Loving Comfort: A Toddler Weaning Story

by Julie Dillemuth, Vicky Pratt (Illustrator)

Mama’s milk has always been a part of Jack’s life, but that’s changing now that he’s a toddler, and that’s hard. But Mama’s cuddling arms, lullaby voice, and thump-thump heartbeat won’t change, even when the milk is gone. The end of breastfeeding can be a deeply emotional transition for a mother and a major source of comfort for a child is going away, as is a big component of a woman’s identity as a mother. This book addresses the psychological aspects of weaning, focusing on the mother-child relationship and additional ways a mother provides comfort. This book is for toddlers and moms who are getting ready to start weaning, or are already in the process of weaning from breastfeeding. “ Loving Comfort is about the life of a nursing relationship for a mother and her son. With beautiful illustrations and wisdom from a mother who has been there, Loving Comfort is as much for mothers as it is for children who are learning about weaning. ” — Jessica Barton, MA, International Board Certified Lactation Consultant

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Parenting

34 pages, Paperback

Published July 9, 2017

Reviews

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

My toddler (19 mo currently) is not patient when books are read. She's very eager to turn the page, so a few words per page is all we generally can manage. This book, for her, is very verbose so I had almost zero hope of it being something she'd listen to. I'm not sure why, but she not only listened to this book, she made me read it three times in a row with no breaks. I guess perhaps she finds it easy to relate to, or is excited to finally read a story where almost every page is about "momma milk."

The artwork is very simple yet I was shocked to see how so much relatable emotion could be read on faces throughout the story (or perhaps I was projecting). I found it to be really good at cultivating empathy for all parties, and a great intro for helping a young one start connecting their feelings while breastfeeding to words and how those needs can be met in other ways by their caregivers.

Note: I feel that books like this are often hit or miss depending on each family's unique situation which is why I'm a huge fan of more being written! I can see how someone might rate this completely differently if it's not relevant to their particular situation.

[E · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has been very helpful for my bookworm toddler to read and start to digest the concept of weaning. It has been nice to have something to reference when discussing the matter with her.

[Marc Pagliuca · Rating 5 out of 5]

A true Throwback Thursday read this evening. Breast book I’ve read in a while.

[Jessica Thurlow · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a lovely and wonderful book to read with your little one at any point on the weaning journey. We just finished with our journey and this book was a gentle and fantastic way to put a cap on it. I highly recommend it to any Momma’s and their little ones going trough this.

[Lacey Louwagie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a sweet book about a mother's and son's nursing relationship and the way it changes over time and eventually dissolves. I wasn't a fan of the art style based on the cover, but it is amazingly expressive on the interior. The night-weaning page is so heart-wrenching and relatable. Clearly written by someone who has "been there." My only complaint is that Jack looks too old in some of the pictures -- I know he is an older nursling, but he looks 7 or 8 in some of the pictures, not toddler or preschool age as the text conveys. Still, I wish there were more books like this one.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought a couple of weaning books for Lily, then decided that I wasn't quite ready to wean her yet.

This one has cute illustrations and depicts a gradual weaning process with some advice in the back for parents.

I'm not sure yet when or exactly how I will wean Lily, but it's been nice to see some different processes and get affirmation through books that there is more than one way to do it.

I also really liked it that this book depicted Dad bottle-feeding the baby early on. Lily enjoys pointing to those pictures when we read it and saying, "Dada!"

[Lindsay]

This picture book about weaning tells the breastfeeding journey of Jack, illustrated as a blonde fair-skinned child. Both child and adult-led aspects of weaning are covered - from introducing solids, to night-weaning, to forgetting to ask for milk and more. Jack is allowed emotions about the experience, and is reassured that there are other forms of closeness with mom that remain even after weaning. I find this book to be a little long for younger toddlers, but caregivers might choose to paraphrase or focus on the pages relevant to their family.

[Tracie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A story about weaning.

[Nora Manca Wickman · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book about the stages of nursing and slowly weaning.

[B.Liu · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a cute story where the while self weans. Cute cartoony illustrations. Definitely for older kiddos. It is also a bit on the wordy side.

[Julia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is nice for snuggling up to read to a toddler who still nurses, even well in advance of weaning, because nursing toddlers like to hear about mommy milk, and there are so few books that mention it. Mira calls it “mommy book.”

[Kottika · Rating 5 out of 5]

Aide aussi le parent à se projeter et apprivoiser ses sentiments (parfois contradictoires) envers l'allaitement et le sevrage. J'aime beaucoup que le timing soit flou : on ne sait pas en combien de temps Jack se sèvre, ni à quel âge, mais on sait que c'est très progressif. Cela correspond à notre expérience et ne nous met pas la pression. Mention spéciale pour la représentation du papa, qui est en background mais est impliqué.
J'ai recommandé ce bouquin à plein de mamans !