Did YOUR mom do CLW? - Page 9

[JoyfulMom84]

My Mom says all her 5 kids were CLW. But the longest any of us nursed was 18mos. She really did cut the feedings down to once or twice a day by a year old. I "weaned" when I was 16mos old. She said I bit her and she overreacted, yelled NO and tapped me on the cheek. She said I got really angry and never nursed again...No matter what she tried I wouldn't nurse (can we say STRIKE??) It turns out she found out that week that she was pregnant so her milk may have tasted differently as well. She had tried Tandem nursing in the past and she couldn't due to it making morning sickness worse...So I probably would have been weaned anyway.

She did write in a journal she kept of my babyhood/toddlerhood, that after my brother was born that I would ask to nurse and talk about nursing "Sammy Nurse. Hannah Nurse too"...But she never let me try or I might have given it a go. I kinda wish she had been more informed, that it was "Okay" to let them have a shot at it if they are still interested...I believe that my immune system really would have benefited I had constant cold and ear infections when I was 2-6yrs old.

Oh and I actually do remember nursing, I think I kinda remember biting her and the tap on the cheek....The thing I mostly remember is just how cozy and safe it made me feel, and the smell of...COMFORT if that makes sense...Even growing up hugging or cuddling with her always brought that feeling back. I can totally relate why my DD (8 mos) loves BF so much.

[annie_noah]

My mom says that she let all 4 of us nurse for as long as we wanted to. That meant 9 months for me and between 12 months and 18 months for my siblings.

BUT...in those days solids were introduced at 6 weeks, which leads to earlier weaning. And I'm not sure my mom would have known the difference between a nursing strike and weaning. She says that I suddenly wasn't interested in nursing anymore at 9 months.

[Paceman]

I weaned at around 2 years old. There is a story at the back of my baby book about when my mom realized our nursing relationship was coming to an end as I stopped asking for it. The story makes me cry thinking about my little one (now 15 months ever wanting to stop). My brother also self weaned around 2.

[milkybean]

Originally Posted by chicagosarah

I was born in S. Korea in 1972. My mom told me back then, she thought formula was better for babies because that's what she heard Americans fed their babies. She said she tried to breastfeed me but that I rejected the breast. She also said the in-vogue parenting approach then was to NEVER pick up your baby, lest you spoil them. Also, we had live-in help when I was a baby, so I guess I never had much physical contact with my mom as a baby. It's no wonder to me that I have so little emotional attachment to my mother that I sometimes wonder if there's something wrong with me.

Oh, hugs to you!

It's interesting, the difference between your mom and hubby's Korean mom. When MIL had her first, in Korea in the early 60s, although she had to work (at the USO club) her mom treated her son like a king. He didn't touch the floor until he was 1 or 2 (meaning, he didn't have to propel himself anywhere, she would carry him), someone there nursed him for a good while, they all slept together (MIL's husband, aka FIL, but not that boy's father just to complicate things, was away at sea and in America without them at that time), and so on.

When MIL, first son, and FIL moved to America in '71, she then had my husband, and alas was forbidden from doing all those things, not b/c MIL thought it was wrong, but b/c FIL pitched a fit. And then FIL went away (merchant marines by this time) to punish MIL for wanting a family bed, and at a regular checkup she misunderstood the doctor, and started feeding hubby meat at 2 weeks! She finally got a call into Seoul, her mother told him that Americans were crazy, and to stop feeding him solids, let alone straight meat!

I have sort of reminded MIL of her old values, that she had to push down in her head and heart, and at first that was painful for her and she fought against it. But as time has gone on, and especially when FIL (who has since died) expressed sorrow that he kept his bio-son and his daughter out of the big bed after seeing how much sleep hubby and I get, she has understood that I was just going "back" to the traditional Korean ways of doing things, even though I'm not Korean.

Oh, and she gave me one of her podegis, which was cool of her. Since it's padded and I tend towards being overwarm ever since DS arrived, I can't wear it much, and *never* wear it out since it's orange with embroidery saying "greenbud" on it (sigh, I don't think anyone understood what they were embroidering on it), I only wore it indoors, and wore my "America" slings instead (those newfangled pouches and mei tais you know). She thought those were weird, but I could never quite bring myself to tell her that I think someone was making a little joke with that embroidery, at her expense and at the expense of all the other women who bought it in Busan or Seoul (family is from B, some family now lives in S). No matter what, she loves that I wore him so much.

