Help! I have a super demanding toddler nursling & I am pregnant :(

[RImama179]

I know for sure that I do not want to tandem nurse so weaning is definitely in our future.  Breastfeeding was tough for me at the beginning and the last thing I want to worry about is making my supply issues/pain/etc worse after my next child is born.  I am ~7 weeks right now and the pain is excruciating at the latch.  My son is 2.5 and has become super demanding - especially in the middle of he night. If I say no, "bo" is sleeping - he flips out - gets off the bed and goes wandering around the house looking for Daddy. I do not know how to stop this and I am feeling pretty gross right now and really need my sleep.  Has anyone gone through this?

[D_McG]

Where is your husband sleeping that you son goes to look for him? When I weaned my DD (my second) I left her with DH for 3 nights (I slept on the couch). She wasn't happy about it but she was happier than she was when she just heard 'no' from me! I actually weaned her before TTC this time because I had to wean my son while pregnant and found it stressful. It'll go quickly though. Stay strong and in control and you'll both enjoy your new relationship!

[sewaneecook]

Your situation sounds very similar to mine while PG with #2.  Similar age, demanding nurser, woke up a lot during the night, I didn't want to tandem nurse, etc.  I took the weaning slowly and with each dropped nursing time I was better able to handle the remaining nursing times.  The entire weaning process took about 4 months for us (by the last month he was only nursing once per week or so).  We started using the Dr. Jay Gordon approach for night weaning (google it and it's a short article) and modified it slightly to suit us a bit better.  The first few nights were difficult, but after the first weekend he actually slept better and for longer stretches (he was 27 months at the time).  After he seemed well adjusted to the night weaning, I dropped another nursing (I think the first morning one) and we would get up immediately instead of nurse.  There were some days he needed to nurse more and I would let him, but overall the number of times he nursed was fewer.  I distracted him a lot, kept him busy with activities, outings, and other special time together that didn't involve nursing.  I took it slowly because I felt he needed time to adjust.  DH was a HUGE help during this time to help keep him occupied and give him special cuddle time and more reading and he also took over DS's night time needs.  The timing for us was perfect because DS1 was weaned about 3 months before DS2 was born. 

[Marissamom]

I haven't weaned my DD, but did cut back because of pregnancy, and one thing that helped for use was to introduce a binky for a couple of months, so instead of nursing she would have her binky and snuggle with dad or read a book with mom. we also made the decision because we weren't going to cosleep two at once to move DD to her own room, and that made night-weaning happen really quick because she stopped waking up at night very often (though that would only work if your DS is ready to sleep alone, so kids are much earlier than others)