Boundaries?

[t2009]

Hi all! I'm new to this forum as my DS just turned one & is still nursing. And I'm sure this topic has been covered before but I don't have time to search previous posts (sorry!).

I love nursing DS -- I'm a full time graduate student and it's a great way for us to reconnect when I get home & to have a few quiet moments together sprinkled throughout the day & night. I've happily been nursing on demand when I'm at home but have been my approach to nursing lately...

Nursing seems to be the only thing he wants to do when we're interacting together. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but I'd really like to be able to play with him or read together ... and this just isn't possible because he'll keep demanding I nurse him. And usually if I do nurse him, he'll nurse for a minute then want down, then want to nurse more, etc.

How have others dealt with this? I really don't want to get in the habit of saying "no" all the time to him -- I figure if he wants something & it's not unreasonable there's little reason to say no. But I also want to interact with him in different ways. Are there "kind" ways to limit the nursing -- I'm not looking to wean (for now, that's up to him) just to keep us both happy.

Thanks!

[kriket]

What kind of top are you wearing? If DS sees any skin on my he assumes it's time to nurse. Now that it is getting warmer he assumes all the time is nursing time!

Other that I think it's a phase, my 11m old does it too. I took it to mean that he wanted solids. He will pretend he wants to nurse, do so for a second, get down, want more rinse and repeat. If I give him an avocado or something, he will eat it then play for a little while. I know we all do solids differently, but that's what seems to work for us!

[brennan]

I'm dealing with the same stuff right now as well, I really cherish the maybe 5 minutes a day that dd will cuddle, and dread the gazillion times a day that she nurses. I totally agree with a top, my breast have to be fully covered, or its nursing all the time. Also, if I'm sitting down in the chair that I usually nurse in, then she wants to nurse, so I just switch where I'm sitting. I totally agree with the solids thing too, usually if I've JUST nursed her (or she just woke up and thus nursed through the night) I will try solids and then if she still wants to nurse then I will. Sometimes I think its just attention that she wants and so sometimes I'll try something else first. I'm not saying that I don't want to nurse her, it can just become overwhelming when she wants to nurse for 1 minute every 5 minutes. I try to get her to nurse longer and have more productive nursing sessions. I do still do comfort nursing, but I think if I nursed her EVERY SINGLE TIME she asked, I would never wear a shirt and constantly have a running toddler latched on. I should also add that dd is 17 months old, and has been eating solids well since 12 months. I rarely say no, and only if I'm doing something that cannot be interrupted. Its a lot about feeling, I know the last time she ate, how much and how long she nursed for and what else is going on in her day that I know when she really needs to nurse and when its just something to do. Good luck finding your boundaries!