Nursing Mamas, how are you doing?

[lilylove]

So those of us that are nursing older babies/children, how are things going?

Right now Ds (2 1/2) is wanting to nurse a LOT, and my breasts are getting really sore I try to distract him sometimes, but there is a lot of me just dealing with it right now.

Has anyone else been getting the 'Oh gee, should you really be doing that while pregnant?'

[Dov'sMom]

My 8 month old DS has been nursing NON-STOP at night and pretty much every twenty minutes during the day (for a moment or two). I think it's in large part because my supply dropped a few weeks ago, so he's not getting as much anymore. We're trying to convince him to take formula as well (especially because he's really not wetting enough diapers), but so far he'll only drink it if there's Cheerios mixed in... So he's probably getting way more solids than he should.

The ob/gyn I called when I first got pregnant told me I would have to wean. I asked her why, and she said, "Well, you'll want to nurse the new baby, won't you?" i said yes, but the "new baby" won't be here for another 8 months! My dad has also been after me to wean because he just thinks I'm doing too much. Whatever.

[impromptukiss]

i got pregnant with #2 when #1 was 13mo old. i nursed her through the pregnancy, and not much long after (she was very demanding & it was her way or no way ....).

this time, i weaned. ds turned 2 is may. he was only nursing (ALL!!) through the night. getting up at least 6-7 times, adn not going right back to sleep. it has been 3 weeks today. he's doing great, although he's still getting up a couple times a night & needing help getting back to sleep. wish i could find a way around that.... :/

when i was nursing while pregnant last time, my mother in law was my main heckler. she was telling me i'd be too exausted, it wouldn't be fair to kayleigh, or the new baby, blah blah blah ... it was easy. it was just towards the end i started to get that annoying skin crawly feeling.

[simplehome]

Well, my nipples have gone from having to cringe and bite my lip while he latches on, to feeling like that the whole time he's nursing. In the mornings when he wakes up (I think he's mostly night-weaned himself!) he wants to nurse each side for at least 20 minutes, and is a royal mess the rest of the morning if I don't let him. Fun choices....

I'm so torn about what I want to happen---on the one hand, it would be lovely if he weaned soon an I had some relief from this pain. But on the other hand, I'd LOVE for him to still be nursing when the new one comes so that I might get a few moments of peace here and there, and to facilitate greater bonding between them. But in the end, I'll just let it progress naturally, I know.

I really can't tell what my supply is doing. I haven't been able to pump any quantity for well over a year anyway, so that doesn't help. I don't really hear him swallowing much, so that seems to be a BIG clue that there must not be much there. But he INSISTS that there's plenty of milk there, but maybe that's just wishful thinking on his part (or maybe just a taste IS enough for him, and he just wants to nurse after that).

He doesn't drink anything else other than water, and his water intake is WAY up. This is also clueing me in to a drop in supply. I sometimes worry about whether he needs more calcium, but I can't imagine giving him a vitamin for some odd reason. I'm afraid he'll start to think of it as candy or something. His diet is generally great, I just wonder if it's enough. My gut tells me he shouldn't need any milk after he's done with mama milk, but our society is so STAUNCHLY against that idea that it's hard sometimes.

[queenbean]

My daughter is 13 months old, and still nursong a lot. (I smashed my finge, forgive any typos.) I've been terying to distract her when i can with water or soy milk, because I'm SO sore and my supply is so low that it really hurts to nurse, but she still nurses 8-10 times a day plus at least 3-4 times at night. Blah. I'm pretty miserable, but I'd be more miserable if I forced her to wean when she's clearly not ready.

On another note, I'm STARVING! I eat more than I care to admit, and havrn't gained a pound yet. Its' getting ridiculous.

