It’s interesting nursing a toddler. It’s totally different from nursing a newborn or even an older infant. The older the baby gets, the more active they are and the more interesting nursing gets.
We nurse lying down so Munchkin can fall asleep. She’ll lay there for a bit but if a kitty comes by, forget it. She unlatches and wants to go pet the kitty. I also get fingers in my eyes, nose and mouth. She’ll pat the mama milk makers and it’s not uncommon for her to pinch me too. She likes to find my belly button and tickle me. Munchkin will play with her feet if she gets bored. The best is when she’s just about to fall asleep and she want to sleep on her belly. She doesn’t always want to stop nursing so she tries to turn over while still latched. Let’s just say my body doesn’t do that. She keeps trying though.
We now nurse two to three times a day. Munchkin nurses before she goes to sleep for nap and at night. Sometimes we’ll nurse in the middle of the night or in the morning when she wakes up. We haven’t nursed in the middle of the day for a couple of weeks, and even then it was a comfort nurse because she was sick.
I could have weaned her after the Alaskan cruise. She went a week without Mama milk and would have been fine to stay that way. I wasn’t ready to be done and she did ask for it so we continued to nurse. In a couple of weeks The Man and I are going away for a week and a half. Munchkin will be staying with Nana and once again there will be no Mama milk. I’ve been thinking that this trip might be the weaning point. I have mixed feeling about weaning though. In the middle of the night when she wants a 90 second nurse four or five times, I’m ready to be done. Other times I’m not so sure. I’m going to miss it. I think she could be ready to be done. I think we’re just going to have to wait and see.
Weaning is such an emotionally charged event. I hope you find peace in whatever decision you choose!
ReplyDeleteYes, weaning is very hard on mama. I ended up weaning my youngest son around 18 months. I slowly dropped a feeding every few days until we were done. He is my last baby and I already miss breastfeeding.
ReplyDeleteAwww! How old is she? You are so right! Nursing a toddler is so different than newborn and older infants. My son nurses whenever I'm sitting with him or should I say most times. Once in a while, I'll say not right now because we've noticed he wants to just nurse because I'm near him lol. He is doing really well though. Has never been sick and I still enjoy it. I plan to nurse him as long as he wants. He's 19 months now. I said I would go to at least 2 but if he wants to continue, I plan on letting him for sure. Great post and photos love. Weaning will be up to you. I remember my friend said she produced milk up to 2 years after she weaned her son at 19 months so if you all decide to do it again even after the trip, I'm sure momma's milk will still be there :)
ReplyDeleteShe's 16 months and will be just about 17 months when we leave. I think ultimately I'll leave it up to her. We'll see how it goes:)
ReplyDeleteMunchkin is my first and we're hoping to have more and I'll want to breastfeed them too. It's sad to think about weaning her...my baby is growing up!
ReplyDeleteIt is! I think we'll just wait and see what happens. She might end up nursing longer:)
ReplyDeleteGood for you!! I was only able to nurse my son to 9 months before i lost my milk....I tried everything and nothing worked. It was hard to stop but knowing that i gave my son the best for 9 great months was a winner in my mind! Good luck to you both! Would love for you come and share at my linky party http://mommyondemand.com/create-bake-6/
ReplyDeleteI think that is great, great way to bond, and it's the best milk she can get. I nursed all of mine (3) but was most successful with my last who I nursed until he was a 1 1/2.
ReplyDeleteFollowed you here form The Weekend Re-Treat.
http:www.yourlife7.blogspot.com
Good for you for sticking to it. I nursed k until he was about 6 months old and absolutely loved it but I just didn't have enough milk for his growing body. I miss the connection though so I'm happy you still have that. Thanks for sharing on the weekend re-Treat link party!
ReplyDeleteBritni @ Play. Party. Pin.
I am still nursing my son who is 15 months. I would like to cut out some of our nursing sessions but he is super obsessed with it. We still nurse anywhere from 4-7 times a day, mostly just a couple minutes here and there though. Nursing a toddler is way different though, challenging but also pretty funny at times!
ReplyDeleteThanks for this lovely post. I don't see enough posts about nursing toddlers. I nursed my son until he was 2.5 and my daughter until she was 3. My youngest seems to be weaning himself at 15 months, but he comes and goes with the interest. I am hoping he comes back cause right now he's not much interested.
ReplyDeleteAlas, each child is different.
I remember being in Norstrom nursing my then 1.5 year old son. I didn't really think anything of it. This lady commented that she was really proud of me for nursing for so long - and said she nursed all of hers until 3-4 years old.
It really hadn't occurred to me that I was doing anything different until she spoke up.
I'm still nursing my 16 month old. She will nurse in the funniest places. We call it our nursing acrobatics. She will climb on a chair while I'm washing dishes and latch on. She tries to nurse while standing on her head as well. sitting, laying down, standing, she tries to latch on when ever the thought strikes. lol
ReplyDelete