CLW and WOH?? can they go together?

[Ubelle]

Is it still CLW if you WOH?

DD, now a yr old, goes to a daycare, near my work, and takes 2 sippy cups of breast milk 4 oz each with a morning snack and an afternoon snack (around 9 am and 3 pm) and at lunch time I go over and nurse her, just recently we started nursing after she has her solids part of lunch – she seems to be nursing better than a month or so before when I was nursing first and then solids.

How do I handle DD weaning from one of the sippy or the lunch nursing. Lately the afternoon sippy is coming home untouched; we nurse when I pick DD up or when we get home, depending on what she needs, on these days.

Also our lunch nursings vary depending on her day – some days all she wants to do is play and she won’t nurses much other days she settles right in and nurses down for nap.

When/ if she stops nursing at lunch or stops taking the sippy regularly should I be sending in cow milk? How long would you continue to send the afternoon BM “in case she wants it”?

How long did you guys pump and send in BM? When you stopped pumping what did you send in for drinks?

My pumping supply is going way down lately, like I am only getting ½ of what I need to send in during the day, I pump 4 times per day (2 times while at work) and then extra on the weekends just to make it through the week. Not sure how much longer I can keep it up, but I am also afraid of pushing DD into weaning at all, I want it to be at her pace.

Also how long do you continue to offer nursing sessions? And if they refuse? It feels like I should still be offering, but sometime (especially at lunch time) it feels like DD doesn’t want to, how hard should I be pushing her to nurse?

DD still nurses at night and upon waking up, also she nurses for naps and more frequently than during the week

Thank you for your help

[BensMamacita]

I don't think I can answer all of your questions, but I can share my own experience. When my ds, who is now 2.5 yrs, was around 1 he stopped drinking the milk that I pumped for him. However, he still, to this day, nurses like crazy when I'm home. We offered cow's milk to him, but he didn't really drink it. We just made sure that he was getting plenty of water, and a good, balanced diet. I still have plenty of milk for ds - I know there's lots of milk because he loves to fill up his mouth and then let it spill out the sides.

Good luck! It can be kind of scary when there's a transition in the nursing relationship, but you can also look at this as an opportunity to stop pumping (which was like a new found freedom to me).

[lyttlewon]

Originally Posted by Ubelle

When/ if she stops nursing at lunch or stops taking the sippy regularly should I be sending in cow milk? This is kind of a personal thing but I don't give supplementary milks to children. If she was thirsty and didn't have any breast milk she drank water. The daycare made me get a doctors note for it but she always had water.

How long would you continue to send the afternoon BM “in case she wants it”?
It is possible she might want it more as she gets older. DD refused bottles until she was 16 months. I continued pumping at work until she was 22 months and on business trips until she was 3. We only offered it at bedtime after 22 months, because that is only when she would take it, but we offered it as long as it was there.

How long did you guys pump and send in BM? When you stopped pumping what did you send in for drinks? DD didn't go to a daycare where I could send anything in. She was always offered water and when they had it as a special treat she was allowed juice.

My pumping supply is going way down lately, like I am only getting ½ of what I need to send in during the day, I pump 4 times per day (2 times while at work) and then extra on the weekends just to make it through the week. Not sure how much longer I can keep it up, but I am also afraid of pushing DD into weaning at all, I want it to be at her pace. How much are you pumping? Would it be better to do larger bottles less frequently? My DD usually wanted a big 4 oz bottle as opposed to a couple of small ones but she wasn't drinking it as a beverage/food but for sleepytime.

Also how long do you continue to offer nursing sessions? As long as it seems appropriate. It is kind of a communication thing. I always offered a maximum of every two hours until she was at least two and then extra as seemed appropriate. As a side note I nursed DD at lunch until she was 16 months. Around that time she wouldn't nurse at all during the lunch session because she would be napping.And if they refuse? Does it seem like she is refusing because of the environment? Can you lay down with her somewhere dark and quiet? It feels like I should still be offering, but sometime (especially at lunch time) it feels like DD doesn’t want to, how hard should I be pushing her to nurse? I wouldn't push but I would always offer. Some babies like it if you sit there with your top open so they can come and go. It can be annoying but it works.

CLW while WOH is a lot harder because you are forcing the child into several hours of not having access to nursing. Your DD will enter into an age pretty soon though where she will want to nurse all.the.time. At about 18 months they usually become pretty intense nursers. They discover being able to ask for something and get it, the decision making skills really start to develop.