[momonthebeach]

I am nursing my 14 month old. He is a really easy-going nurser so it really hasn't been an issue. He'll pretty much take it or leave it so if I don't feel like it, I have just been giving him something else and he is fine. So far I'm not sore or even sensitive so I guess I should be grateful. No one has said anything to me about weaning but I would imagine they are saying it to each other!! I am hoping that ds will keep nursing until after the baby is born so he can take care of any oversupply when my milk comes back in!

Katie

[Tiffany_PartyOf5]

Mine get sensitive now and then and hes still nursing like crazy (14 months old). Mostly it doesnt bother me but some days MAN Im just like aghhhhhh!!! not again lol.. its sad.

What was hilarious was the other day at in-laws, dhs aunt was there and she asked if i was still nursing, I said yes (she has 4 kids ages 11, 6, 4, and 1) and shes like well, when are you going to wean, isnt that bad for the baby? I said no, I dont plan on weaning him, hes going to wean himself when hes ready and Im really looking forward to tandem nursing. Shes like what do you mean? I said, I mean, nursing them both... Im looking forward to it.. she just goes "ewww... what are you, like the jersey cow or something?" and turned and walked away!! WTH? LMAO.. what a dummy

[simplehome]

About the toddler helping with oversupply and engorgement issues later on---I'm also hoping for this. I do have several friends, however, whose older children did not like the taste of colostrum. They stopped nursing for about a month before and 4-6 weeks after the birth, and wouldn't help with engorgement at all. Grr!!!

[bryonyvaughn]

Originally Posted by lilylove

...Has anyone else been getting the 'Oh gee, should you really be doing that while pregnant?'

I haven't got crap from people in years. I think it's because those who know me know they're wasting their breath trying to change me and those that don't are intimidated giving pregnancy/parenting advice to a woman with six kids.

The last time I got a comment was when we moved to a new neighborhood and someone asked since I was pregnant, what was the nursling going to do when baby came. I just looked at her blankly and said "I have two breasts and I'll have two babies. What's the problem?" <shrug>

No one's bothered me since.

As for the rest of you... well let's just say my momma bear hormones kicked in on your behalf.

Originally Posted by Dov'sMom

...My dad has also been after me to wean because he just thinks I'm doing too much. Whatever.

If my dad were to say that to me, I'd just say, "Well, Dad, you know no one else can nurse my son. If you think I'm doing too much you're welcome to come over and work in the garden, paint the baby's room, or help me re-organize my storage before the baby comes." :

Originally Posted by simplehome

...My gut tells me he shouldn't need any milk after he's done with mama milk, but our society is so STAUNCHLY against that idea that it's hard sometimes.

If anyone give you grief about it, you just tell them any baby that is so young as to *need* milk is to old to be off his/her mother's milk.

Originally Posted by Tiffany_PartyOf5

...
What was hilarious was the other day at in-laws, dhs aunt was there and she asked if i was still nursing, I said yes (she has 4 kids ages 11, 6, 4, and 1) and shes like well, when are you going to wean, isnt that bad for the baby? I said no, I dont plan on weaning him, hes going to wean himself when hes ready and Im really looking forward to tandem nursing. Shes like what do you mean? I said, I mean, nursing them both... Im looking forward to it.. she just goes "ewww... what are you, like the jersey cow or something?" and turned and walked away!! WTH? LMAO.. what a dummy

I can think of many quips for the situation but they don't compare with the obvious level of ignorance combine with rude intolerance. For your sake I'm glad she's you aunt-i-l rather than m-i-l. Sheesh.

~BV

[AngelaB]

Im glad to hear about others still nursing as well. Ds is about 15 months old and still going strong.
He nurses 9-10 times a day and has pretty much night weaned, which he has done on his own!!! We cosleep and he rolls away when he is done and if I snuggle too much he wakes up and wants to nurse but if I give him his space to sleep he will sleep all night. Hes gotta get the morning nursies or he is a grump though!

He is unvaxed so I hope to nurse at least until he is 2 but I would really like for him to be the one to decide when he is done, I just hope its not anytime soon!

