Does anyone have a 15-monthss-old who wants to nurse every 5 minutes day and night? - Page 2

[trus]

What would you do in case of constipation or tummy trouble? In our case case it is a big part of the problem.

[LilacMama]

I'm going through this right now with my 11 month old. I can't say I'm happy to see it happening with older kids.

My plan is to let her demand-feed until 12 months and then I'm done. I can't take it anymore. I am going to work over the next month to try and find a "lovey" for her that is not MY BREASTS. Then she's going to a 4x/day schedule for nursing. I will offer her food and water every time she wants to nurse outside of the schedule (wake-up, nap, end of nap, bed-time). Period, end of sentence, no tantrum(s) will make me change my mind.

That's just where I'm at with it right now. I KNOW she gets a lot of comfort from nursing, so I do feel sad for her...I want to be as gentle on her as possible with this, but I really need some structure with this or I will lose it.

I know what you mean about tummy-troubles. My DD is constipated a lot. It's awful. Does your LO like prunes or apricots? Try offering those and lots of sips of water throughout the day. My DD gets probiotics in her bottle anytime I'm not around -- my husband puts a scoopful in and shakes the bottle. I think it helps. Not an easy thing to deal with though.

[Anna's Lovey]

My lo was very attached to the breast and very needy at that age. At sixteen months I started setting limits on nursing. It was hard but, she learned new new rules really fast. She cried the first time I refused to nurse her in the car but then never asked again. When I started saying no to nursing, she would the intonation of a question rather than a demand. She also cut back on her nursing requests so much that I got major clogged ducts.
As for the food, My lo also hated her high chair. I fed her at a little table and chair set I got from Ikea. She would eat a bite of soup, run across the room, spit out half the contents of her mouth and then come back for seconds. Horrible. She also ate like she nursed: in tiny bites and all day long. But, it's totally an age thing. At nineteen months she's soo much better at sitting still and eating good-sized portions.
Hang in there! It gets better! I think if you set limits your lo will respond with sensitivity after the initial shock wears off.
Also, what helped me was staying busy, especially in the morning. We got to the park right away before she started getting antsy. Also, have you tried smoothies? I made smoothies with fruit and yogurt and orange juice and almond butter and those kept her occupied for a while.
Best of luck to you

[Anna's Lovey]

Oh, and my lo was constipated up until recently as well, but that has cleared up.
Do you drink milk or coffee? I noticed an improvement in lo's behavior when I eliminated these two things from my diet.

[trus]

No, I don't drink coffe or milk, no dairy for the lo either. Those tummy issues and constipation are just terrible. I am giving him a little bit of green juice now, hoping it helps. We all need some quality sleep.

[LadyCatherine185]

mama. My DS is a terrible sleeper, and wants to nurse all day too. Not quite as much as your LO, but I can still commiserate.

Staying busy helps us, but of course that is hard to do when you are so dang tired.

I think setting some limits will be good for your LO, maybe start only letting him nurse once an hour, then every 1.5 hours, then 2 hours, etc.

The frequency of his nursing and the tantrums really don't sound 'normal' to me, IMHO. I would seriously talk with your ped and rule out medical reasons. Does he show signs of food allergies? Rash, eczema, green stools, congestion sounding, etc? Could he have reflux?

I hope you get some rest soon.

[HappyMommy2]

I had to put a stop to the switching sides thing, that was diving me bonkers. I told her beforehand, we are only going to nurse once on each side. When she was done with one (too quickly) I said,

"are you sure? We aren't doing this side again. Are you all done with this side? Night night milkies? "

She had some more on that same side, then did a long one on the other side. I thought it would be more difficult, but she did seem to understand and it only took a few times.

My DD is older 2.3, but she would nurse 24-7 too if she could! It is SO hard to limit. Often, I have to get up from the chair or bed and leave the room, do something else with her or without her, various distractions, etc.

She is pretty easy to teach nursing manners, because she wants the milkies so bad, she will make sure she does whatever it takes to get them!!

