Putting the human pacifier to rest and oh, I'M the mom

It's been about five weeks since the start of weaning Annika from the human pacifier (me) and I figured I should make a final update and then let the topic go about it's merry business.

In the past two weeks or so, it's come to my attention that Annika is finally getting used to the idea that I am no longer going to accommodate her wishes that I lie in bed with her for every sleep session allowing the suckling to continue indefinitely.

Tonight, she actually popped herself off after falling asleep, within a minute or two. I was very happy about that.

She's still waking up after about an hour or two once I put her to sleep, but she's sleeping longer and longer during the night. I was discussing this with a friend today, that I might not really need to night wean her.

So sure, the process took longer than it could have. And I won't lie. There were a couple of rough nights where she cried much longer than I was comfortable with. However, I am sure that nothing I've done has damaged our attachment and I don't think she ever felt scared or unsure that I wasn't going to be there for her. She was angry, sure, maybe a bit uneasy with the new situation, but not scared.

In addition to me finally getting some evening time back, I've noticed some other positive results. She's sleeping more deeply and her vocabulary has increased like crazy in the last few weeks.

That could be a coincidence, but I don't think so.

She's now saying lots of words: cat, hat, Mama, water, shoes, up, food (well, she says foof, but we know what she means).

Yeah, Mama. She says it, but she doesn't seem to be referring to me. Until today. She looked up at me and said, "mom?" It was surreal. I went, like, "Oh, shit, I'm the MOM!"

Yeah, 9 months of pregnancy, 19 1/2 hours of labor and 16 months later, and I still can't get over it. I'm the mom. Wow.