Feeling guilty, 19 month old asks EVERYONE for "na-na"s nursing. Problem?

[LineUponLine]

Ok so long time lurker but i think this iz my first post. My DD is 19 months old and has been asking everyone for "na-na"s nursing. First it was just my mom who lives with us and that i got. But now it has expanded to her brother, dad, strangers, and even the projection unicorn from her pillow pet! I feel reallt guilty b/c it first started when i started putting some limits on nursing and saying we will nurse later etc. I just was getting too overwhelmed and needed to feel like i still had some control over my body. So now i feel like its my fault and wonder what it means. Help?? Why is she doing this? What does it mean? And is it a problem?

[katelove]

I don't think it's a problem. It may just be her way of exploring the concept of different people are different and have different roles. My toddler went through a stage of looking down people's shirts and saying sadly "no milk". Then, as her language developed she would ask people "do you have mummy milk?" By "people" I mean mostly her extended family but occasionally others as well. I think everyone just answered her honestly although we did giggle about it with each other.

It may be be because you have set some limits and she's wondering if she can get milk elsewhere but it's ok to set limits and it's ok for her to discover for herself that only mummy has the milk.

[MrsGregory]

I enlisted a friend who understands enough about my family and our habits and culture, and is around us often, to help Little Miss understand booby boundries.  Little Miss was mainly massaging other people's breasts, but it was "not OK" enough for me that I felt a need to end that behavior.  So we did.  No fuss, no muss, Little Miss is still a happy, loving child, just now she doesn't feel up grandmas in the grocery store.  She still feels me up pretty regularly. 

[skycheattraffic]

I wouldn't consider it a problem. I think she is probably trying to understand where milk comes from and although it may have been triggered by the limits, I'd bet she would have done the same at some point anyway. If she asked someone outside the family, I'd probably just smile and say "she's in a very curious phase" or something like that and move on.
Don't feel guilty about setting some limits on nursing. It's a two-way street and both parties need to feel good about the nursing relationship. This came up in another thread and a couple of moms posted about seeing other mammals putting off their offspring if they didn't feel like nursing. It's quite natural to want a little space after the many intense months of nursing an infant and a 19 month old has a lot more options for nutrient and comfort than at 19 week old. A few limits now may translate into extra weeks/months you're happy/willing to nurse later.

[eabbmom]

My son regularly tries to nurse on dad, then he laughs. Kids are just trying to figure stuff out. If setting limits instigated this, that's okay too. All children need limits and she may be trying to deal with it, it could be a science experiment called "Where Does Milk Come From" or as in the case with my son, a joke. Good luck ma.