Weaned for 1.5 yrs and wants to nurse again.

[Mirrormonkey]

My ds1 will be 4 in a few months and ever since his brother was born he has been asking to nurse. I am pretty sure this request is made out of jealousy because baby is always nursing and he feels left out. I have been trying to redirect him and give his tons of love and attention when ds2 is napping but he still wants to nurse again.

What would you do? I am inclined to let him try, but worry that he will love it and want to nurse regularly, is that horrible? But then the vain side of me kicks in and gets excited about the extra calorie burn that would come from two kids nursing... Help!

[Channelle]

I would let him, but that's just me. I have no problem with the idea of a young child nursing.

I say this, because sometimes I dream about when I have my next little one and my current newborn then being old enough to finally nurse...I know chances are she won't, but I can't help but dream. It was so crushing when she couldn't latch, and then when she could, I had too low of supply...

[aiea]

Hi,

DD1 is 3.5yo and has the same request on occasion. I have always let her, though I was very conflicted at first, and she could tell. However I quickly realized that she had forgotten how to latch on exactly, even though she stopped nursing at 26 months and DD2 was born when DD1 was 31 months. So only 6 months after weaning she'd forgotten. When she would try to latch on and pretend to nurse, it'd be for just a few seconds, she'd say "done" and move on to something else.

I let her because she is very angry/anxious at times regarding DD2, and I had read that allowing to nurse helps those feelings. I think it has helped DD1 some, and I have become much more relaxed about the whole idea too.

I was worried she'd become super-attached to nursing again, but she's just developmentally past it IMHO except as an occasional "nostalgia trip" every once in a while, for literally a few seconds.

[Mirrormonkey]

Yes latch was one of my worries that I forgot to mention.

I did end up telling him this morning he could try and he got up to my boob and then laughed and said he wasn`t a baby and went off to play. So I figure I will just let him try if he asks again without sounding unsure.

Thank you for responding! And Channelle, I really hope you get to nurse with your next one!

[Channelle]

Originally Posted by Mirrormonkey

And Channelle, I really hope you get to nurse with your next one!

Thanks!