Ever since I started breastfeeding, I’ve had the day I inevitably stop on my radar. It seems like, just when we get the hang of breastfeeding, weaning comes into the picture; not necessarily because you want it to, but because you know it’s inevitable. Kind of like how when a new Justin Timberlake album finally drops, I know that once I start listening it will eventually end. When the dreaded/celebrated day gets close, a partner’s reaction to weaning can be an important part of the process, especially when that partner is a cisgender male who can't possibly understand what it's like to breastfeed and, eventually, stop.
Even with things that, on the surface, have nothing to do with my partner or involve a situation he can fully experience in the same way I can, I still find ways to involve him and lean on him and benefit from his presence. Parenting isn't a one-person job (even if you don't have a parenting partner) and when you are going through an experience you, and only you, can comprehend, there are still things a partner can do to make that experience more enjoyable, or even just manageable.
In these moments, and when I’m considering weaning very seriously and emotionally, I ask for him to be there for me. Whether he's distracting our child so I can have a few peaceful moments to really think it through, or I'm bouncing ideas off him so I can really dissect what it is I'm thinking, and why; my grown-ass man of a partner plays a big role in breastfeeding and it's inevitable end. If your partner is anything like mine, here are a few thing he'll say when you start thinking about weaning: