When they don't wean gradually... - Page 2

[YummyYarnAddict]

Every child is different, even with the same mother.

My dd night weaned and STTN at almost exactly 2.5yo and was nursing about 3-4 times a day. She's always been very outgoing and social and "busy" at home and outside. She decided that she was done nursing when she was 4yo and had dropped down to nursing about once a week or so.

My ds is 3yo now and still nurses about 2 or 3 times at night (it could be more -- we co-sleep!). He nurses at least 10x/day and will stop any activity to get his "milky mes" if I'm around. He's very outgoing and social and "busy" at home and outside. He can be at the park playing with friends, covered in sand and wood chips and water and will come over to me push me to a bench and demand his "precious milky mes", nurse for a bit and then go back to playing. Does he want a snack? No. Does he want a drink of water? No. Hemp milk? No. Something else to drink or eat? No. He wants his precious milky mes! (And now!) That's just the way he is.

Sometimes it's hard. Especially when I'm tired and it's one of those nights where he's nursed 4 or 5 times and I went to bed late and have to get up early for some reason or another. But then I remember that this time will go by oh so fast and they nurse for such a short period of their lives.

nak

[sarmis35]

My dd is exactly the same as yours. SHe is 2 1/2 and She hardly eats 5 bites per meal and still nurses all day and night. I am glad you started this thread because I had the same worries as you do. My dd is quite small for her age. Usually I am just happy that at least she is getting some nutrition from BF even if she isn't eating much.

[lexbeach]

My 2.75-year-old is nursing nearly as frequently as his 7-week-old brother (who my wife gave birth to), including nursing through the night. It is difficult for me at times, especially during certain parts of my cycle when my nipples are sore and my supply is lower. But I am not worried that he will go on nursing like this FOREVER. We may not be doing entirely child-led weaning (I do say "no" sometimes, or ask him to wait a bit, or eat some food first), but I am hoping that my ds will feel like he makes the choice to stop nursing, when the time comes.

My main issue is that my ds does not eat a lot of solid food. He will say, "I just want nursing for lunch today." The problem is that he's hungry all the time, and I think that's a big part of why he wants to nurse so much. I really don't think I make enough milk to sustain him at this point. He is an incredibly picky eater. But I find that we do best--the day flows best--if I go out of my way to make sure and feed him something he likes for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and at least one or two snacks. He will still nurse on those days, but not as excessively.

I think it is rare for a 2.5-year-old in a child-led weaning family to only be nursing 2 or 3 times a day, unless the mom is WOHM and gone most of the day. But many mothers of 2.5-year-olds will have put some limits on nursing (mama-led weaning) by that point.

Lex

[~Boudicca~]

I'm so glad I noticed this thread. DD2 is 28 months and nurses a lot (basically non-stop between the hours of 7-9, then again for a few minutes at 11, and then does many drive-by nursing sessions throughout the day, and then before she naps, then for about a 1/2 until she falls asleep). I'd have to say she nurses more now than when she was 10 months old. Sometimes I get frustrated and feel like saying, "Don't you have anything else to do?" but at the same time I feel sad because I know that the time where she won't want to nurse isn't too far away. And sometimes I need to put up those boundaries where I need my space and I don't want to/or can't nurse her, so I struggle between letting her nurse and being annoyed occasionally or flat out saying no I can't do it right now. It is hard to maintain a balance sometimes. I know that emotionally and nutritionally she needs to nurse so I really don't feel I can stop because it would be too hard on her, and, probably hard on me as well. Sorry to hijack

[tanyam926]

My ds2 is almost 4 and nurses as much as ds3 who is 11 months. My ds1 didn't really start cutting down on nursing until he was over 4, but every kid is so different. You are doing a great job.

[east carolina]

At age 2.5 my DS got most of his nutrition from solids, but he still nursed alot, and wasn't nightweaned. I think he started sleeping through the night at about age 3. I was so used to night nursing I didn't really notice.

You could maybe work on getting her to enjoy food more, but it's totally normal for a 2.5 year old to be nursing throughout the day. I had low supply and had to supplement for most of my DS's first year. So there wasn't much left at 2.5 and that still didn't stop him from nursing round the clock.

He's 4 now and typically nurses about 5 times a day I'd say.