Anyone else nursing a toddler?

[BoGiBoBo]

And do you plan on weaning or tandem nursing?

dd is almost 3 and it is really starting to get painful when she latches. I have thought that maybe when my milk disappears I will gently push her to wean, but I don't know. She stills LOVES to nurse and gets so much comfort from it. But then I don't know if I will be able to handle 2 nursing (I like my personal space). Oh, I don't know.

:

[Lukas's Mama]

I am not nursing anymore, Lukas didn't seem to care anymore as of a few months ago and since we were trying to get pregnant, I didn't push for him to continue. I really do miss it though, especially when travelling or when he's sick.
I've heard from friends that it's pretty painful during pregnancy. I hope you can find the right mix or nursing or not for you and dd. I know how you must feel about personal space!

[mkoontz]

I'm nursing my one year old. There is another thread about this somewhere......

[alegna]

I plan on tandeming. DD is nowhere ready to wean (28mo now)

-Angela

[NVmama]

My DD is 28 months too. She is also no where near ready to wean, so I am planning on tandem nursing. Nursing has been very, very painful so far. I am only 5 weeks, so no loss of supply yet. I try to breathe into the pain when she latches on, try not to grimace or flinch. I act like I'm practicing for labor!
I have also set limits, like she has to be still while nursing. No more nursing acrobatics! I've also tried to curb the constant "sipping" all day and offer alternatives, but when she really wants to nurse we settle in for a long session, which is tolerable.

[lyttlewon]

I don't plan on weaning but the nursing is so uncomfortable right now I am having a hard time letting her nurse. I will let her latch on but I end up cutting her off after a few minutes. My right side is more sensative than my left. She has been sick and wanting to nurse more so it isn't helping. She has been flutter sucking instead of actual nursing and the sensation just drives me batty.

[Cujobunny]

I'm not sure yet. I always thought that tandeming was not for me, but I'm going to play it by ear. I plan on nightweaning after Christmas, then we'll see how it goes. He usually nurses once or twice during the day and nurses to sleep at night, so I can see that one going on for a while. I doubt I'll tandem, but it really depends on ds. I may try to gently wean, but if he's not ready, he's not ready and I'm not willing to push too hard. Also he's been comfort nursing a lot lately because he's getting his 2 yr molars so I can relate to the flutter sucking and discomfort on my part. I know it will pass though, and he needs it now.

[dantesmama]

Nursing my 14.5 mo, plan on tandeming. Not sure what I'm going to do about bedtime, though, since DS still nurses to sleep.

[jandj+1]

I'm nursing my two-year-old and hope to tandem nurse.

That said, nursing has become painful over just the last few days. NVmama, I think I'll try your guidelines and see if that helps.

Anyone else feel nauseated when their toddler nurses? I don't feel nauseated at any other time, just on occasion while nursing. It's decidedly icky feeling.

[KeysMom]

Still nursing

My dd (21 months) is definitely not ready to wean. It is very painful when she first latches on, then it becomes more bearable. There are times when it makes me a bit queasy. DD still nurses to sleep and during the night, and this is making it difficult to sleep well. Getting out of bed for those nighttime bathroom trips without waking her is quite a challenge! As much as she still loves and depends on nursing, I think I will have no other choice but to tandem nurse.

[flapjack]

I'm planning on nursing through this time- dd is very much a breastfed baby still, so we're aiming to keep going the same with a view to tandem nursing.

[jandj+1]

Oh, Goddess, I think I'm going to die. I only thought I had pain while nursing before. In the past few days every nursing session is torture. It feels like someone is cutting off my nipples when DD nurses. And I suspect I've taken a hit in supply because the nursing sessions, particularly the middle-of-the-night ones, are taking longer and longer.

Someone who's done this before, tell me it gets better. Please. Lie if you have to

[BoGiBoBo]

I think my supply has dropped a lot also. DD pops off in a minute or so and says "no more milk in this one". My right side is extremely painful when she latches, but gets better as she nurses.

