nurseing moms -- newly weaned moms -- check in

[Momma Aimee]

Hey moms

How many of us are still nurseing? how old is the nureling now?

WHo has weaned, by mom or child? are you planning to allow re-nurseing afer the baby arrives?

How is milk production, and nipple pain?

ARE YOU GAINING WEIGHT??????

jsut checking in...........

I'll start.

Theo is just short of 19 months and still nurseing strong. up till 2 weeks ago he as nurseing as much as ever, as much as some new borns (and more fgrequently than my 4 month old neice )..... in the last week he had tapered off and isnow only nurseing mayeb 6 times a day and still every 2 to 4 hours at night, and every hour from say 3 or 4 till 7.......he is more intrested in his sipy of milk (either mom or cow)...and will pull off the boob, drink from sippy, then nurse again with a smile. sometimes he will sippy then need to check nurse-nurse with a quick drink

I still have good prduction -- though maybe the taest is changing??? -- cuz i still get a full feeling when he doesn't nurse, and i can still hand express even after he nurses. he is still chugging away at the boob too --swallow swallow swallow.

I keep hopeing he will night wean.....not happneing (though he did finally for the first time ever sleep 6 hours one night, ONE NIGHT)....

nipple pain was better, now it is getting bad again,. but not as bad as at first.

i am, however, having weight gain issues AGAIN......... it jsut ain't happneing..... I have to gain some for fear (my own personal fear) that OB will question nurseing. OB has given me no reason to expect this, just ,y own weight gain fear due to T's pregancy.

anyone else?

we had a lot of nurseing moms to start with --

Aimee

[FillingMyQuiver]

I'm here... still tandeming (where's the smilie w/ 2 nursing toddlers???)

Let's see, Mushie Face is almost 19mo and nurses about 4-5x a day. Little Man is almost 38mo and nurses about 3x a day (mostly at nap, up from nap, and at bed time). Both are night weaned now, so I'm sleeping a little better. Just a little cramped having so many bodies in bed

As far as I know, milk production is still going strong, maybe a small drop in supply. I'm having some discomfort w/ DS's latch, though. There's just something about the way he latches on and sucks that hurts and makes my skin crawl. There are quite a few days I want to force wean him, but I know he's not ready, and I'm really not ready and would feel absolutely horrible. We're working on bettering his latch, I'm not sure what the issue is...

I'm gaining weight, surprisingly. Although, I gained pretty well when I was pg w/ DD and nursing DS, so I'm not really concerned.

Now to just ride out the next 21 weeks

[Momma Aimee]

what is the "plan" for 3 at the bvoob?????

A

[JamesMama]

James weaned about 2 months ago, I have no milk from what I can tell.

But I'm not gaining at all. I lost 4lbs between 8 and 12 weeks and have yet to gain any of that back. I suppose nursing could have been 'blaimed' for the weight loss then, but since James weaned shortly after that apointment I don't know what to 'blame' the no-weight gain on. *shrug* I eat healthy, I eat constantly...and not always healthy stuff (I had a wicked craving for McDonalds and KFC).

My midwife advised me to start drinking the Ensure Plus. I drink the store brand chocolate flavor. It's actually not terrible tasting. She just wants to make sure I'm getting all the nutrients I need. *shrug*

I go back today, I'm pretty sure my weight gain has been minimal...I weighed myself on my scale and per that I've only gained a pound. We'll see I guess.

I gained well with James, 28lbs total through the pregnancy. And that was pretty steady. I'm expecting this to be different. It freaks me out a bit...But I think it's to be expected. With James I was a stay-at-home-wife for the most part, all I did was sit around and pick up the house. Now I have to clean and chase a toddler and keep him entertained which means lots of walks and part times and stuff like that. *shrug*

[Isaac'sMa]

Isaac is still nursing at about 20 months. I have no plan to wean him, unless he chooses to wean himself...Nipple pain is definitely there, especially at latch-on it's pretty painful. After he takes a few sips, it's fine, sort of "back to normal" but my breasts are more tender/sensitive in general. It seems that I have enough milk for as much as he wants to nurse which is usually about 3x/day. It was much more frequent last week when we were both sick, but even then I seemed to have enough milk for him. Just last night I was nursing him before bed and he laughed out loud and out came an entire mouthful of milk onto my shirt!

[Undercover Hippie]

We weaned last month. DD kept saying she wasn't going to need milky anymore when she turned 3, so I decided to see what happened. The first morning she was distracted since it was her birthday, the second morning she was a little grumpy, the third morning and beyond she just cuddled with me.

I thought I would be sad and I did cry a lot in the days leading up to her birthday, but I was actually so relieved when we were done. I was really hurting when she nursed and had no milk as far as I could tell. I still don't, no colostrum has come in yet. It's weird not to be able to express anything at all, I've always been able to since it came in 6 years ago during my first PG! Oh well, there will be plenty there in 5 more months... I will be spraying across the room again I'm sure.

[yogachick79]

Tara

Jenn, I know exactly what you mean with the crawly feeling. Ick, it's aweful!