My nipples dont hurt too bad,it doesnt make me snappy or my skin crawl but some days i do try to distract him when I know he wants to nurse when he is bored. He does headstands and pyramid gymnastics while trying to nurse and he is soooooo stuborn that its better just to distract him or let him do it instead of stopping him!!! He also likes to touch hhis head with his foot or try to make me kiss his toes which is cute but he needs to stay on task!

Angela

[paniscus]

Mine seem to have increased in pain this last week or so. It used to hurt just when he latched on but now it hurts the whole time. DH and I were joking last night that it is the baby trying to kick ds off. DS isn't really nursing that much right now - mostly just for naps and at night so it hasn't been that big of a deal. He does have a molar coming in so he has nursed a few times during the day because of that. But I suspect that will stop whenever the tooth is *finally* all the way through.

[ollineeba]

My dd is 32 months old and I think she is starting to wean. She will ask to 'erse' about once every other day now (usually only when upset) and it will usually only last for a minute or two.
The only person who has ever asked about dd nursing is my aunt, but she is a HUGE pro-nursing advocate and nursed her children until they were all 3 or so.

[SharonAnne]

DD's 25 months old and nurses a few times a day, and if she wakes up, once overnight. It hurts like blazes and there is absolutely NO milk there. NONE. Not a DROP. But she needs that comfort and closeness, and I don't want her to lose her latch in case she wants to tandem with the new baby. So, there's lots of teeth gritting, especially overnight when she's half asleep and has a lazy latch, but we're doing okay for now.

[HardCoreMom]

we're hanging in. i am a FIRM believer in CLW, and ds(25mo) shows no signs of slowing down. he's a demanding little fella, and i confess that at times, i wish he wouldn't "need" to nurse as much as he does, cause i find that often, he just holds my nipple in his mouth and suckles maybe once a minute. but if i try to remove him, he screams and screams, so i know he's not ready. fortunately, he gets a lot of nursing time overnight, as we cosleep (though we're trying to move the boys into their own space well before the baby gets here), so i don't know what that means for any eventual nightweaning, or if i even hope for that. he drinks water but refuses all other liquids, including old frozen bm (i can't express anything anymore).

the pain has decreased a lot in the last week or two, but i think that's in conjunction with the decrease in nausea, too. i seemed a lot more sensitive when i was sick all the time, and the nursing hot flashes were miserable.

i plan to nurse all the way through (who cares what anyone else says? my dh and my mw support me, and those are the only people i really need on my side). but i DO wonder how tandem nursing will work with a nursing toddler who is just so possessive of my breasts. we'll follow the children, as always.

peace,
hcm

[Jennah_Gole]

I have gotten many comments from my sister-in-laws each one with a different theory on why bf while pregnant is a big no-no...

s-i-l#1: OMG, ur still bf'ing! did you know that you are taking nutrition away from ur unborn baby -- I know u still wanna bf but ur hurting ur unborn baby.

s-i-l#2: that is so wrong u should wean the baby NOW. the bm is bad for him and it will make him very sick...Look at him he looks sick!

s-i-l#3: he is gonna drink up all the colostrum and that means u wont produce any milk for your newborn.

s-i-l#4: that is so selfish of u. u feel bad for ur 14month old and u cant wean him and u want him to bf with his new sibling...he is gonna drink up all the milk and then ur really gonna feel bad.

LOL!!!!!!

I just got sooo sick of them i am not going over to anyone's house nor am I inviting anyone over until after i have the baby... I just tell them the doctors know better than them and they said that bf will not effect my unborn baby in anyway and i am doing my older nursling a favor by not weaning him early and giving him a beautiful chance to bf with his new sibling.....so there!: :

but my breasts have completely dried up --- its so sad -- but ds continues to nurse during the day but not much...if he is distracted like the day we went to the swimming pool he did not ask for his milkies at all. I just pray and hope that he hangs on until the baby is born and that seems sooo far off.

