18 month nursing like a newborn ... help?

[JanineRivera]

So my 18 month old dd nurses constantly!! I mean sometimes it is every 20-45 minutes. Has anyone else experienced this frequency of nursing a toddler? I am starting to get really annoyed with the constant "milk" request. Any ideas or suggestions? When I try to distract her or say "in a minute" she often gets upset and starts crying. It seems to be the worst when we are home; when we are out and about she doesn't ask often or she can be distracted more easily.

Thanks for listening and/or offering any words of wisdom or encouragement.
Janine

[kiwiva]

Is that a new thing or has she been like this all along? My DD was like that around that age and then she started talking A LOT practically over night. She was gearing up for a huge developmental leap. Could that be what's going on? If so, it will stop on it's own.

If not, I might try a few days with lots of activities to break the habit a bit. If she is busy doing new things out of the house perhaps she won't keep asking and then when you are back home, she may be out of the habit.

You also might try offering snacks and drinks before she is asking to nurse. And you may have to not ever sit down. I know the minute I sat down DD would immediately see that as a cue.

I know it is so frustrating!

[Caterina]

My almost 16 mo is doing this too. She's waking at least every 2 hours to nurse and nursing way more in the day for the last month or so (as she's starting walking and is getting 2 new teeth) I'm suddenly engorged and even leaking again! I feel like I'm hitting some kind of second newborn period needing to wear breast pads at night
Often my DD can be put off for a little while with the 'wait' sign and an offer of water or a snack, and definitely does it less when we are out and she's active and stimulated. But I figure that there's something going on for her that she's needing it/me more and so I just let it go and nurse.

[Starflower]

My DD nursed like crazy around that time until her two year molars finally came in just before her 2nd birthday. Is it possible your child is teething? Incoming molars can be very uncomfortable. I would suggest trying some camillia homeopathic teething remedy and see if that might help.

I have even noticed now that she is getting her 6 year molars in, she often complains about them being tender. (She pretty much quit nursing at 5-1/2 years and my milk is gone, but when she has loose teeth or teething pain, she chews on her clothes and her hands and just about anything she can find.)

But DD was a nurse-o-matic through the night until just after her 2nd b-day. Then she started sleeping 4-5 hours at a stretch.

Developmental changes can also cause toddlers to want more nursing, such as a PP said.

Good luck.

[hrsmom]

We went through that too around that age. I think it was teething-related, and certainly could have been developmental as well. I nursed her a lot more than usual during the day, and we also went to the park a lot for something else to do. Once or twice, I remember thinking that I didn't particularly feel like heading to the park, but I wanted a break from nursing, so to the park we went!

[indigosky]

I found the book Mothering Your Nursing Toddler really helpful and reassuring of so many "wacky" and mildly (or majorly) annoying things my DD was doing (still nursing at 26 months, despite some crazy periods along the way).

For us, it is definitely not a straight trajectory from newborn nursing gradually tapering off to weaning someday -- more like a jagged line with tons of nursing sometimes, much less other times.

[Materfamilias]

My DD is 18 months and she's doing this too. I think maybe her canine teeth are fixing to come in. She latches funny when she's teething and she's latching very weird right now. Ow.

[Gentle~Mommy :)]

Both my boys went through bouts of increased (nonstop!) nursing around 18 months, I think it has to do with teeth coming in. They went from nursing every few hours to constantly needing mama.

[JanineRivera]

Thanks Mamas ... I am so glad to hear that this can be "normal". She has always been a girl that likes to nurse a lot but it just seems at times lately that it is non-stop. I think it definitely could have to do with teething; she seems to teeth for months before the teeth actually pop through, ugh!! It is at times like this that I, sadly, wish we were done nursing Sometimes I just can't stand the sight of my own own boobs! I know this will pass and it helps to hear from you all; thanks again

[Katie T]

I don't have any advise but wanted to say I could have written your post word for word. My dd is 19 months and nurses about 4 times in a hr when at home but once every hr or 2 when we are away for the day. I try and remind myself that all to soon she will be grown and I will wish for these days back and to enjoy them while I can. (that is easier said than done some days lol)!