Introduce Yourself (please don't be afraid to join us) - Page 18

[APMomOfKimmyN-Maya]

Hello everyone! I'm a mother to 3 kids. My oldest is 7 and she was never breastfed. I was raised by a "breastfeeding is gross" mother and didn't undo that brainwashing for myself until the birth of my 2nd daughter. With the birth of my 2nd daughter I gave breastfeeding a try expecting to hate it and instantly had a realization about how misled I was about breastfeeding. I thought I'd go for a year, then she wasn't ready to stop, so I nursed through a pregnancy. She had cut down to a few times a day but then her brother was born and she all of a sudden had a newfound obsession with nursing... so that brings us to today--

I'm nursing a 25 month old and a 2 month old and the looks I'm getting keep getting weirder and more disgusted from family, "friends", etc. Lately I feel like I've had to get downright defensive because of the "yuck" vibe people are giving off to me when my toddler wants to nurse. Their opinions don't make me waiver because I still don't feel she's ready to be done and at least I have my partners support. I came here to read a lot and get support and perspective while I try to do what's right for me and my two nurslings.

[dulce de leche]

: I'm Dulce, still nursing my two-year-old daily, my four-year-old whenever she asks, although that has recently dropped to a few times a month, and expecting number 3 in June.

My mom was told that nursing was worthless after 6 months (along with tons of other misinformation), so I was weaned then. I originally planned to nurse dd until she was a year old. Thanks to wise moms here and other places, I decided to let her go as long as she wanted. I am so very, very glad that we did. Aside from all the other reasons, it turns out that she has food allergies. Two years of elimination dieting were not fun, but it has been more than worth it.

[abadine]

Hi there! I am bf my 17 month old and hoping to keep going. At the moment she refuses to feed everyday, and sometimes only a suck or two and then off to run around. I'm sad as I set a milestone at a minimum of 2 years & we are no where near it.

Off to browse the forums for some answers

[neostudded]

Hey everyone, Iam an 18 year old single mother.

I got pregnant at 16 and had him at 17 and now he is nearly nine months and walking, he is still breastfed of course and iam planning on breastfeeding fullterm.I wouldnt have it anyother way.

I was breastfed for five years myself and I can remember breastfeeding and being weaned (I suffer weaning trauma)...

Well nice to meet you all.

Breastfeeding is VERY important to me and iam VERY VERY pro breastfeeding.

[mother_sunshine]

Welcome neostudded. You are a wonderful role model for other teen mamas.

[ecoteat]

Hi. I'm Amy, I'm 32 years old, and my daughter Phoebe is almost 2. I always assumed I would breastfeed for at least 2 years, but before becoming a mother I had no idea how that would end. I still don't! Phoebe rarely goes more than 6 hours without nursing and I can't imagine ending any time soon. Right now I see no reason to encourage any change in our bf relationship. I don't know what I'll say about that in a year or two if we're still going, but so far I'm committed to and content with following her cues. I just realized today that this forum could be useful to me, and I'm looking forward to reading and posting more here.

[~PurityLake~]

Originally Posted by abadine

Hi there! I am bf my 17 month old and hoping to keep going. At the moment she refuses to feed everyday, and sometimes only a suck or two and then off to run around. I'm sad as I set a milestone at a minimum of 2 years & we are no where near it.

Off to browse the forums for some answers

If your 17 month old is anything like mine were, it's just a phase.

They are so active and exploring their world, getting into EVERYTHING, they don't want to stop to nurse cause they might miss something.

But nightime is nursing marathon, or after a couple months, back to nursing frequently throughout the day.

I'm just saying it could just be a phase, and you have plenty of breastfeeding months or even years ahead of you.

[theMword]

Hi, I'm Lisa, one of two mamas to Margot, who is 21 months. (DP does not nurse DD.) I was raised in a family where nursing for 2-3 years was the norm, and I assumed that would be the path I would follow, too. My DD has been a very intense nurser since day 1 (often 8x a day still) and now that we are approaching 2 years--which always felt like a bare minimum to me--I can't really imagine arbitrarily ending our nursing relationship at any age. But like some of the other mamas who have posted here, I am trying to sort out my own feelings and comfort levels about what it might mean to be nursing at 4, 5, 6 years... but I guess that's getting ahead of myself now. I'm sure this forum will be an inspiring place.

[mother_sunshine]

I didn't fathom nursing for 7 years when dd was 2 (or even when she was 5).

one day at a time, mama, one day at a time...

[veganmama719]

Hi, my DD self-weaned at 15 months when I was 3 months PG with DS.

