Do you nurse your 2+ yr old in public? - Page 3

[Queen of Cups]

I nurse my two year old in public, but my three year old only nurses first thing in the morning so he doesn't NIP anymore.

[lacysmommy]

No, not anymore. At least not often, and usually I seclude myself. But she rarely asks for it because she's so busy all the time, and usually I can distract her anyway so it's not a big deal. I start feeling uncomfortable NIP after they're about 18 months. But it's a personal preference not to NIP anymore. I did wean my older DD at 3 years 3 months and my younger is still nursing (as I type!) with probably a while still to go. It's just at a certian point it gets to be more of a pain in the rear than anything else! I'd rather just have her wait an hour and nurse he when we get home, where I can get comfortable.

[theboysmama]

with ds1 i probably stopped nip when he was 2 1/2. I DID tandem nurse all the time. He wanted to nurse every time his brother wanted to nurse and it just got a little hard when they were both lifting up my shirt. at 2 1/2 i could offer him something else instead and hold off till we got home. Not because I thought i shouldn't nip it was just more comfortable at home. that is also when we started the weaning process and had set times for nursing. those time didn't typically coincide with when we were out.

with ds2 he was closer to 3. we started the weaning process and it was just easier, more comfortable, and more enjoyable to wait until we got home then to try and tandem nurse in a restaurant booth.

ds3 is almost 14 months and we still nurse whenever and wherever he wants. It will be a while until that changes.

Can you add a poll

[hollytheteacher]

Originally Posted by snowgirl

Ditto to that! So far, no plans on stopping NIP. My dd is quite reserved so, nursing really helps her to cope when she is uncomfortable. (You know, when people think it is ok to get in her face and talk to her. Grr...) We are very far from ending our nursing relationship too. I can easily see us nursing for at least another year. We also live in Burlington, VT and it seems quite common here.

nak...i live in burlington too! and i agree it is a lactating friendly city lol!

[formerluddite]

with dd1 i was trying to cut down on nursing in general, to get fertile again. so we went from ~6 nursings in the mid day at 27mos, with lots of NIP, to just before nap (if we were home) by age 3 (and bed/waketime). so that ended the NIP, except if we were at a friend's house at bedtime (pre-car-ride home).

dd2 just turned 3, and i sometimes NIP, but it's winter, so not so much at the playground the past couple months. too damn cold to have those freezing hands and the cold wind on my tummy.: but last year when she was ~2.5 we'd still nurse while waiting for dd1's kindergarten line to go into class, and some of the kids would watch and ask questions, and other times even demand "i want you to nurse her!" when we were there. they'd never seen it before, i think.

dd1 was always wanting to nurse when she was feeling uncomfortable, so we did a lot of NIP in the toddler years. dd2 likes to be out and about: when she was a crawler/early toddler i pretty much COULDN'T nurse her in public, because she'd nurse for 3 seconds, and then go off to explore. by 2ish she started being more clingy at the playground, and we nursed more.

i'm not patient enough to nurse at a grocery store/target once my kids can eat. have a snack/water in the cart, or wait for the car/home (barring toddler tumbles/bloodshed). or i'd nurse in the parking lot BEFORE going in. i like a comfy chair wayyyy more than a floor, and once i buy the groceries they got to get home to the fridge... but we did lots of restaurant nursing in the toddler years, and museum/bookstore/farmer's market/mall nursing.

i don't think i ever got funny looks (if i did, they didn't stick in my memory), and no confrontations. and i've been nursing for 6.5 years, although only 5ish in public. but i'm usually looking at my girls, or talking to my friends, so maybe i did, and just didn't see them.

i hope i've done a bit to help "normalize" nursing beyond the baby age. (i hate the term "extended breastfeeeding." it's NORMAL for our species to nurse into childhood, not extended. /rant)

as to when i'll stop, i'm not sure. so far i am still mostly comfortable, and dd2 is a fairly discreet nurser (cooperates with keeping me covered). i know i realllllllly wanted dd1 to wean long before i finally weaned her (not a self weaner, that girl, at least not soon enough for me, and i nursed her until 4 3/4), and felt the heebie jeebies at how big she seemed. so if i feel that way as dd2 gets bigger, i might not be willing to still be nursing in public.

i think LLL books (mothering your nursing toddler, etc) talk about limiting NIP as a way for mamas to avoid confrontation (or if they feel uncomfortable letting people know they are "still" nursing), not as a rebuke for those who ARE comfortable.

i hope as you grow into "big kid" NIP, you can keep feeling ok with it.

