Weaning Update

Le petit prince's birthday is next week, which has been my target date for getting him weaned. As of this post, he goes all day without nursing, he goes down for his naps without nursing, just me rocking him to sleep, even now mostly without any fuss at all. And he goes to bed at night now without nursing as well, just me holding and rocking him in bed. The final hump is the nursing that happens in the middle of the night/early morning, when he wakes up every 3 hours or so. And I am dreading it, I have been digging in my heels, because it means tears and test of will and all in the dark, which is disorienting and scary (mostly for me, I mean). It means not easily going back to sleep. It means waking up the house and possibly the neighbors(?). But I know I have to cross this zone in order for us to get to the other side, which offers...what, I forget. No, I know, it means more independence for us both, and possibly more sleep for me. Which is what I want, right? Right? Oh, who knows! They grow up so fast. At any rate, I stopped using the bandaids because my nipples were sore for days after I took them off in the middle of the night one time. But maybe if I use them again when I'm asleep, it can serve as a physical barrier for those middle of the night requests. I promised myself I wouldn't be hard on myself if this last step takes longer than his birthday to accomplish. Translation: it is okay if I take my time actually starting this last phase. But no, I must finish what I start, right? Right? Is this thing on?