Originally Posted by mama-o

My husband was the last child and CLW'ed when he was four, at which point he walked up to his mother, swatted at her breasts, and said "These cans are empty!" That was that. That was around 1978. We love this story and sharing it. It always gets a laugh.

Oh that's a terrific story!!!

[my2sons0930]

Originally Posted by bright-midnight

Nope, I was FF from birth as well.

Although my aunt nursed her kids to around 4 and the family thought she was completely weird for it

[alaskaberry]

Yes, my mom let all of use wean on our own. I nursed til I was 5, and I do remember it! My brother also nursed til he was 5, my sister stopped at 3.

[cottonwood]

No, that would have been unthinkable. She said it was considered strange enough that she breastfed at all, and she weaned me at 14 months because people disapproved so strongly and it was hard on her feeling like she had to keep it a secret. This was in 1966-67. She's always been very pro-breastfeeding, though, and was delighted that I breastfed my babies. She did ask a few times when I was going to wean my first (he breastfed until he was 3.5) but hasn't said a word about the rest.

[eeolyn]

My mom amd grandma told me several times about me not wanting to nurse, but staying atached at the breast and exploring the world. They always tried all sorts of things to get me to such. I guess it gave me confort to be at the breast. I have feelings of insecurity to this day, probably because I was weaned very early. At about three months mom says she lost her milk, but she was feeding me on a schedule, so maybe that was it. But I remember my brother being brestfed and that mom had a special smell of milk. I was very interested in the whole process, and I remember her offering the breast. She bfed him only 4-5 months accusing the same loss of milk, but I clearly remember how he fought because he hated the bottle and that it was such a frustrating moment for everyone in the house as he cried and cried until he was exhausted and only then accepted the nipple of the bottle. I'm sure she could have brestfed us for very long, but she just didn't know what was the problem and then pediatricians always giving bad advice or none at all. I am sorry to this day, but I never told her as she doesn't seem to have any remorse, she's very serene about it. Well I guess she was the best mother she could be considering the circumstances(we live in Romania, a comunist country at the time of my birth in 1984, and no info came through from abroad).

I haven't heard of brestfeeding strikes until this thread, what are they exactly and how do you deal with them?

[*Eva*]

Yep! My mom and my Oma AND my great grandma all CLW!!! My great grandma nursed one of her daughters until she was 5.

[Petalia]

Yup! I was breastfed until around age 4-5, and I can remember it quite vividly. I used to wait until she was on the phone in her bedroom - when I heard the phone ring, I would run and jump in her lap and say "noonga noonga?" as I pulled up her top. Kind of funny that I called it "noonga noonga", when I was pretty articulate in every other respect.

My mum worked fulltime as well, so it was pretty amazing that she kept it going that long. She was just quite relaxed about the whole thing I guess, it was never an issue.

[balanced birth]

Yes... and tandem nursed

My mom let both me and my younger sister lead the way to weaning. I was over three when the last entries in my baby book talk about still nursing and at that point she was already nursing my then 12 month old sister. My sister self-weaned at over four. I don't remember nursing, but remember snuggling in really close with a plaid tent shirt that I have seen in many tandem nursing photos... and then I only remember the smell of sweetness.

Mom was a La Leche League leader and childbirth educator and blazed the way for many home birthing, extended nursing, attachment (she laughs now that there is a word for that style of parenting) parents of our generation and for that I am so very grateful. I credit my ease of nursing and current extended nursing with my mom's path, it was the "hippies" of her generation that fought the real BF battles for us. I just hope that I can contribute to my grandchildren's culture of parenting through the choices I make today.

Sarah
Mom to Alexandra 23 Months

[SoCaliMommy]

Nope, FF from day 1 when the docs said I was too small to BF, i was born 3months premature.

My grandma FF all 4 her kids.

MIL FF her 2 kids.

I did have a aunt that nursed both cousins for 3 months each then weaned them to FF.

My mom actually nursed my brother for 4months before having to pump then giving up. She then went on to nurse my sister til she was almost 2 when she then cold turkey weaned her.

I plan to let my son CLW, he's a little over 2 and no sign of stopping anytime soon:. My daughter CLW at 18months old.