We are still nursing, although it's once or twice a day max at this point. That is all he really asks for and it's only when he is tired. Like Aimee, the pain got much better but is back. His latch is okay, we've been working on that and he isn't biting any more which is good. There are times (most of the time) when I love that we can still do this. But there are also times when I worry that it will totally burn me out for this next babe. I know I will get through it, it's just hard right now sometimes.

As far as milk supply, I don't think I have much, but I can express a little bit. I am definitely gaining weight, but again, his nursing is on and off so it's not a constant. I go in today to see how much more I have put on. I'm a little nervous about that

[sandiegokristi]

I am still nursing my son who jus turned one and oh my goodness does it hurt. It is so painful for me and he has actually increased his milk intake at night. I feel like I am not getting any sleep. I would love to decrease his nightime feedings, but not ready to wean. I am definitley gaining weight. I feel like my supply is decreasing and maybe that is why we have longer sessions now? I don't know. Any tips?

[mom0810]

Still nursing my 18 month old. It HURTS. I have hardly any milk but he does not seem to care. I plan on tandeming IF he continues, but he may self wean because he is starting to get frustrated about the lack of milk. This morning he was hitting my boob because nothing was coming out. This makes me feel VERY guilty.

I have gained a little weight--about 4 lbs. Last visit, I had lost a pound, but I am noticing a lot less milk production this past week and I gained the pound back, so that makes sense. OB was not worried about weight loss as long as baby is growing.

I sometimes get this awful feeling while nursing... like the physical equivalent of fingernails on a chalkboard... but I am trying to hang in there for ds' sake. Some days are harder than others. I keep telling him the milk will be back after baby comes, and then he pats my tummy.

[wwisdomskr]

Dd2 is 18 months and we're still nursing. I honestly have no idea how many times a day she nurses. When she sits still, the latch is fine...but the crazy acrobatic nursing really hurts! She's always in the middle of something and trying to snag a sip or two... She also loves to straddle me and jump on my stomach. Poor new sibling!

Night nursing has increased a lot and that's been hard. I think it's because she's finally cutting her eye teeth. She has a mouthful, but those (top and bottom) have been holding out.

I think my supply is fine. Dd2 still gets milk dribbles on her chin!

I'm not gaining weight, but have stopped losing--after 20 lbs. That's not from nursing though.

I'm a little apprehensive about tandem because of sleep, etc. But, we're going to do it. Dd2 is just too young to wean.

[Momma Aimee]

My midwife advised me to start drinking the Ensure Plus. I drink the store brand chocolate flavor. It's actually not terrible tasting. She just wants to make sure I'm getting all the nutrients I need. *shrug*

I had to do that -- 2 a day -- with Theo

he has actually increased his milk intake at night.

theo has done this -- it got really bad for a while -- feeding every hour -- then it slowed down, but it still more than it was (ever 4 hours or so before pg) and more than day time.

She also loves to straddle me and jump on my stomach. Poor new sibling!

here too -- i tell Theo he'd better watch out. baby is not gonna be happy with him

[ckberkey]

Still nursing my 22 month old. I am ready to wean- it is painful! I haven't gained yet, but I am not losing anymore, so I am not really worried about that.

[FillingMyQuiver]

Originally Posted by Aimee21972

what is the "plan" for 3 at the bvoob?????

A

No plan, just one day at a time When DD was born and I started tandeming, I could nurse them both at the same time. She was so tiny (for an almost 9lb baby ) and DS was pretty pint sized. When she turned about a year I "assigned" them each a boob for easier nursing, and when I got pg, it was just too uncomfortable to keep nursing them together, not to mention, they're both big toddlers now so they were heavy to hold together.

Now I'm not so sure what I'm going to do when the new babe comes. I think DS will wait, he's pretty good about it now and he knows that "babies need mommy milk". I also think that I'll be wearing this babe a whole lot more b/c I'll be doing stuff w/ a 2yo and a 3.5yo, so I'll need both hands. That means babe will have as much access to milk as s/he needs. So I guess that's the plan, if you can call it that

[amylizpat]

Ugh, this is a sensitive topic with me right now. I had planned on continuing as long as possible, but my supply has decreased so much that Asa (almost 10 months) gets frustrated and only wants to nurse for a few minutes. I've actually had moments of regretting our decision to conceive again so soon, but I know it was the right thing for our family.
I'm going to continue to nurse as long as he'll do it, but today I'm pretty discouraged.

[Rikki Jean]

At 16 weeks, I'm still nursing my 19 1/2 month old. I don't really keep track too much, but every time I try to estimate (since WIC wants to know, as does everyone who can't believe I'm still nursing while pg ), I come up with about 15 times a day, roughly.

My breasts were really, really sensitive in the first trimester, so I had quite a bit of pain then. At that time I was also dealing with DS teething and nursing every 45 minutes to an hour at night, so it was bad. But, the sensitivity tapered off for about a month or so, and I got a nice break! The sensitivity has just come back in the last week or two, but it's not too bad yet. Really, I've learned that the key is just to be really connected with what's going on with ds, and be aware of what he's doing while he's nursing; ie. is he about to get distracted, is he falling asleep and going to fall off and bite down, does he just want to play, etc. When I'm able to pay more attention to all of that, I have far less episodes of painful latch-on, sucking, and un-latching. Not that it always works, but it helps!

