Weekly Journal // weaning, carnival and lots of emotions

7 min read

9/2/2026 – 15/2/2026

Monday

According to the weather forecast today is the last nice day before lots of rain. So, (of course!) we spent the afternoon at the playground. Two of SJs girlfriends from kindergarten joined us with their mums and sisters. We had a great time, despite a few crashes with their bikes and scooters.

I was thoroughly frozen afterwards! However, I then had a cozy night with my online book club and an early night with a hot water bottle and my kindle. Ultimate coziness!

Tuesday

It’s been one week since I last breastfed L. I guess it’s fairly safe to say that she is weaned now?! When I had food poisoning last week Edd put her down in the evenings. So, it kind of felt like a good opportunity to try and stop breastfeeding now. The next time I put her to bed and she asked for milk I said “we’ll have cuddles instead” and she was completely fine with that. So, in the end, the final step in weaning her was pretty easy.

For more than five years I have been either pregnant or breastfeeding. And now this chapter is finished. (Probably.) Right now, this sounds like a big deal in my mind, my feeling will probably catch up in two months or so.

I’m so grateful for the breastfeeding journeys I had with both my girls. There is a bit of nostalgia that it is done but I am also excited for this marginal increase in independence – both for me and for L.

Now, I am just hoping that my hormones won’t go too crazy and nothing annoying will happen. (Like all my hair falling out.) Fingers crossed!

Speaking of hair – I got a haircut today! Feels nice and fresh.

Wednesday

Since I started getting up earlier in an attempt to have a bit of quiet time before the day begins, the girls have been waking up earlier and earlier. Now, I usually get up at 6 am with one or both of them… This had made reading my Bible in the morning a bit tricky but this morning I managed to read a chapter and pray, which was such a good start into the morning.

It continued being great! My mum and I headed to our sewing class in Basel and it was so fun. for those two and a bit hours I am somehow in a completely different world. I felt so relaxed afterwards.

My mum had me over for lunch and then I picked up the girls. Lucys nursery hosted a Fastnachts party in the afternoon (our version of carnival) so we quickly ran home, prepped some food to take with us for the buffet and put costumes on. It was a really fun afternoon! All of the staff at the nursery are just such wonderful people, I could see myself being friends with every single one of them.

Thursday

It’s my brothers birthday today! Until this day it has never stopped being amazing to have an older brother. I am so grateful for him!

I spent the morning doing some shopping, had a meeting and then my mum came by to help me deep clean our kitchen. It took much longer than I anticipated but the result was extremely satisfying!

We spent the afternoon at my brothers house, eating cake and celebrating. I feel so blessed to have my family live in the same village. I love that we get to share our lives with each other and see each other so often and easily.

In the evening Edd came back from England! So nice to have him home.

Friday

We had a bit of a difficult morning – I think we’re all a bit exhausted. A holiday and some sunshine would do us all good I think! We ended up taking SJ to kindergarten all together. L and I did some errands and then I took her to the doctors for her two year check up.

Normally I pick SJ up first and then L, as it works better that way with the pick-up times. But as L was staying home today she got to come with me to get SJ and she loved it. They ended up playing in the outdoor area of the kindergarden for a while before we drove home. There, I made a salad, packed our bags and then we drove to our friends home who live on a farm. They hosted a big get together for our whole church. The kids got to see the animals and we ate waffles and freshly BBQd sausages. It was a great time.

Saturday

Edd kindly got up with the girls this morning (around 6 am!) while I got to stay in bed and have a bit of a lie in. Once I got up we had breakfast, did some chores and I did a bit of shopping.

In the afternoon some good friends of ours came over. We were all tired and four kids in our small flat was slightly chaotic but it also felt so incredibly precious to share our real lives without pretending to have things together more than we do.

I am so grateful to have close friends who are in the same season of parenting small kids as us. Parenting is something I am so passionate about. But I also fail at it so often. Being able to share my struggles and hear “me too” is so incredibly encouraging. This last week or so I had a number of very honest conversations with various mom friends on how things are going and I think I haven’t felt this connected and seen in a very long time. What a gift.

Sunday

Our tiredness reached a peak today. After getting up in the morning all the girls wanted to do was to sit on my lap and have cuddles. Anything else invoked quite extreme reactions. So, I made the decision to skip church today. Instead, we spent an hour sitting on the sofa reading books together. I got to read my Bible and listen to the Lectio Divina app. I LOVE going to church and really believe in the importance of being committed to it. But sometimes a bit of quiet is the better choice. And I never want to put my ministry or outward appearance over the wellbeing of my family. So, here we are.

It’s been a week of many big emotions, lots of tantrums and much tiredness. Tonight our friends arrive from England. Edd will be off work for the week and then we’ll fly to the UK together. I am looking forward to having a bit of a break from our normal routine and rejuvinating in the company of good friends. And hopefully, by the time we come back spring will have arrived!