I don't know, I am training to become a doula, and in my experience with mothers, it doesn't seem to really go away, at least not for a while. In my group about half weaned their toddlers and the others didn't. It seemed like the ones who didn't, the toddlers were very determined to continue through the no milk phase. The night before last dd said she didn't need to nursies before bed (first time for that) so I said ok, stuck her in bed with her brother and shut the door. She later came in our bed and wanted to nurse, but that made me think maybe she isn't so far away from weaning. Well, I was thinking she was going to be like, 7 before she weaned. Now I'm thinking maybe like 4 or 5. My family is really going to think I'm crazy then

I still think I will gently push her to wean when the milk is gone. While I would like to give tandem nursing a try, if she stops without a fuss she will be ready. Then baby can have me all to itself. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

[jrojala]

I plan on tandeming. gabe is 1 year and I really don't think it would be fair to make him wean... I also LOVE , so...
He gets a little sick lately, spit up from a 1 year old???

[minkl]

i think my supply is already gone. ds keeps latching on and off and seems very upset about it. he's said "all gone milky" a few times, so I think that confirms it for me. I never had a huge supply, so we always relied on very frequent nursing (he didn't get solids until late) to meet the demand. but I feel like things are changing a bit faster than I had anticipated. He's going to be 2 next month and I wanted to nurse for a while while pregnant, but I don't feel like DS will endure the "no milk" phase...and it's very painful for me too, nipple wise. It's so sad really. I never planned on tandem nursing (i lost too much weight just trying to feed one last time!) but I didn't expect things to change so abruptly.

[croleRN]

Newly pregnant w/ #2. DD is 3yr. She nurses mostly before bed & at night while we co-sleep. I do have to tell her sometimes "only a taste." b/c they are getting sore, or I am just aggitated. The actual nursing isn't bothersome. It is the on-off thing that's painful and the Playfulness that pushes my buttons. I have to be careful, b/c that aggitation can sometimes rear up from inside my gut...and almost a primordial instinct takes over & I want to swat her away. (Not really hit her...just shoo her away from the breast.)

I have heard that this is common. I am open to continuing to tadem after baby is born - but I think I would be fine if she weans during my pregnancy too. She will be 4 by my due date, and I have been "almost ready" for her to be done for awhile now. We'll see. I know there are alot of changes going on for her, and it's her favorite comfort.

[Cinder]

I'm not this time around since my DD weaned in September (a few days after her 4th birthday), but I nursed all through my second pregnancy, and then tandem nursed for 23 months (untill my younger kid self weaned), then continued nursing dd for 6 more months after her little brother weaned before she decided to wean as well.

The pain definitely got better after the first trimester for me.

I had many issues with pre-term labour and dilation, but I nursed her on the contraction monitors and nursing really was not causing contractions for me, so I was not told to stop till I was 32 weeks pregnant and 7cm dilated...luckily my cervyx is crazy and it went back down to 3cm or something like that once the stopped labour and I started nursing again at 34 weeks with no issues.

[quinbearzmama]

Jumping in from Sept 2006 DDC. I nursed my toddler throughout my pregnancy. It was really painful from 6-16 weeks and once it got better, my milk dried up. However, DS was still interested. We nursed without a problem- no worries with pre-term labor issues, in fact DD arrived 8 days past my EDD. So far we have been tandem nursing for nearly 3 months and it's worked out well...most of the time. We are still trying to experiment with different positions and DS definitely wanted to nurse *a lot* when his sister was born. (He clearly felt like he hit the jackpot in the first few days)

Anyhoo- I felt compelled to write to let you know that it is possible to happily nurse throughout your pregnancy and tandem nurse...and still feel like you have some personal space. Enjoy your pregnancies, mamas!

[ani'smommy]

Originally Posted by Lukas's Mama

I am not nursing anymore, Lukas didn't seem to care anymore as of a few months ago and since we were trying to get pregnant, I didn't push for him to continue. I really do miss it though, especially when travelling or when he's sick.
I've heard from friends that it's pretty painful during pregnancy. I hope you can find the right mix or nursing or not for you and dd. I know how you must feel about personal space!

DD just turned two, we plan on tandeming at this point. We'll see how things go. DH thinks it's crazy, but I'm sure he'll come around.

Lukas's Mama -- Hi! This is Marie from Hotmamas, good to see you here!

[nakagain]

My dd turns 2 on 1/1 and I don't know how much longer I can do it. I don't really have any milk left and its painful and makes me feel very sick.