My 21 mo. old has always been an avid nurser, however, lately he has been he has been more intense about nursing more frequently and also for longer durations of time. I am 13 weeks pregnant now and when he nurses for a long time it becomes very painful, however, if i try to withdraw the breast, he starts sobbing uncontrollably until he can nurse again. He is very hard to deter or distract.
Additionally, and most significantly, starting at about 4 a.m. he starts needing to nurse pretty much constantly to stay asleep (obviously he is not in a deep sleep, however he doesn't want to wake up either). I have not been able to tolerate this lately because of my sore breasts, yet he seems to be relentless! Waking him up (at 5 a.m.) to stop his nursing seems to just result in a more clingy and exhausting boy. Getting him to "nurse but pop off before he is all the way asleep" just gets him riled up. Several nights this week he for some reason was not sleeping well and wanted to nurse for longer than i could handle it, resulting in me feeling very upset, and him becoming very upset.
These things have been causing me a lot of stress, exhaustion, and pain. I do not know if this is a small phase, but I really need any feedback, support, advice, tips, etc that I can get. Of course, I also find myself nervous about the baby (due mid November), as I could not possibly sustain this and an infant...
Additionally, and most significantly, starting at about 4 a.m. he starts needing to nurse pretty much constantly to stay asleep (obviously he is not in a deep sleep, however he doesn't want to wake up either). I have not been able to tolerate this lately because of my sore breasts, yet he seems to be relentless! Waking him up (at 5 a.m.) to stop his nursing seems to just result in a more clingy and exhausting boy. Getting him to "nurse but pop off before he is all the way asleep" just gets him riled up. Several nights this week he for some reason was not sleeping well and wanted to nurse for longer than i could handle it, resulting in me feeling very upset, and him becoming very upset.
These things have been causing me a lot of stress, exhaustion, and pain. I do not know if this is a small phase, but I really need any feedback, support, advice, tips, etc that I can get. Of course, I also find myself nervous about the baby (due mid November), as I could not possibly sustain this and an infant...
- I've gotten pregnant while nursing a toddler 3 times now, and it can be quite uncomfortable, to say the least. The second and third time around, I nightweaned as soon as it started driving my up a wall, and that helped a lot. Being able to get that rest at night enabled me to be able to deal with the day nursing better.
