Do you have any IRL friends still nursing? - Page 2

[Still_Snarky]

I'm pretty much it around here. My two friends with toddlers close in age weaned at 2.5 months (a preemie! : ) and 8 months... I don't really feel like I need anyone for support cause I'm happy with our decision. OTOH, I wish I had some other people IRL to talk to about nursing a toddler. Oh well, I do my best to educate by NIP as often as I can!

[violafemme]

I'm the only person IRL I know who breastfed her baby let alone her toddler. I've gotten a few when are you going to wean comments but mostly I think people leave me alone just because if they open that can of worms I'm going there with medical studies and everything else, so no one really says anything to me.

My mom has been really supportive up to this point but if I go past 2 I imagine she'll frown a bit, we'll see.

Otherwise, I'm with BooBerry, I'm comfortable with my decision but it'd be awful nice to have a RL friend to talk to............

[Sophiasmomma]

Great name btw!

Sadly I actually know no one that nurses period. Or cloth diapers for the matter. One of my best friends couldnt get her baby to latch so she pumped for 9 months and that was it. My MOm nursed me till 9 months. I plan on letting my DC self wean though and I dont really care what everyone says(everyone has their comments)

[tuffykenwell]

Well I met Jen (alstrameria) online and found out that there are actually extended nursers in Sudbury (go figure!!) and she introduced me to the naps chapter here so I get to feel normal once a month

My sister nursed her DD until she was 18 months old (kicking and screaming most of the way from 1 year on but she did it).

Steph

[stafl]

I am finding it really hard to believe that I could find extended breastfeeding friends here, and you all can't where you live! Perhaps maybe you just aren't looking in the right places, or perhaps you do know people who nurse "in the closet" and just don't do it out and about or talk about it.
My local LLL isn't the place to find support. I found most of my new mommy friends by joining an eclectic (secular) homeschool support group when my oldest was about 18 months old. seems strange perhaps, but I've always known I would homeschool/unschool my children, and I wanted her to have friends who weren't going to start kindergarten in a few years. And imagine my suprise, when one of the moms was nursing her baby, finished up, and her four year old climbed in her lap for a snack, too! I knew right then and there that group was for me.

[hottmama]

My roommate has a son a few weeks older than mine (they are 24.5 and 26 mos) and both our boys still nurse all the time. Another friend is weaning her 16 mo. old and even our child-less friends are a bit shocked. Another is nursing her 4 mo. old with plans of continuing for years to come. We also belong to a toddler LLL group so there are a lot of nursing toddlers there, many with little siblings nursing as well!

[KarenEMT]

I don't have any EBFing friends in "real life" at all. I've never been to a LLL meeting but was thinking of looking one up now that DS is 3. My mom and DH were pretty supportive up to about age 2, but now they just silently tolerate our EBFing. Anyone who knows me well knows not to challenge my decision on this topic, but still it is lonely sometimes without a real life friend with similar experience.

[doctorjen]

I have some friends from LLL who are nursing toddlers. Our leader's little boy just weaned at age 3 (on his own) and there is another almost weaned 3 year old there, otherwise I currently have the oldest toddler at 20 1/2 mos. Three of us went out to lunch after last meeting and I'm sure were quite a site in the restaurant with 3 toddlers nursing during lunch!
I also know a couple moms from church who have extended nursed, but most of their kids were weaned by 2 1/2 or so. Our previous youth pastor's wife was nursing a 4 yr old, though.
I have only a couple patients in my practice who nursed into toddlerhood, unfortuntately. My favorite story was a little boy who just weaned while his mom was pregnant at just shy of 3. He was one of the first newborns I saw in private practice and his mom was very discouraged and ready to quit due to jaundice and a sleepy baby. We made a plan to get him nursing more frequently, weighed him frequently for a while, and he did great! It was wonderful to see him over the next 3 years and feel good about helping him get going!
I just joined LLL when my last baby was born, and kicked myself for not seeking out such great IRL support when my other babes were little. It's wonderful to go somewhere where I can nurse without thinking about it, vent about it if I need to, and not get horrified "Why isn't she weaned?" comments!

[Overproducktion]

I'm a lucky mama here in the state of WA! I know a handful of nursing mamas mostly all with toddlers, preschoolers...mostly all of them are MDC mamas.

[IfMamaAintHappy]

Here is a picture of myself and one of my best friends... nursing Lily and Judy, who are also best friends! The girls are 2 yrs 2 months and 2 yrs 4 months in this pic. Im gonna frame it

LIly and Judy age 2

nursing toddler best friends!

