Mama-Led Weaning Support Thread - Page 15

[polka123]

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[polka123]

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[bluelightblues]

Yes, thanks Kimmy for the summary and way to go neveryou mindthere, thanks for sharing your story!

My 24mo is down to 3-4 nursings on a good day, I'm pg with #2 and sitting down a little too much on dh's work days. I did get off my lazy butt and make a plate of pb&j sandwiches and a *refreshing* sippy cup of milk, changed dd and that took care of milk request. (she says "mo" and signs 'milk')

I wanted to share something I've been doing WRONG with this whole MLW thing. Nursing to sleep- I get creeped out and roll over, pretend i'm asleep and can't hear dd as her requests escalate from sleepy "mo's" to crying and pounding on my back. I just realized, after a very unpleasant morning when dh was away at work (he works 36 hour shifts at CG station), that this was just undermining dd and my relationship. I'm her mommy that listens so good to her all the time, socommunication-focused that I had her signing by 9mo, and now suddenly i'm deaf and totally incapable of comprehending her most basic requests? Wrong! I was toying with thaty method for a week or two on and off, being really ready to be DONE and not knowing anything better . . . soooo glad I found this thread!!! lots of good ideas . . . i think it will work to make jokes about day nursings, saying how silly, why nurse now when we can do x?

She has had her hands in her mouth a lot lately, but she has always been VERY oral, gnawing on board books etc since she was very small. not sure whether to use that as an indication of how peaceably she's moving toward weaning. (my one really good mommy friend used that as her main indicator when weaning her dd at a little over 24mo. she's the only weanling i've been around)

but will she EVER sleep w/o milk? I don't want to wean her to something else, ie bottle or paci. At least not at this point. DH and I are in an unpleasant holding pattern; we'll know in about 2 weeks whether we'll be able to make a major move. Tough to be consistent in big things when somehting so big is up in the air. I guess I should spend my days loving the status quo: DD okay to sleep in her big girl bed on other side of house. would be nice if I didn't fall asleep there too for most of the night, but this duty rotation at least I didn't backslide and cuddle her into the old family bed while dh was away at work.

celebrating small victories: Last night she woke up in the middle of the night and i told her i was here and she could go back to sleep. She fussed but did it! W/o milk. I just stayed very low key and nonchalant (if a not-wanting-to-nurse-pg-sleepy-mama can feign nonchalance in that situation she is smart and has a strong sense of herself (projecting??). Arguing/trickery will only make her dig her heels in, ya know?

Visualising myself sitting on a spring that is activated by her approach to my comfy armchair,

Erin

PS IMHO this thread is a little too hard to find

[kindacrunchy]

Pregnant, Nursing, and Emotional. HELP!!!

Hi all!
I am 18 weeks pregnant and still nursing my 2.5 yr old. We have been "gentle weaning" for a couple of months now. Some on his own, some from my encouragement. We Have cut down the nursing CONSIDERABLY and to be honest I am quite shocked on how well it has gone. However, we are down to nursing 3 times daily (morning, nap , and bed). Although he has been used to nursing to sleep, at night, he nurses on both sides as long as I kind stand it and then falls asleep playing with my hair. Nap time has been difficult 'cause it is too light outside for him to fall asleep that way so if he doesn't fall alseep fast, I can't stand to nurse him as long as he needs to sleep, and we end up fgoing for a drive.
So, I keep mentioning I can only nurse him as long as I can stand it. I'm not painful, it just ANNOYS me. I try so hard to give him enough time to at least relax but lately it just sends me to tears. Like another poster mentioned, itt kind of creeps me out now.The other thing is that how can he relax nursing while I am tensed up hoping that he will be done soon and thinking of how much I can't stand the way he nurses now. I think the latch has changed due to my breast changes. I cry because a) I can't help it b) I can't stand the nursing c) because I'm so sad about the whole thing.
I'm feeling that if I am having such an uncontrollable emotional reaction that I should just cut it out completely. However, I was hoping that since he basically night weaned himself, that maybe he would take care of the rest.
I am having such an emotional pregnancy this time and dealing with the normal 2 yr old stuff sends me to tears, too. But the nursing is really getting to me.
Sorry for the vent but I need help, support, something.
Thanks!
Karen

[Kira's mom]

It sounds like the hormonal thing is kicking in.When I was first pregnant I was such a wreck.My tolerance level was so low.So bless you for still nursing. I hope that you'll feel better soon whatever you decide to attempt.The one suggestion I can make is to remember to breathe. We all have times where all you can think about is dc going to sleep/being done etc and it's THOSE times that it takes forever! When I relax and breathe dd goes out in 5 minutes. It must be very trying for you.Alot of nurslings seem to stop or all but stop during pregnancy.One other thing..i realized there were many times dd would nurse forever at night,and it was usually because she just wasn't tired yet.Does ds have a set bedtime or maybe he's just storing up for the night!Sorry if I'm talking too much-

[CaraboosMama]

This thread has been a huge encouragement to me today! I'm not 100% ready to wean (dd is 16 mths old) but her biting is getting out of control!! It's just nice to hear other AP moms who are falling somewhere in between total-CLW and total cold-turkey MLW.

Up until now, our nursing experience has been very pleasant. When she's had teeth coming in in the past - she would bite from time to time & I tell her we have to be gentle to mommy's "boos." When she bites (arm, etc.) while nursing, I remind her - only kisses, no bites! - and she gives a little kiss. But the nipple bites are becoming a major stress for me (she has eight teeth - these are SERIOUS bites!) and I have been trying to delay or distract her from some of the daytime nursing, which is when she bites the most. Anyone else dealing with this? I feel very encouraged reading through this thread - it's tough to find weaning info for toddlers!

[babumama]

Hi everybody. I am new to posting but I just weaned my four year old daughter last night and I am feeling really tense. I know four years old is plenty old enough but it is the way I did it that is bugging me. She turned Four on July 6th and that was supposed to be "weaning day" but I let it slide. Well yesterday she didn't want me to go to a meeting @6:30 pm so I said If I stay no more babu(her name for nursing) ever again. Oh I have been tandem nursing for almost 15mos.I told her that if she can't give mama a little space and a little break and a little rest that I cannot continue to nurse two kids. I am done nursing her but I just feel really bad about how I did it. Oh and my husband is going our of town for a week on monday so he can't really pick up the slack. Great timing huh?