Calling All Moms Who Have Breastfed

[lukester09]

HEY going through it ; thanks for all your replies I’ll get to them when I can
Thank you so much

 

[matteobeast]

@lukester09 Don't beat yourself up. They go through phases I think. I have breastfed 4 kids, actually am still breastfeeding my youngest. She just turned 2 and I've been having a hard time weaning her at night (because it's between that which takes like 30 mins max, or taking 2 hrs trying to read her a story, sing and cuddle and I don't have the time for that lol).

Most of the time she's fine during the day but I've noticed a couple of things when it comes to days she's wanting the boob more, she's either sick, getting a new tooth and needing some extra comfort, or is bored. If it's the latter I try to distract her with other activities and have started putting bandaids over my nips and saying "uh oh I have a boo-boo today so no milk. How about a cuddle and then we can go do xyz" and she will usually pout and nod and we have a nice cuddle then go about our day and that seems to work really well.

 

[lukester09]

@matteobeast Thank you so much!!!

 

[strawkatt]

@lukester09 There are lots of good, well thought out responses here, so I'll keep my response brief. Both my kiddos were voracious boobie babies, but my daughter, more so. I actually put bandaids on my nipples as an additional means to dissuade her from the boob.

 

[lukester09]

@strawkatt Oooooo good idea thanks

 

[thatbaicong]

@lukester09 This is my 15 month old. My doctor asked me how my times a day she nurses and I didn't even have an answer for that because it's basically whenever she isn't busy doing something at this point. It's driving me insane.

 

[lukester09]

@thatbaicong Thank you for understanding and sorry you’re going through it

 

[codym]

@lukester09 I remember this stage... I'm sorry you are going through this! It's awful! This was literally the hardest 2 months we have ever had and she's about to turn 3. This was worse for us than newborn stage. I have no advice except to try and enlist some help. It was awful but by 21/22 months we were back to awesome and things slowed. I do think that I finally night weaned at that time so I could walk away longer and know Dad could handle it and I could sleep. We breastfed until 2.5!

 

[lukester09]

@codym Thank you so much. I might need to ask some of my lactation consultants for help

 

[codym]

@lukester09 Don't stop reaching out for help! You deserve help if you want it! Things will get better with time. This too shall pass.

 

[tinbongda247]

@lukester09 This might be a phase. Whether it’s your phase or his, I can’t say. I do remember there was a time in toddlerhood like this with all four of mine, and I don’t know if it was that they were nursing more or if I was just intolerant of it.

What helped was being busy. Getting messy. Doing things that were more fun than nursing. And filling them up on foods and snacks in the process. It also helps to front load what’s coming next and giving clear times for nursing. “Sorry love, it’s not nurnie time. You will get to nurse when it is nap time, but first we need to stop by the library, feed the ducks at the park, make and eat lunch, then pick up toys.” Then just repeat it all over and over again, offering hugs if they need it. Pepper in things they really like to do. Water table or sensory bins. Ooblick, play doh, or finger paints. Making their own peanut butter sandwich.(we once installed our new washer using this trick!)

Good luck. It gets better. They don’t nurse forever. Promise.

 

[lukester09]

@tinbongda247 Thank you!!

 

[cyberblonde]

@lukester09 You're doing a good job mama! You haven't stuffed up! This is SO freaking common at this age and nobody talks about it. I regretfully weaned my first born at 26mo because I didn't have the capacity in my nervous system to hold boundaries with her. It's a great age to start teaching him to respect your body. I have a friend who used to sing 'we only have boobie at bed time!' to her two year old, so we've adopted than with my 2yo to 'we only have bee-boo in the morning!' Maybe a boob after meals policy would help? It's hard, he's probably gonna lose his head the first time, but if you lovingly hold the boundary and acknowledge his (valid!) feelings he'll learn pretty quick.

 

[lukester09]

@cyberblonde Thank you!! Songs would totally work with him I think

 

[sharonv777]

@lukester09 I weaned my kiddo at 16 months when he was starting to have behaviors similar to this. My kiddo was the same as yours with the pacifier, and the bottle was only used when he absolutely had to have it instead of me. He started crying for it while pawing at me and trying to look down my shirt in public and I finally just decided I wanted to be done. We had started with cups of cow’s milk the day he turned 1 in conjunction with me continuing to nurse him for comfort and snacks and before naps bedtime. For about a week or two, when he would ask for it, I would say “no, we’re not going to nurse right now, but we can go get a drink of milk from the fridge instead.” After about a month of that reiteration and me providing an alternative drink (usually followed by an activity to shift his attention span) my supply dried up, he realized the shop was closed, and he got used to not having it and stopped asking. He was irritated about it when we started but I don’t recall him having any significantly huge meltdowns. I also amped up our cuddle time because I have a cuddle bug and I didn’t want him to miss out on that part of it.

He was (almost entirely) breastfed, we baby wore constantly and also coslept (I was against it and fundamentally deep down am against it for safety reasons and working in healthcare, but I did it out of necessity—I didn’t know what else to do) if that helps you gauge my parenting style and if that’s important to you/makes you feel better about deciding if this will be similar to the approach you choose. Best of luck to you.

 

[lukester09]

@sharonv777 Thank you so much!!

 

[sarahcalendar]

@lukester09 I would offer food or water when they asked to nurse at this age or a cuddle if they just want comfort over hunger/thirst. It’s hard but after a while they get used to it!

 

[sleepydude]

@lukester09 One thing that helped me transition from breast feeding to giving regular milk either in a bottle or a sippy cup was to warm the milk slightly. Just enough to make it room temp or very slightly warmer. Do not serve hot!! I think this helped to simulate the breast milk a bit because it comes from your body warm and not cold like from the fridge, obviously. Eventually you should be able to give it cold from the fridge in sippy cup/regular cup. I hope this might help, I understand your frustration.

 

[lukester09]

@sleepydude Good idea thank you!

 

[hanarin]

@lukester09 Why does he nurse? Upset, new experiences or just wanting that connection?

This is where I started. Giving hugs instead, kissing that boo and talking with them. It halfed the breastfeeding. Kids are huge cuddlers, though.

It is a time of many changes and breastfeeding provides safety.