[Danielsmom]

Hi all,
A friend nursed her little one til he was 2. But that was a few years ago. I don't know anyone personally, right now, who nurses a toddler. My son is 22 months. I checked out the local LLL and wasn't crazy about the dynamics.
We're in Massachusetts.

I am lucky that my very mainstream playgroup friends are supportive of my extended breastfeeding. I think my inlaws think I'm crazy though. That's okay; the feeling is mutual.

Sometimes I think about weaning (he only nurses from the left and my boobs are lopsided!, and sometimes I get tired of him twiddling one breast while nursing) but then I see how much he enjoys it. To be honest, I enjoy the cuddle time too. And he doesn't nurse very often, occasionally throughout the day, and sometimes at night and early morning.

I was wondering if I need to increase my caloric intake though. I have been feeling tired lately and tend to eat low fat. Could anyone direct me to a thread on Mothering where I could get some ideas for healthy calorie boosters?

HelloKItty, I liked your comments in your signature line (I think that's what it's called)--granola among the frosted flakes! I feel like that too sometimes.

[HelloKitty]

Originally Posted by Danielsmom

HelloKItty, I liked your comments in your signature line (I think that's what it's called)--granola among the frosted flakes! I feel like that too sometimes.

Thanx! I see you live in Puritanical Masssachusetts too - I'm on the Cape, going to my very first LLL meeting today I hope it goes better for me then it did for you

[Danielsmom]

HelloKitty,
I think the local LLL that I attended was just dynamics radiating from the group leader. It is a small group. There are many other LLL groups and after reading these great breastfeeding threads on mothering.com, I have been inspired to try another local meeting. (I just read a thread about LLL dynamics but can't find it here.)
Isn't Massachusetts puritanical in some ways? I like to shock some people by telling them that ds still nurses and cosleeps.
I'd be curious to hear how your LLL meeting went! I've heard good things about the Cape's LLL.

[zoebugsmom]

I have two friends I met on another board who are extended nursers. I don't get to see them regularly though. None of my regular every day IRL friends nursed into toddler hood. 1 made it to a year and the rest all weaned before 6 months, some much sooner. Fortunately DP has been very supportive of my decision to let dd self wean. He's actually a bit of a lactivist. All good things about dd are because she is breastfed. Pretty cool since he was FF and doesn't know any one else who has bf any where near this long.

[Lisalee2]

The only other person I know who nurses is my SIL. She has a 2 yr. old, a 4 yr. old, and a 6 yr. old who still nurse.

[GoodWillHunter]

Geeze. Most of my friends have nursed babes past 12 months! Of course, most of my friends are MDC mamas. :LOL

[kerikadi]

I don't have any friends that didn't extended brestfeed. All of my current 'freinds' are gals from my API group. But then again I don't hang out with people that I knew when I was younger. The only other friends I have that aren't ENers don't have children yet. I've done my best to teach them about AP and hopefully set a good example and they will all EN as well.
I don't really consider her a friend but I know another Mom who's child goes to school with #2 and she was such an inspiration to me. I had never met anyone at the time that nursed a 2 year old. She went on to nurse for a little over 3 years.
I nursed my first for only 8 months.
I nursed my second for 16 months (doubling my previous nursing time)
But never thought I would double that one. Well, DD#1 is now 32 months and still happily nursing

Keri

[thebee321]

I don't know anyone IRL nursing a toddler. I feel OK about it, but I worry as we get closer to 24 months that I am going to lose family support. DH says every few months, "Isn't it time for him to wean" and I ignore him. My sister didn't nurse her 3 boys (my nephews range in age from 15-21) and I know she is a little weirded out that I am still nursing. I think way back to when a lot of family members, trying to be supportive, said things like "as long as he's not still nursing when he's two, ha ha ha"...so now that 2 is approaching I am a little worried. If DH was totally on-board I would not be worried, but he's not as convinced of the benfits as I am.

In all honesty, I do not see myself nursing a 4 or 5 year old, so I am worried if I don't stop soon, I will be running out of "good" times to wean. I know that sounds stupid to a lot of people, and my squeamishness at nursing a 5 year old would probably go away just like my initial squeamishness about BFing before DS was born went away.

Along the same lines, I have never been into nursing DS whenever he falls down or bumps his head, even though sometimes I think it would help soothe him. (Well, I did when he was much younger, I guess until about 15 months or so) But for me personally, that crosses some kind of line I am not willing to cross. SO I probably shouldn't get upset at others having hangups about BFing a toddler, when I have some hangups myself.

Rambling now, so I'll end this!

[momof2tadpoles0104]

yup my 2 best friends are currently nursing their 14 and 16 month olds

[mom2alicia]

i'm a lone ranger. all of the moms in my playgroup weaned their kids promptly at their first birthday. my dd is 21 months now.