11 Months!

My baby turned 11 months old on Saturday. Holy smokes, 11 months! One more month of infanthood and on to toddlerhood we go. It's such a bittersweet feeling. I am excited to see what the next year will bring, what Lily will like to do, how she will act, if she will continue to be so affectionate, how she walks and eventually runs, the things she will want to do on her own, the words she says, her first phrase, then sentence. I am sad she won't be a baby any more, there will be fewer opportunities to just hold her and gaze into her pretty eyes admiring what a beautiful little girl I created, sad that she won't be so small and curl her hands around my finger, and a little apprehensive to the temper tantrums that lay dormant but eager to explode at any time. Where has the time go? There is a lot I already can't remember about the first year of Lily's life. I find myself wondering how much more I will forget.

My mom said to me Saturday that I need to start weening. I was a little taken by that comment and not so happy about it. But the idea has crossed my mind. My first thought is I have absolutely no idea how to ween. She doesn't want to ween and I don't want to upset her just because she wants to nurse and I am not letting her. Why should I ween? Why just because a child turns 1 year do people automatically think that they should stop nursing? I guess I wouldn't mind putting a stop to public nursing because I don't want to offend anyone that my child is no longer a baby and she is still nursing. I know a lot of people say it doesn't matter if people get offended but I don't want the dirty looks and when my own mother is telling me to stop it might be kind of awkward to continue doing it. What I decided a while back was to try to start weening at 1 year but continue nursing before bed until she is 2. But any more, I actually want to just nurse the way we have been, whenever she wants it, until she is 2. Is there a way to teach her that nursing is done only at home and we can do it any time she wants as long as we are at home? I don't know. Lily turning one gives me so much to think about. But for now I will ramble about only the nursing thoughts. I will leave the what to buy her for her birthday, what to buy her for Christmas, when to start feeding her peanuts, when to introduce her to the potty chair, if I should stop making baby food thoughts and the details of her birthday party planning for later.