DS turned 4 in March and still nurses 1-2 times a day. He's in the process of dropping the first thing in the morning session but that night one will probbaly be around for awhile longer!

I am TTC #3 so maybe he will wean sooner if I am succesful with that.

So far I am willing to keep nursing him until he is ready to stop.

[Parthenia]

Hi! I have two dd's age 9 (in two weeks) and 3. The older one weaned just a few months shy of her 5th birthday, although she was only nursing 20 seconds at a time for about 6 months. My second still nurses 2-4 times a day. I'm really ready for her to be done, but I'd like the end to be a mutual decision, if that makes sense. With two just two kids I've been nursing (with a 1 year break just before and while I was pregnant with dd2) for 9 years!

[kacymoose]

Hi

I'm Karen. I'm currently nursing 4 year old twins. They nurse first thing in the morning, at bedtime, and once during the day occasionally. I look forward to getting to know you all.

[e.naomisandoval]

Quick update, many months later. So my older one weaned at close to 6 - she actually weaned on her own and then took me up on a bribe I'd offered in desperation a year before when I was overwhelmed with tandem nursing. It was a trip so it cost a lot!

I was hoping my younger one would self-wean by her 4th birthday. Although, I never understood the whole argument that kids want to wean on their birthdays, I tried anyway. She was actually pretty close naturally; she has definitely been slowing down on her own and was down to every few days just once for a minute. Well she's back up to 1 minute pretty much every night. I have let it go; I have no more atttachment to any number; this is no hardship!

[BaBaBa]

I'm Alison mother of Sophie.
I expect I'll be lurking around here for a while.
I had every intention of CLW but now I'm beginning to doubt my ability to do so. The LLL in my region fizzled out and I don't have much in terms of support. I fear I'm at a bit of a crossroads now so I'll be scoping out other people's experiences to find out what to do.

[cbhowell]

Hi--Cat here, son turned 3 in April. Thought we were slowing down (were nursing 2-3x/day) but in the last week he's started nursing all the time (again). I'm sure the next yr is going to bring a lot of changes!

[ma_vie_en_rose]

Hi, I am Sheri. I have two DD's ages 4 and 2. I have been nursing nearly non-stop since DD1 was born. She self-weaned while I was pregnant. I think it was a combination of my milk supply drastically dropping, the change in taste, and her wanting to be a "big girl" when DD2 came. I think I had a month break between the two.

DD2 is still nursing like a champ. Some days are down to 2 nursings when she wakes. Other days, especially when we are out a lot, she gets overwhelmed and needs the comfort almost continuously.

I am also pregnant with #3, due in Nov. I have every intention of tandem nursing if DD2 is still going. At this rate, I see that being the likely scenario. Thankfully, I have an excellent support system of friends that are like-minded.

[ElliesMomma]

i'm nancy, nursing DD 25 months. considering adding another but also scared about jeopordizing nursing relationship with DD. oh and i'm 40 so that's the other consideration to "do it now" if we are going to have another. and cross my fingers that DD 1 keeps nursing.

[sweetpeppers]

Hi, I'm Cheryl. My son is 16 months old, and I plan on encouraging him to nurse as long and as often as he likes. When I was pregnant, I started out saying I'd nurse as long as I could (thinking a couple of months, then a year, then two years, and now hoping for like 6, lol). Then I thought nursing would be hard, now I know that stopping would be the hard part.

I am a huge health nut, raw fruits and veggies mostly, vegan, and I want my son to have the healthiest fare. Plus he'd die of depression if I weaned him. He still nurses every two hours or less.

[hellokati]

Hello! I'm Kati. My son just weaned at a little over 26 months. I'm pg with our second baby, and maybe that had something to do with it. He had been tapering off for a while. We were down to one nursing session a day, at bedtime. I've been doing the "don't offer, don't refuse" thing for a while, and a few weeks ago he started asking for nay-nay much less. He started skipping nights, and now it has been a week since he last asked. I am more than proud to know that I nursed him for as long as he needed it. I wanted weaning to be on his terms, when he was ready, and that is how it worked out. I never envisioned myself tandem nursing, but if he had still been nursing by the time this baby comes I think I would have done it.

I'm here to offer support to other mamas who need it. I look forward to joining you all as a nursing mom again in about 6 months!

[rosegirl]

Hi! I'm kathy and ds (18.5 M) is still nursing strong!! Looks like I'm falling into the CLW camp bc I don't think I could bear to push him on it (at least not for a while- he's still such my baby!!!) glad to find you!!!