8 Ways Missing Breastfeeding When It's Over Can Actually Be Good For You And Your Kid

It's easily the most substantial reason for missing breastfeeding, but it's also the best part about breastfeeding ending. When your kid no longer needs you to sustain them with your own body, they're beginning to gain some independence. Since time is unforgiving and seems to fly by, it can seem far too early or too soon or just too emotionally difficult to comprehend, but your kid becoming an independent person is the entire point of parenthood. We all want to give our children the tools to take care of themselves and live happy, healthy, fulfilling lives away from us. When you stop breastfeeding, you're taking that first step and sure, it's sad, but it's also wonderful.

Which is why, when you miss the act of breastfeeding your son or daughter, you're learning how to let go of your kid in a healthy and helpful way. It's difficult, to be sure, but allowing your kid the room and freedom to become their own person is vital to them eventually becoming completely independent. When you become a parent, your life shifts and is suddenly completely intertwined with someone else's. Over the course of our children's lives, we go about pulling those lines apart, so we can separate ourselves from our kids. We're forever changed by having them, and we'll always have pieces of them with us, and them, pieces of us; but eventually they have to leave us, and ending breastfeeding is the first step towards being okay when that day inevitably comes.

Any breastfeeding mom knows that breastfeeding helps soothe your child. In fact, breast milk acts as a tranquilizer (for both mom and baby) so the term "milk drunk" isn't that far off the mark. When breastfeeding ends, both mom and baby and/or toddler are forced to learn alternative soothing methods. For instance, going on a walk or letting your partner take a turn soothing the baby/toddler or reading a book. When your go-to soothing technique is officially off the table, it forces you to get creative. Very, very, creative.

Of course, this first step will (hopefully) end with your kid learning how to soothe themselves through difficult emotions and specific situations while you play pitch hitter, which, you know, is the dream.

Even though the end of breastfeeding might mean that your kid needs you a little bit less than they did yesterday, it can also mean that they're learning to need others just a little bit more. Now your partner can assist during feeding/eating times, can help calm an upset baby or toddler, and give you the break you probably need and definitely deserve. If you don't have a parenting partner, you're still given the ability to rely on others (be it a friend, family member, kind neighbor, nanny, etc) and give your kid the opportunity to bond with others and development their social skills. Honestly, it's a win-win.

Whether you stopped breastfeeding when your kid was a baby, or you breastfeed well into his or her toddler years, once you're finished there are new and exciting foods and drinks at your baby's/toddler's disposal. Eating at a restaurant can be much easier (well, depending on how your toddler or baby feels on any particular day) and your kid can try all different kinds of foods and expand their horizons and try to establish what they like or don't like. You're no longer a source of nutrition (which gives you freedom, too) and your kid is able to look elsewhere for delicious foods and drinks.

And honestly, what's better than watching your kid react to a particular food for the first time? It's hilarious and adorable and, um, did I mention hilarious?

Every kid is different, which means every kid's sleep pattern is going to be different. Some newborns sleep for eight hours straight on their first night, others are up every 30 minutes. It honestly all depends, but if you've been breastfeeding and up for night feedings, when you're done breastfeeding those night feedings are either over, or now capable of being shared with your partner/nanny/helper. You might actually get some sleep, and maybe your kid will too.

While you're busy missing the bonding moments that only breastfeeding can provide, you're also consciously looking for other ways to bond with your kid. Maybe it's reading a favorite book; maybe it's cuddling up during nap time; maybe it's going to a favorite park; maybe it's watching a favorite (kid-friendly) movie. Your options for bonding with your kid are endless, and now you'll be able to find something else that's just for you two.