[chfriend]

I've got a 7 year old who CLW. I WOH.

I think it's quite possible to do if you co-sleep. I pumped in the car, at night, on breaks at work and random moments when I could. dd reverse cycled...and I sucked it up sometimes when I was tired and irritable.

I think it's really bad info that you can't CLW and WOH b/c so many people feel they have to give it up.

Hang in there. Stay strong. You can do it. Keep it up as long as you can and use solids and water/other beverages to sub for the BM as your supply slacks off.

[mommyto3girls]

My youngest dd is almost 3. I have WOH since she was 3 months old. I pumped for the first year, after that I sent rice milk or water (she had a cow milk intolerance) She continued to nurse as she wanted when I was home. In the end of December, her dad and i split up. Since Feburary (32 months old) I have been apart from her for 5 days every other week while she is at her dads. She goes fine for 5 days without nursing and then when she is back with me is able to nurse pretty much on demand (Usually only once or twice a day though) I still consider it CLW, life interferes in many ways, but the decision to nurse or not to nurse when she is with me is totally up to her.

[green_sturgeon]

My son is 20 months and still going strong with nursing. He stopped wanting to drink EBM from a cup around 14 months, so I stopped pumping then. He preferred water or cow's milk (we give it because he really likes it and has no digestive issues with it) in his cup. I've always nursed him on demand when I was home, and I'd say he did decrease his nursing a bit around 14 or 15 months too, but then picked up again. As a PP said, it did seem that his nursing increased when he could ask for it. Now he requests na-na pretty frequently (sometimes every hour or two) when I'm home. I've also been away for two week-long business trips, one when he was 11 months and one at 15 months, and after both of those he returned to nursing right away. He and I both really look forward to our nursing session at the end of the day when I return home from work.

[Mrsboyko]

I have been back at work since DD was 8 weeks old. From then till around 10 months old I went at lunch time to BF her. Then they transitioned her to the toddler room and they were napping during that time, so I had to give the lunch nursing up. We are at 18 months now and still going strong. She nurses 4-6 times a day during the week and more on weekends. She is allergic to all dairy and soy milk, so we have rice milk available at DC. She will drink about 8 oz of that a day. She also drinks plenty of water. It is very do able.

I stopped pumping around 13 months old and it was SO freeing. I was engorged for a good 8 weeks because my body is apparently a little slow getting the idea, but it eventually happened. I never feel "out" of milk, even when she does nothing but nurse on weekends. I may be a bit engorged come Monday afternoon, but it adjusts back down by Wednesday or so. It is just another transition in the nursing relationship, this time for the easier. It will be fine.

[mnnice]

With both kids I pumped until about 12 months and came a lunch time until about 15 months. DS1 weaned at about 33 months.l DS2 just turned three last week and is still nursing.

DS2 aways had a little pumped milk as he could get away with (would either wait to nurse or eat solids) and went straight to a sippy. DS1 tooks bottle for a couple months, then was home full time several months, then refused a bottle (and most solids, we had a DCP give up and quit in frustation), then started eating solids and drink up the mass quanitites of frozen milk in a sippy. Since about 15 months both boys have drank cow's milk. I've never expected/required them to drink it, but DH and both eat dairy (DH drinks milk too) and they both do too.

[BlueSkyJennifer]

I pumped for 14-15 months with both of mine. I definitely think it is CLW since my son is 4.5 and still nursing.

[lilgreen]

I didn't pump at all for ds2. He started daycare f/t when he was 12mos and I, like you, visited (& still do... he's 2.5) him every lunch for a nurse. Sometimes he was more into it than others (sometimes he'd just take a very quick nibble and was off) He never asked for it when I wasn't there, apparently. He would have a nice long nurse when I picked him up, though. He's still happily nursing now, but almost never asks to nurse when I visit him at lunch (he's actually started telling me to "go home, Mommy" when I come at lunch - bittersweet). I always figured that he just made up for not having the luxury of nursing throughout the day at night.

I hope our experience helps somehow.

[major_mama11]

My dd is 30 mos and still going strong, even though I've been either WOH or in school full-time since she was 9 mos. I stopped pumping around a year, and sent cow's milk or soy milk from then on. It's definitely do-able. She made up for the time I was gone by nursing like crazy when I was around, especially during evenings and nights. I am soon to start a new job on FT night shift, but I'm not too concerned about this making her wean earlier than she wants. At this point, wild horses couldn't drag her away from her nummies!

