The end of an era

Pic was too cute not to post...

So now that Jayson has made the one year milestone we have been slowly weaning.  We didn't necessarily plan it this way, I've just been following cues as to his interest level etc.  If he wasn't looking for it, I wasn't offering.  He eats solids like a pro now and drinks water and juices just fine.  He gets calcium from other areas as well (he's on a vitamin, he loves cheese, yogurt, etc).  Being a first time mom, I of course am cautious and nervous about the whole weaning thing.

First and foremost, I have no idea what I'm doing.  We're just sort of winging it.  It started with him wanting to eat real food when I got home from work instead of a nursing session, so we cut that one out.  Then I noticed I was pumping in less abundance at work, so instead of three evenly spaced breaks (9am, 12 noon, and 3pm) I dropped one pump session and went to a 10am/2pm schedule.  Then when we were home together Jayson was only looking to nurse first thing in the a.m., another time around his nap late morning, and then not again until bedtime.  So I cut down my pumping at work to just one at noon which enabled me to be more consistent with our weekend schedule and truth be told the production level was getting low again anyway.  We also cut out the overnight feeding which helped with getting longer spans of sleep (this took a few weeks).  At the suggestion of a friend who also breastfed, I began mixing in whole milk with the breast milk I sent to daycare and he's had no issues.  I have yet to see him take straight whole milk but we're getting there.  I've read some folks blend a portion of banana in with the whole milk to appeal to baby.  I did try this over the weekend.  He didn't really seem to take to it.  A few sips and the rest of the cup was wasted.

Any tips or tricks to add to aid me in successfully, and healthfully weaning my child?  Also, tips for mama would be helpful.  Physical comfort hasn't been too terrible yet.  However, emotionally I do have mixed feelings about it.  In one way I'm thrilled to have my life back since breastfeeding is time consuming and pumping at work will never not be awkward.  I'm also proud that I've been able to offer him something so healthy for as long as I have.  Admittedly though, I'm a little sad that my baby isn't so dependent on mama.  I'm also nervous that he gets the proper nutrition.  That and about a million other pros and cons run through my head on a daily basis.  So feel free to comment below.  Plz and thx.