When did your children want to quit

[Saarland]

Hi,

I am curious: How old were your children when they decided that it was enough?

[Satori]

Wish I had an answer for you, I cut one off at 5 (which she was not happy about even though I spent a year preparing her) and the other one is about to turn 4 and still highly addicted. I plan on cutting her off at 5 too and I don't see it being a pretty thing.

[KSLaura]

Lol... when I ask my 4YO, her usual response is NEVER!

I'm hoping she eventually decides she's had enough.

[joycenjackiesmom]

I ended up cutting my older daughter off at about 4.5 years over a few weeks. My younger daughter stopped at 18 months--one day she looked at me and laughed at the idea of nursing. The next day I convinced her to do it one more time (to help my pain) and that was the last time she nursed.

[Saarland]

Wow, at 18 months? A little Miss Independent?

It seems to me that girls are often "done with it" sooner than boys. At least what I see when I look around.

Well, let's see how mine goes. But I actually see him keeping on nursing and nursing and then still being very upset, even if he is already 5. O well....

[salalmama]

My ds nursed until he was 5.5. We started very slowly teaching him to go to sleep without milk at 4.5, and I thought he was never going to quit! Then one day he told me the milk was gone and that was it.

[Peony]

DD1 was just shy of 4, DD2 3.

[Mom2M]

DD was 4.5 and quit when DD2 was born. She tried nursing a couple times after she was born and then said she was done.
It was sweet, she said the milk was DD2's now.

[pinky]

Both of mine at about 5.5, despite the fact that their nursing patterns were so different. I think my younger dd would have nursed longer if there had been a baby in the family, but by the time she was 5 there just wasn't really any milk. My breasts are still her favorite comfort object, though.

FWIW, up until the time they stopped, I honestly thought that neither one of them would stop on their own. And they did.

[alegna]

5.5 and not giving up yet...

-Angela

[Dulcealegria]

My older is 5.5 and still breastfeeding every morning and night, it seems its not going to end this year.

[dinan6]

It seems from the previous posts that my babies stop early.. I let my last two babies decide and my dd was 16 months, I was pregnant so that may have helped in the decision for her.. One day she just didn't want to nurse, it was so quick I was sad.. As with my ds he is 14 months and just didn't want to nurse one day.. I was surprised and kept offering but he didn't want it.. I do think that my supply was declining and he would get frustrated when nursing.. I do miss it and was sad being that he is my last baby... although now he does a snuggle with me at the times when we used to nurse so that is very sweet.

[ssh]

My DD stopped nursing to sleep a couple of months before turning 4. She weaned completely about 3 weeks after that.

[contactmaya]

My kiddo is 4.8 and only asks about every other day. Sometimes he refuses when i offer (yes, i do actually offer)

[redpajama]

My 5-year-old (son) stopped nursing for good right around his fifth birthday, but it was *very* gradual (I kept thinking, "this is it!" and then he'd ask to nurse again). The last 5-6 months that he nursed, he nursed very infrequently.

My 3-year-old (daughter) isn't anywhere near ready to wean.

(My 7-month-old daughter is *also* not ready to wean.)

[rockymtnmama]

My oldest was 4 1/2 when he weaned, and my youngest was 3 1/2. They were definitely ready and so was I, but I was the one who ended up initiating it both times. We had a weaning calendar and after they had gone a week without nursing we had a weaning party. They both remember their weaning parties fondly - they are 10 and 8 now and still talk about it!

[contactmaya]

My 4 1/2 year old still nurses occasionally, ...but so occasionally, i dont really know how often. Maybe once a week... anyway, one night he wanted to nurse, and then stopped and said 'Mom, i dont need 'ongi' to sleep anymore.'

Anyway, i guess he'll wean soon, but im not in a hurry. His brother at 2 is still going about 6x a day (probably more actually)
Maya

[mamaw/two]

My first dd stopped at 2 1/4 yrs old, but we had a busy weekend and I was also 13 weeks preggo. She just quit, I didn't even realize until it had been three days. I was sad but sortof relived because it had been hurting so bad to nurse her. My 2nd dd was 3 3/4 yrs old and had to be slightly coaxed, she got a scooter for a weaning present My first ds was one month past 3 yrs old and just looked at me while I was nursing his little brother and said, "I don't want mama milk anymore." and that was that...it was sad for me because it just came out of the blue and I wasn't ready for it at all. My 2nd ds is only 11 monthes, so it will be interesting to see what he does.

[lindalu]

My 4y9m old is now saying, "maybe when I am 6". He used to say, "when I am 4". When he turned 4, he said "when I am 5). He only nurses once a day - I set some limits along way. I wonder if I set too many because he now seems to substitute rubbing my moles! Drives me crazy! I think I am getting close to wanting him to wean, but am not sure.....

My 2y11m old dd is going strong. I thought she would wean early but she loves her "milk-milk"!

dh wants them both to stop - that's another thread.....

[Black Orchid]

My older DD was 3.5 when I stopped her. I was tandeming and just could not do it anymore. I felt so guilty and still do because I know she loved it and needed it and would probably have continued for a year or more.

My younger DD stopped on her own last year a few months after her 3rd birthday. She started wearing panties and sleeping in a toddler bed and decided she didn't need to nurse or nap anymore, "I'm a big girl now mom and I don't do that anymore". Okay, then.

Much easier on my conscience that way! I will not coerce a child into quitting again, like I did with my older DD. If I am gifted with more kids, I will be in it for the long run.