[polykow]

Originally Posted by ruhbehka

If so, is there an age where you stop or plan to stop?

Do you always nurse them, or does it depend on the situation?

I am really, really uncomfortable with limiting DS' nursing because of social pressure. At the same time, I have never seen a child his age (17 mos) nursing, other than friends from LLL, and certainly not a 2 or 3 year old.

I live in an urban area, and do occasionally see other nursing moms with younger babies, but more often bottles.

A few nights ago, we were eating at Maggiano's, and I actually felt a little uncomfortable nursing DS... we were in a booth facing the restaurant, he was sitting next to me in the booth and nursing quietly while looking around, and we got a few strange looks. (And one smile from a Spanish-speaking older woman who was refilling water glasses and bread baskets. ) I was worried someone might actually say something rude to us.

DS is fairly big for his age (28 lbs), so I am sure that sooner or later, if we continue nursing without second thought, someone will say something. And I'm ok with dealing with that, when it happens.

But I guess I just wonder... why have I never seen a stranger nursing a toddler or older child in public? Why do even LLL books and Mothering magazine and other pro-extended-bf publications talk about limiting NIP as children grow up?

How will people know that children this age continue to nurse... if they never witness it?

Color me confused.

I couldn't care less what other people think. I nurse my almost 2 year old anywhere( she turns two tomorrow). I just came back from three days at a water park and I nursed her in there all the time.
I also nursed my ds until he was over 5.
Once her was a little over three he really never nursed in public anymore.
I know lots of moms that nurse that long, and that may help.
Alex

[hannybanany]

My DD would ask to NIP a lot when she just turned 2, but now at 2.5 she almost never asks. If she did ask I would definitely nurse her.

[hannybanany]

oops, double post.

[april77]

DS will be 2 in about 2.5 weeks and we haven't limited NIP at all. He rarely asks though, unless he gets hurt or is really unsure about a new place. I actually can't remember the last time he asked to nurse when we were out and about, other than playgroup or people's houses, he's just too busy. I would guess that's part of the reason you don't see it as much.

It really doesn't bother me at this point, but pretty much all my friends are moms with kids close in age and they are all still nursing and NIP. So it probably seems more common to me (b/c of the group of people I am usually out with) than it actually is in society at large.

[Nicole77]

Originally Posted by april77

It really doesn't bother me at this point, but pretty much all my friends are moms with kids close in age and they are all still nursing and NIP. So it probably seems more common to me (b/c of the group of people I am usually out with) than it actually is in society at large.

This is very true for us as well.

[Tara62]

i can't remember exactly with emily, but i think i probably did at 2 but would have stopped at 3?

i imagine i'll probably feel the same way with carrie, but it always depends on the situation

[velcromom]

At that age we still NIP a lot, between two and three he didn't as much because he went longer between nursing and often was distracted enough not to ask much while we were out. But due to a home remodeling project we were doing, we did spend a lot of time nursing in the aisles of Home Depot with me carrying him while walking, with his long legs sticking way out beside me, lol. No one ever said anything or gave us any funny looks. We even sat on a lawn tractor once when I got tired and it was too cold to go to the garden/patio area.

[Mom2J]

We stopped NIP somwher around 1 yr old. He just stopped asking, and was always too busy to want to nurse. We're down to 2 or 3 times a day now, and I just can't imagine too many times it would come up.

A couple of exceptions- I did nurse him recently at my sister's house- although I wouldn't really consider that NIP, and I did nurse him when he was really upset at a Dr. appt- at oh, about 2 yrs old. I did get some looks, but the Dr. didn't say anything. I was ready to : though after I saw the look. LOL