My DH and I are trying to make some decisions about weaning and I need some opinions/advice. Originally we were planning on child led weaning with no pressure regardless of what others thought. Now, we are TTC #2 and having problems. We had problems conceiving DS and the reduced fertility of BFing isn't helping us this time. My DS is 17 months (born 8/27/03). He still nurses 3 times during the day and around 3-4 times at night, we are still co-sleeping. I have only had 2 periods in the last 5 months and no other signs of returning fertility.
So, here is my dilemma. I would consider night weaning or trying to reduce his total # of nursings but I don't want to force him into giving up something he isn't ready for. Also, there is the possibility that we may not be able to have any more kids and I would deeply regret not doing everything I think is best for my son. I know that at this point there is no way to tell if we will have more kids but I would hate to partially or fully wean him prematurely only to have him be an only child anyway.
The other thing is that I am very tired, I have thyroid problems and I am diabetic. There is a big part of me that wants to wean him, take the meds my doctor thinks may help and get my body back on track. So, I have the possible regret or guilt from weaning him prematurely on one side and then the hope to have another child and get myself healthy before I get PG again on the other. Any pearls of wisdom out there?
Blessings,
Ingrid
So, here is my dilemma. I would consider night weaning or trying to reduce his total # of nursings but I don't want to force him into giving up something he isn't ready for. Also, there is the possibility that we may not be able to have any more kids and I would deeply regret not doing everything I think is best for my son. I know that at this point there is no way to tell if we will have more kids but I would hate to partially or fully wean him prematurely only to have him be an only child anyway.
The other thing is that I am very tired, I have thyroid problems and I am diabetic. There is a big part of me that wants to wean him, take the meds my doctor thinks may help and get my body back on track. So, I have the possible regret or guilt from weaning him prematurely on one side and then the hope to have another child and get myself healthy before I get PG again on the other. Any pearls of wisdom out there?
Blessings,
Ingrid
Nursing was causing me to have a luteal phase defect, and that was why he suggested I wean. I agonized over my decision, but finally decided not to wean my daughter. I knew for a fact that she was not emotionally or physically ready to wean. I had a hard enough time getting her to nurse in the first place, she was unable to nurse her first three months of life! I worked harder at breastfeeding her than I've ever worked at anything in my life before or since, and I wasn't going to just throw all that hard work down the drain for the possibility that I might get pregnant if she stopped nursing. again, she still *needed* to nurse. She's always been a small kid, docs always give me a hard time about that, too. Never been "on the charts" - I'm talking very petite, like 14 pounds at one year. I wasn't about to refuse to nurse her, knowing she may not eat anything else in any given day! She's also a very high-needs spirited kind of child, and when she doesn't nurse often enough, she gets very hard to deal with. I just couldn't wrap my mind around ignoring my child's need to nurse in hopes of having another baby maybe someday. I felt it was my job to take care of the baby I already had, rather than worry too much about whether or not I'd ever have another one.
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