[ChinaDoll]

Originally Posted by trus

Does anyone have a 15-monthss-old who wants to nurse every 5 minutes day and night? Aslo, he goes from one breast to another every 10 seconds, meaning, 10-second sucking on one side, then on the other, then on the first one, then back to the second one, and it can last for a loooong time, then he leaves me alone for 5 (!!!!) minutes, and then back to the breast again. Hardly wants any solids and I am tired of pushing them down his throat. But i find it very difficult to be at his needs ALL the time! BMilk is his food and water ( doesn't like to drink water or anuthing else). In public now I hae to hae two naked boops hanging because this going from beast to breast thing.... Ans he's always been so fussy while nursingm I wonder why, is my milk hurting him?
On top of that I am dealing with thrush; it's not that bad, but still.

: i remember the stage that lasted (for both of mine) from 14-20 months - they nursed more often than newborns! But the stage eventually passed, so hang in there mama. The thrush may be making him not able to nurse for as long as he wants, poor baby

[trus]

I actually think the thrush makes him nurse more, esp. at night. I think I've had it pretty much since he was born, but I didn't know it was thrush. I remeber he would nurse just for a minute when he was about 3 months old, and that's when he started being restless at breast. At this point he's contagiated it because he scratches his eyes and nose even in his sleep, and has white discharge from them, so I think it spreaded into his eyes, nose, esophagus, etc. because I've had it untreated for such a long time.

[madeleines_mom]

I have a question about the kinds of solids you're offering.

You said in one reply that you're lucky if he eats "a couple spoonfuls" of food. Are you still feeing him cereals/purees?? If so, that could be a major reason he's not interested in solids yet! DD decided she didn't want anything to do with the spoon at about 8.5 months. I started offering regular food (starting with banana/cheerios, and working up to basically everything and anything!) and she started chowing down again. She definitely goes through picky stages but overall is a great eater.

I would suggest you sit him at the table with you. They're never too young to learn good table manners, and you don't want a 2/3/4 year old who won't eat without you chasing him around stuffing food into his mouth (I know a family like this and it's just crazy). You could get one of those chairs that buckles onto a regular chair and make him sit in it for each meal while you're sitting down eating as well. Offer a variety of things, cut up into small pieces if you're worried about choking. If he wants to just sit there and cry the first few times, let him. Eventually he'll figure out that this is the new routine and he'll more than likely start eating the food that's in front of him, especially if he sees you eating it too.

I agree with the poster that said first and foremost you should take him to his doctor/pedi and rule out any problems. Seems like there could be something he/you're eating and causing him some tummy pain. That could be why he's acting the way he is and always wanting comfort from nursing.

Also, I think you need to start setting some nursing limits. You can't handle it. I know I would be cold turkey weaning if I was in your situation just because I'd be at my wits end. Haha, but I'm not suggesting that. At about 10 months I started cutting out some feedings because DD was nursing quite often. Now I only nurse her to sleep basically. She nurses before her morning nap, before her afternoon nap, before bed, and twice during the night. It works out to about every 5 hours. She gets breakfast around 7am, lunch around 12pm and dinner around 6pm. I usually offer a sippy cup with each meal, filled with water or occasionall watered down juice (she hates cold milk). She also usually gets a 5oz bottle of homo milk (warm) at 4pm. I only write this all out for you because sometimes starting a schedule is best for your sanity and also kids crave some sort of routine (that's what I believe anyway!).

I don't push solids, I think that can lead to eating disorders later in life when kids are forced to eat. I'm not saying you do that. But I really think he needs to be drinking less BM and getting more nutrition from solid foods at his age. While BM is the best nutrition for babies under 12 months of age, after that, they NEED to be getting most of their calories from solids, not milk (whether it be BM, formula or cow's milk). I really think that if he drinks less milk, he will start becoming more interested in solids.

[madeleines_mom]

Also, what are you using to combat the thrush??

[trus]

+Update+
He hasn't been nursing so often for a while now. I wonder if that's going to last long, we had some periods in the past when he nursed only a few times a day, but then with all the sudden he wold go on a 5-minute schedule. The night nursing is pretty often still.

No, he hasn't been into purees