[lilylove]

It never fails to amaze me at what people will say to without having any actual knowledge behind it.
I've been lucky enough that my family and friends have only asked questions so far. Which has given me a chance to educate them. I'm sure there is some talking behind my back by a few of my ILs though. Oh well

[gratefulbambina]

My son is almost 21 months and he nurses alot in the mornings and alot in the evenings. My boobs have been sore but I've been able to tolerate it. I have had to tell him no a couple times, but they've been when I knew he was just nursing for boredom or just because I sat down. I'm wondering what is going to happen when my colostrum comes in.

The only comment I received is that I'm prob so nausaus because I'm still nursing and maybe I should stop It was from my grandmother so I just chuckled

[bryonyvaughn]

Originally Posted by Jennah_Gole

I have gotten many comments from my sister-in-laws each one with a different theory on why bf while pregnant is a big no-no...

s-i-l#1: OMG, ur still bf'ing! did you know that you are taking nutrition away from ur unborn baby -- I know u still wanna bf but ur hurting ur unborn baby.

s-i-l#2: that is so wrong u should wean the baby NOW. the bm is bad for him and it will make him very sick...Look at him he looks sick!

s-i-l#3: he is gonna drink up all the colostrum and that means u wont produce any milk for your newborn.

s-i-l#4: that is so selfish of u. u feel bad for ur 14month old and u cant wean him and u want him to bf with his new sibling...he is gonna drink up all the milk and then ur really gonna feel bad.

Unless there are other icky-toxic reasons you don't want to be around you SILs (and with those comments it wouldn't be hard to imagine!), I'd smile sweetly and say, "With no working knowledge of human lactation, I can see why it would be so easy to believe such things. If you'd like to learn the truth you could hop on the internet and visit LLL, promom, or Kelly's breastfeeding pages. They're very clearly written."

I'm really not a jerk. I let most stupid comments go unchallenged BUT when people apply their ignorant assumption to my life, I will address their ignorance and give them an opportunity to shed it.

but my breasts have completely dried up --- its so sad -- but ds continues to nurse during the day but not much...if he is distracted like the day we went to the swimming pool he did not ask for his milkies at all. I just pray and hope that he hangs on until the baby is born and that seems sooo far off.

Oh, I can feel for you. Fortunately for me, with each pregnancy my milk supply held out longer than the previous pregnancy. Getting the baby/toddler to sleep nursing without milk was the biggest challenge. We had to rearrange our lives a bit to make sure they had some good outside play in the afternoon before dinner or resort to a car ride to lull a little one to sleep. Except for my oldest child who took a bottle at 9 months (half-way through my pregnancy with his sister) all the children tandem nursed and I was actually nursing three during the first trimester of my fifth pregnancy.

Be encouraged. This time does pass... it may pass slowly, but it does pass. Having a nursing toddler means having your milk come in quickly without engorgement. I used to encourage my little one that the baby would come and babies always bring lots of milk for everyone. It became a mantra that got us through.

Take gentle care,
BV

[Jennah_Gole]

bryonyvaughn

it looks you have had some good experience...do you give ur toddler an alternate to breastmilk if your milk has dried up?
I mean ds drinks buttermilk and regular milk and likes cheese but you know its not the same to me as breastfeeding...He was chuggin down lots of milk and only takes a sip or two of milk and a bite or two of a cheese sandwich...just wondering if thats enough? I tried milk like Progress which is supposed to filled with vitamins and minerals and iron but truly it smelled nasty and he wouldn't even drink it...lol..i don't blame him.

Another thing i was wondering about was my ds usually wakes up about seven and then will jump on my breast and stay asleep for another hour or so...its just hard to imagine when i will already have newborn next to me how ds will fit in...and then i was worried about him constantly waking up the baby cuz he wants to nurse...should i be worryin about these things?

[Tiffany_PartyOf5]

Luckily, we are moving in 5 days and wont be nearby her anymore yay!