How Many Times A Day Does Your 18 MO BF?

[BabyMae09]

I am nearing exhaustion, and am starting to feel depressed because I just don't have energy for ANYTHING. My DD, who is almost 18 month, still BF's about 8-12 times a day (including night feedings).

I keep wondering how many times a day she 'should' be nursing. I know it's different for every baby, but it just seems so frequent. And I am the most drained I've ever been in my life. Which is no good, as I'm trying to do NaNoWriMo (national novel writing month) this month Also, I would like to, you know, be able to walk more than a half mile without huffing and puffing

So?

[Chloe'sMama]

At 18months, DD1 nursed about 6 times in a 24 hour period. upon waking, mid-morning, nap, mid-afternoon (sometimes), bedtime and a few times at night. If she got hurt or scared or was in a new situation she would often times nurse and want to be close.

[Chloe'sMama]

Also, DD1 would nurse way less if we were out and about. If she was bored, she wanted to nurse.... I don't know if you can take your daughter out of the house and distract her, but it worked for us.

Sorry about being exhausted. More calories? 8-12 times doesn't seem excessive, but if it is wearing you out, maybe try to find other ways to distract her. Books didn't work for DD1, but my sister had luck with her kids.

Good luck

[RaeDyCo]

Not yet at that age with DS2 but DS1 would nurse 3 x day -- in the morning, right after we got home from work / DCP and before bed. He did not nurse at night unless teething or sick.

On weekends, he usually nursed one more time (before nap) but that was the first nursing session to go when he weaned.

DS1 did wean around 20 months though so he wasn't as intense about nursing. Plus I went back to work after my mat leave ended (13 months off) so he had been adjusted to less nursing by 18 months.

[TiredX2]

My kids are much older now, but I distinctly remember being a *bit* excited when DD cut back nursing so much (IMO) as she approached two years. Then I counted and she had literally nursed 22 times before evening, so I can safely say that both of mine were nursing 10+/24 hours at 18 months (in fact, they were both probably close to 10 times in their sleeping hours).

[sarlusan]

With my first I co-slept (which meant, I DIDN'T sleep) and by 18 months I was exhausted. I put her in her crib and stopped nursing her at night. Yes, there were tears involved for a couple of nights. But I was 3 months pregnant with my second, and I felt like I was going insane. After I stopped nursing at night, she quickly decided she didn't want to nurse during the day, and stopped waking up at night too. It was painful for a couple days but HUGELY helpful to my sanity and rest.

My second and third I was very determined not to co-sleep because I just don't sleep well at all when there is a child in bed with me. With my second, he slept through the night from 9 months and BF until 22 months (again, I was 3 months pregnant). With my third, he is 18 months now, sleeping through the night, and I enjoy nursing him about 6-7 times during the day. But me getting enough sleep is key - which is why I'm going to go to bed right now!

[ChinaDoll]

Originally Posted by TiredX2

I can safely say that both of mine were nursing 10+/24 hours at 18 months

me too - we saw a huge resurgence of nursing interest between 14-20 months here ...

[puddle]

I remember counting at 12 months and she was nursing around 18 times, and counting again at 18 months and she was down to about 12 times (not including the dozen or so 5-second pop on and off times).

[Lisanne]

Mine is 20 months and nursing about 4 times a day.

[GoGoGirl]

I'm just laughing that your ALL the time option is more than 10 times. DD is 19 months and nurses 25-40 times during the day. We cosleep, so I imagine she's helping herself at night but it doesn't wake me up. I YEARN for the era of her nursing only 10 times a day!

[Amatullah0]

mine is 17 months, nursing once around 10am(short nap) then again in the afternoon for a longer nap(sometimes I don't nurse him for this nap if we are out and about and he falls asleep in the car, and other times, he just falls asleep playing or snacking on cereal or such), then again at bed time(sometimes, but not if DH can rock him to sleep, or if we put him to sleep by driving him around) then, about 3/4 of the time, i nurse him at night, or early in the morning when he wakes up(tired and crying, it puts him back to sleep). We still co-sleep, and I love it, he wakes up whether he's in his crib or in our bed, and at his age it doesn't matter too much. I do notice that he nurses less if the milk is less accessible. If I'm wearing a tank top, he remembers that he could nurse if he wanted to, and usually chooses to, but I'd rather not nurse him, so I opt for long sleeve, non-stretchy shirts(so he doesn't pull it down and see the goods) when I know hes going to be climbing on me(i.e. days I spend sitting down at his level, as opposed to the days I spend standing in the kitchen cooking or cleaning.)

[hollytheteacher]

Ds is 3 and he weaned when he was 2 years 10 months, but I distincly remember the most strenuous nursing months to be 14 to 18 months...so maybe soon your LO will start trailing off? I don't think I did anything different to discourage nursing sessions he just started being a tad less intense about it. I did, however, start implementing limits when he turned 2 and then gently weaned him at 30 months (the month i got my bfp and my nipples hurt hurt hurt!)

[IngaAnne]

None of the poll options are right for us. My son is 17 months old and breastfeeds 4-6 times a day (upon waking, mid morning, before nap, after dinner and at bedtime). If he's sick or teething, he'll nurse more. If we're out and he's distracted, he generally won't care about breastfeeding. He rarely breastfeeds during the night. Once in awhile he'll wake up at night and want to be nursed back to sleep, but usually this only happens when teething/sick.

[Tiana]

We're not quite at 18 months; my son is 16 months.  He nurses a minimum of 8 good feeds a day (I'm not counting those sessions where he just has a little suck and is finished).  He usually does not nurse at night.  He will sometimes nurse once in the middle of the night (between 12-2) and occasionally if he wakes early (5-6) he'll nurse.  We no longer co-sleep.

[annettemarie]

Moving out to Breastfeeding Beyond Infancy, as this is not explicitly a child-led weaning issue.

[Marissamom]

DD nurses 4-6 times a day if I don't count the times she nurses for 2-3 sucks and then is done. She doesn't nurse during the night most of the time and when she does it's just once, so her main nursings are when she wakes up, before and after nap, and before bed. 

[babygrey]

My DD is just turned 19months and she's really variable (I voted 4-6 bc that's about what we average). She never misses three sessons: first waking, bedtime and once in the middle of the night. Some days, she's way interested in nursing frequently, others she doesn't mention it outside of her three for sure times.
A pp mentioned her DC nursing less when they were out and about- my DD is the opposite, the more we play and do, the more she wants to nurse. I think she really thrives on the comfort and ability to take in a new situation from her cozy position nursing.
My DD's interest in nursing seems to have increased quite a bit in the last 2 months. 

[D_McG]

At that age, DD nursed 3x/day and overnight.  She would have nursed way, way more but I had cut us down to that to preserve our relationship and my sanity.  I did the whole 'on demand all the time' thing with my DS and it was a negative thing for both of us, IMO.

[Peony]

All 3 of my kids have nursed more then 10 times a day at 18 months. DS is 18 months currently and nurses the least out of any of my kids, maybe 3-4 times during the night and about every 1.5 hours during the day, sometimes more, sometimes a little less. I really don't keep track. Unlike the girls at this age, he has the ability to go longer, I am gone a half a day a week for work and he does fine, he can go off with DH and be fine for a couple hours which the girls never could, they were always nursing. I don't consider him always nursing, it just seems normal to me.