S/O: How early is it CLW? - Page 4

[loriforeman]

man, my kids would have nursed until they were twenty, had i let them...

my four-year-old just weaned a couple months ago, and she still wants to place her hand between my breasts...just for comfort.

[loriforeman]

my grandson weaned at seven months. i insisted this wasn't possible...and then we found out there was a problem with his intestines. he had to have DOUBLE STRENGTH formula for several months...

another thing i didn't believe they did. i was under the impression that formula should NEVER be made stronger...

[gwynthfair]

Originally Posted by MamaE

I voted 2.5-3 years, but I think true CLW is possible any time after the age of 2. I just don't think it's likely if the child has had full access to nursing without any restrictions. That's uncommon in our culture though, where the vast majority of kids are either in cribs and/or nightweaned prior to 2 years (even here at MDC, nightweaning seems fairly common).

Also, many women don't have a lifestyle that necessarily facilitates CLW, and/or they've had to do things that might encourage premature weaning (WOHMs and introducing bottles). I went back to work at 3 mos. PP, and had to introduce a bottle. DD has already started to cut back on nursing even though she's only 11 mos. old. I realized this was a risk.

There are a lot of challenges for mothers in our culture these days.

[minkajane]

I said 19-24 because my DS self-weaned at 23 months, but I do admit that that's REALLY early to self-wean. I wonder if he would have gone longer if I hadn't been working full-time and having to nurse him on a schedule, but that's when he stopped. I kept offering and he said no. He had been cutting down for a while and I had no engorgement or anything when he stopped.

[Tishie]

Hi! My kids are 11 and 15 and haven't BF in years and years, but I have a question. If a child goes "on strike" and you keep giving them the breast, is it really up to the child? I might not know what you mean by going on strike.

My daughter was almost exactly a year old and I was babysitting a baby boy who had a bottle. She had just started scooting around the floor on her bum (never crawled!) and would not stop stealing his bottle and refused to nurse after a few days of that. I never could get her to take the breast again, but not for lack of trying and trying. So, a bottle was available (not offered to her) but she "weaned" herself by making that choice. She preferred the mobility of the bottle. She kept sleeping with me, but wouldn't nurse even then.

Is that not CLW because there was a bottle around, or is it CLW because she chose other "food"?

[mammal_mama]

Tishie, before this happened, had your daughter always been accustomed to getting the breast whenever she wanted it? If you weren't denying her when she wanted to nurse, then I certainly don't think it was you who weaned her.

And she just totally quit waking and wanting nourishment at night? Wow! That's outside my frame of reference, but I don't want to discount your experience just because it's so different from mine.

I do remember reading in Mothering Your Nursing Toddler that there is a danger point around this age, because some babies are so excited by their increasing mobility that they just kind of "forget" about the breast. So it sounds like maybe that's what happened with your daughter?

[alegna]

Originally Posted by Tishie

Is that not CLW because there was a bottle around, or is it CLW because she chose other "food"?

It's not CLW because you made the bottle available to her.

-Angela