it's driving you crazy = they WANT you to change something

[LCBMAX]

It's my new theory.

When we nightweaned, it was driving me crazy, and I finally got to my breaking point and made the committed decision in the middle of the night. My son, 23 months then, calmly rolled over and went to sleep without the nipple in his mouth. I was stunned. We had the usual course of protests and adjustment but more or less comfortably completed the process over the following few weeks.

Recently, nursing to sleep at night has been driving me crazy. Gymnastic, grabby, pinching - and he can't help himself (now 29 months.) So the other night I reached my breaking point having tried all kinds of ways to make the nursing comfortable for me. I told him milk had fallen asleep and now we could do our usual night cuddles. He thrashed around a little, snuggled up, and went right to sleep. (!!!!!!!)

So now we're in that process, with some protesting and adjustment.

But that's my theory anyway. If the nursing behavior is driving me crazy it's in some part because he really is ready to have a shift in our patterns.

[ps4624]

That's a really interesting theory. I wonder if anyone else has had similar experiences...

[LCBMAX]

Yah, I sort of think of it like the mysterious combinations of synergistic signals that combine to get labor started.

In this case, my son is ready to make a shift, and can't really get to sleep well nursing anymore, so he also really needs me to help make a change. But initially, I'm not tracking that. I'm tracking how the wacky nursing is making me b.a.n.a.n.a.s. But ultimately, that in itself serves to make the change he needs.

The Necessary Bananas Theory?

[peaceful_mama]

ITA!!! DD nursed, but was VERY OCCASIONALLY nursing when DS2 was born. She was 22 months and DS just a few days when she asked. (before that, I nursed in another room, he was *very hard* to get started)

We had one or two sessions that I really remember fondly. Other than that, she drove me INSANE playing games where her fingers were ladybugs walking up my arm and stuff like this, not really nursing also, but playing around.

DH finally told her no one day, and I went along with it.....SHE was fine, as long as she could still be near us when she wanted to be. She wanted to know she had a place, but I think she had a sense her place had shifted--she didn't WANT to really be "another older baby" but the 'big sister."