, so that he takes less and less breastmilk. When he/she is fully weaned, the baby has stopped taking breastmilk. Personally, though, I have always referred to the time I stop donating as 'weaning', even though I don't have a baby to wean from me. I mean, I always knew what weaning meant, but for some reason I have always used that term when people ask up to when I plan to donate. Perhaps it's an unconscious thing. Perhaps I am the one weaning, in the sense that I get much of my strength from helping these babies, and slowly I have to let go. You'd think that it would be a relief to stop, but it's actually a very sad process for me. From the get-go, I knew myself well enough to know that 'weaning' would be difficult for me, both physically and psychologically. Probably more of the...