[aileen]

you can do it.
you are doing it!

i worked part time so i never had to do the super-crazy-tons-of-pumping, but at a certain point i definitely had a harder time pumping milk. it's hard not to worry about supply when it's not flowing into that bottle, but she was still (and still is at 5) getting plenty. it's anecdotal, but i've heard that story a lot where the nursling gets a little older and then mama can't pump as much, but those toddlers can get it. it's like they have a secret tiny milk key or something.

you mamas rock.

[readytobedone]

Originally Posted by aileen

you can do it.
you are doing it!

i worked part time so i never had to do the super-crazy-tons-of-pumping, but at a certain point i definitely had a harder time pumping milk. it's hard not to worry about supply when it's not flowing into that bottle, but she was still (and still is at 5) getting plenty. it's anecdotal, but i've heard that story a lot where the nursling gets a little older and then mama can't pump as much, but those toddlers can get it. it's like they have a secret tiny milk key or something.

you mamas rock.

secret tiny milk key!

totally.

DD is just about a year and my pumping volume is really in the crapper. but she is nursing plenty when i'm around and seems to be getting plenty of milk.

(i am WOH and planning to CLW)--and i agree with aileen that you ARE doing it!

[wombatclay]

I weaned my pump a bit after a year... dd1 however is most certainly not weaned and is happily nursing at 3yo (actually, we tandem with her little sib). For me at least CLW is about letting the child set the pace and timetable for weaning, but it doesn't mean providing non-stop access to breastmilk... if I'm there, dd1 can nurse, but if I'm not there I'm not really worried about it now that she is a bit older. If that makes sense?

So at least IMO you can CLW and WOH without conflict as long as you are being sensitive to your little one's needs (and it sounds like you are )!

Hang in there mama, you're doing an amazing job and you have a very lucky little one!

[Elastagirl]

I pumped for about 13-14 months with both my kids and then realized they weren't taking what I had pumped from a bottle/sippy anymore. Both kids still nursed a LOT when I was with them and at night, since we co-sleep. Both kids are STILL nursing at ages (almost) 3 and 5.

It was hard when they gave up those BM bottles because I realized they weren't getting that little "taste" of Mama anymore when I was gone, and also because a lot of BM that i had worked so hard to pump had to eventually be discarded. (I tried to get them to enjoy "Breastmilksicles" but it didn't fly...)

I believe we are CLW. yes, there were limits placed on them at an early age, but neither child has had to give up nursing completely and it is still a big part of our lives.

Good luck!!

[veganmama719]

I went back to work when my kids were 4 and 5 months respectively. I pumped for 10 and 12 months. Once my supply started to decline with DD I sent thawed freezer stash milk, fresh breastmilk and cow's milk (which I wouldn't do now since I am now vegan) to daycare. With DS we had a nanny and she gave him the same as DD.

I didn't stress about it as they both continued to nurse when I was home. DD self-weaned at 15 months (I was 3 months PG with DS)

DS is 4 and still nursing 1-2 times per day.

So I would say it is definitely possible to WOH and practice CLW.

[_betsy_]

I WOH FT and have since DD was 7 weeks old. She's 20 mo now and still nurses 2-3 times a day, but I recently gave up pumping at work. She takes cow's milk with no problem, and I was just.done. pumping. I have no intention of weaning her, though she has gradually given up a few of our normal nursing sessions on her own over the past few months. I'm 7 weeks PG and DD hasn't seemed bothered by it at all so far, but I just couldn't deal with the stress of washing/drying pump parts when all I was getting was like 2 ounces combined/total. Just not worth it for me. I was totally happy to keep pumping before I got PG, but my supply was tanking even before that.

[big-mama]

My "nursling" is 10 now...he nursed until he was 5.5 almost 6.

I WOH his whole life except 10 weeks after his birth. DH was/is SAHD. He reverse cycled...I forget exactly how long I pumped but it was probably a year. I quit pumping and he just ate solid food, cows milk, and water during the day with occasional juice. He nursed on demand once I was home, every two hours all night.

I consider myself almost doing CLW even though I stopped giving him BM at one because he got all he wanted otherwise...plus at 5.5 I got scared he was going to tell someone at kindy and being paranoid of CPS, I cut him off right before kindy. He was ok with it though. If he hadn't been, I would have given in.