As far as supply goes, I hadn't really given it much thought before I read this thread, but I guess maybe it's been going up. I've never really had a huge supply; there's never been enough for me to pump any decent amount, and after DS was a month or two, hand expressing or leaking only really happened if he hadn't nursed in quite a while. Now though, I think little amounts may be leaking out, as my nipples always seem to be stuck to the inside of my bra! Also, as a few others mentioned, DS seems to sometimes have a chin full of milk, or even a big milk drool when he unlatches.

I think my weight gain is okay...It's hard to say how much I've gained, because I went on vacation to visit family either right before or right after I got pg (we're not exactly sure when I was ovulating), and since everthing in Greek families revolves around food, I gained a solid five or six pounds in 10 days! So, I still haven't decided if those get to count as pregnancy pounds or not. If they do, I've gained 8 or 9 pounds; if not, only 3 or 4...I guess I should be gaining more...but I don't know. I gained 35 last time, so I'm aiming for something similar this time too. My biggest problem may be that I've been having a hard time staying on top of things with the Brewer Diet, but I plan for that to change very soon. I'm done with a huge commitment this Friday (I get to end my life as a pt WOHM!!!), so I think I'll have more time to focus on making sure I get all of my protein and yummies in.

I don't have any plans to wean, as the plan for us is CLW, and I'm hoping that DS feels the same way. I really don't imagine him weaning when my milk changes, just because I know that he's a big comfort nurser, and to think that he would go cold turkey from 15x/day just seems pretty unfathomable (although, I'm sure that it is possible)!

Originally Posted by wwisdomskr

Dd2 is 18 months and we're still nursing. I honestly have no idea how many times a day she nurses. When she sits still, the latch is fine...but the crazy acrobatic nursing really hurts! She's always in the middle of something and trying to snag a sip or two... She also loves to straddle me and jump on my stomach. Poor new sibling!

Our toddlers must be hanging out and sharing ideas, because this is my DS exactly!

Originally Posted by amylizpat

Ugh, this is a sensitive topic with me right now. I had planned on continuing as long as possible, but my supply has decreased so much that Asa (almost 10 months) gets frustrated and only wants to nurse for a few minutes. I've actually had moments of regretting our decision to conceive again so soon, but I know it was the right thing for our family.
I'm going to continue to nurse as long as he'll do it, but today I'm pretty discouraged.

I have no advice, but I just wanted to offer you a .

[*Lindsey*]

Sophia (22 months) has only nursed about 3x in the last week.

I haven't done anything to prompt her to stop, but I think my major supply drop has lead to this. I didn't notice as much of a drop when I was pg with her and DS was still nursing, but I wonder if it's b/c there's 2 babies in there?

I would allow re-nursing, but from my experience with DS, they seem to forget very quickly how to latch/suck.

Gaining weight?! oh yeah, about 20lbs by now.

[Monkeybutt]

Im still nursing my 3 year old.I do have nipple pain when she first latches on. Milk seems to come and go. Its weird. Some days are better than others.

[renaissanceed]

Still nursing my 16 month old DD. The nipple pain can be awful sometimes, not bad at others, but it's always there. If she's calm, it's better but as soon as she starts to squirm - YEOWZA!

I think that I'm drying up as she seems to be less interested, drinking way more water and actually looked at my breast the other day after nursing and say 'all gone'.

I'm not sure how I feel about this. I'd like her to continue to nurse and was planning on tandeming, but I'm not going to force her to keep nursing if she's losing interest.

As for gaining weight - no issues here. I've been eating everything in sight since I got pregnant and I'm not slowing down, even though DD is. I guess I should really start to pay attention to that. Still, I've only just made it up to my pre-preg weight from my first pregnancy (I lost all my pregnancy weight and an extra 20 lbs while nursing DD before getting pregnant again). So I feel pretty good about where I'm at right now weight-wise.

[JamesMama]

Well, went to the m/w yesterday, I gained back what I lost at least! In 1.5 months so now I'm okay...of course it helps that we've been housebound for a few weeks. It's just too hot to go outside.

Aimee, I hope this isn't telling of how the summer is going to be or I might die. Nearly 90* again today and tomorow. *sigh*

I feel better at least. I'm still at 0 weight gain for 19 weeks, but thats okay, I'll gain it eventually I figure.

[welldone]

My 27-month-old is still nursing. I thought she had weaned this week--she hadn't asked to nurse for a week--until yesterday night. She asked to nurse again before bed, and again in the morning (which she hasn't done in a while).

I had decided to stop offering, and she never asked, so I figured she was ready to wean and I had been holding onto our nursing relationship. But since last night, she seems quite happy to nurse again.

My milk supply has been gone since first trimester. No colostrum yet.

During our ultrasound yesterday, she commented, "When the baby come out, she'll nurse on Mommy." (She calls all genders "she.") I asked her if she was going to nurse, too, and she said, "Oh, yes. Elly will nurse."