Is this considered a LOT of nursing for a 2 yr old?

[blueyes178]

At the age of 2 yrs almost 3 months, my son is in the routine of nursing 1.when he wakes up, 2. before nap time 3. when he wakes from nap time, 4. bed time and 5. once in the middle of the night. A session could be almost 45 minutes if he's tired. Otherwise, it's at least 20 min.  The only time he skips a session is if he naps in the stroller, and sometimes i can skip the nursing session when he wakes up if i get him REALLY distracted. I just wonder how this will ever end? Do i have to lead the way? Will he end it on his own?  My son is VERY active and VERY persistent. I would like to have another child and I am afraid that he might get annoyed when I am pregnant as the bump gets bigger, and will say "away, away" and will be resentful for another baby that took away his space for nursing and then seeing the baby nurse.  I am looking to get some advice for those who have been there and done it! I don't want him to be resentful towards me for stopping and it looks like he is nowhere near ready to end...For me, it's also hard as I am a stay at home Mom and I can never go out because I have to be home to put him in for a nap or for bedtime.  If i am not around when he wakes up from a nap, when I get home, the first thing he wants is "net, net" as he likes to say.  Any comments thoughts or suggestions would be GREAT!

[TiredX2]

Five times in a 24 hour period does not sound like a lot for a 2 year old *to me.*  That said, 45 minutes a session does sound fairly long *to me* for that age.  I guess I am more used to kids that age having more frequent, shorter nursings (excluding bed time).

Then again...

Neither of my kids napped at that age.  They would definatley spend 20+ minutes nursing before bed and in the morning.  For DD at that age she would nurse several times during the day (at least one would be a long session).  Then at her bedtime, at my bedtime, starting again around 4-5 hours later.  Wow, I forgot how much she nursed!  We also usually bathed together and she would nurse on and off the entire time (up to an hour). 

With DS he nursed MUCH more frequently and was not going more than two hours at any point during the day without nursing in normal situations. 

Neither of them put themselves to sleep (without nursing) at that age.  Though it's perfectly normal to nurse that much, it is also perfectly normal for you to want to have some time/space to yourself.  Can you arrange to go out directly after he wakes up from nap and not return until bedtime?  What would happen if you weren't there when he woke up from nap?  Could another adult be there with a special treat/fun thing to do and he might just overlook it?  If you could do that, you would have 6-8 hours of free time.  How early does he go to bed?  When does he nurse in the middle of the night?  Could you nurse him down and *then* go out/do whatever?  Are you getting alone/free time regularily as it is?

[MimiMoon]

Just for reference, my daughter is also 2 years, 3 months also and she still nurses at least 4-5 times a day, when I am home.  I typically work 2 days a week.  She is dependent on nursing to fall asleep, unless she falls asleep in the car, so she nurses to sleep for her nap and at night too.  She wakes up once or twice in the early morning hours and nurses back to sleep.  On the days that I work, she tackles me when I get home and wants to nurse immediately.

I don't have any friends who have nursed this long, so I wonder about this too.

[blueyes178]

Hi- thanks for the responses.  Mimimoon- yea, that sounds like me and my son. I may have titled my thread wrong. I really want to get some tips how i can gently wean him.  In general, I wonder if children will wean themselves, or must I begin the initiative.  I am now seeing a new change in my son which is that when i put him in bed, he is asking me to come back and nurse "more" "more".  I used to go back and do it for a couple of minutes, and then he'd lie down, turn over and go back to sleep.  Now, he's fighting sleep and it's taking hours for him to go to sleep.

[TiredX2]

Well, I can guarantee you that all children WILL wean themselves, just not necessarily on a time line that you would prefer.

That said, if you are interested in weaning advice you might have more luck in the Breastfeeding Beyond Infancy section.  Good luck!

[annettemarie]

Hi there! Since you're asking for advice on gentle mother-led weaning, I am going to move your thread to Breastfeeding Beyond Infancy.