Share your experience with nursing a 1-2 year old.

[GooeyRN]

DS turns 1 next month!!! I want to know what to expect nursing wise for the next year. We had a rough start with FTT and jaundice, but since then, things have gone pretty good. No major issues. Some biting, pinching, fiddling, etc. but overall good. He is still about 90-95% breastfed. He only takes a small amounts of solids. What should I expect in the next year? When should I start offering him water?

[columbusmomma]

I think I started offering DD water around 9 mos. or so? I honestly don't remember! She still doesn't drink lots of it! She(16 mos.) nurses on demand thru the night. During the day if I'm not working she nurses every 2-4 hours. If I am working she nurses before I go to work and then when I pick her up(so no nursing for about 8 hours). She started really getting into solids around 10 months. I first introduced them at 7.5 months or so, I let her self feed, no baby foods or purees.

[Fujiko]

Expect a lot of baby gymnastics while breastfeeding. It drives me crazy, because she tries to kinda stand on her head WHILE she's still attached, and other weird positions, too. Also, in the last month or so, she's been switching sides like CRAZY. Unless she's dead-dog tired, she will always switch sides at least a couple of times. And she always has to see the other nipple, and most often she will also need to twiddle it, which also drives me CRAZY! She freaks out if I try to stop her.

All of this started in the last few months. Before that she was very normal.

[GooeyRN]

It sounds like things will get interesting.

[lillymonster]

Around 17 months, DD started nursing like a newborn, I think it has to do with teething, but it was every 2 hours at the least! And then nights are still pretty rough, but she is starting to go 3-4 hours at night now, I was told it's only bad for a few months.

DD never twiddled, but now she is also picking sides and going back and forth. And yes, rolling around and crawling on me while attached.

DD never bit me, but those canines have come in, and they are sharp. I never had a problem with any teeth, but the top ones are sharp, I guess it's her latch, because I feel those and they hurt!

[Twinklefae]

Teething is the worst. DS has been attached from about 3pm til now... it's enough to drive me crazy, but I know he's cutting molars and I'm hoping they'll be through soon!

Baby gymnastics are fun.

I don't allow any kind of twiddling... if he persists he gets put on the floor. (My instinct, unfortunately is to smack him when he does it, and I don't want to do that ever... so I'm very conscious of my reaction to it, and how much I can tolerate.)

[prancie]

acrobatics.

[kcparker]

My son started signing and saying 'urtz, urtz' when he wants to nurse a month or two ago. It's pretty cool. He also tries to help himself to some nursing by pulling my shirt up (luckily hasn't done this in public yet).

We have been offering water since about 9 months, but it's ever so much more fun to gargle, then let it all dribble down one's shirt and pants that I don't think DS actually ingests much at all.

[maylea_moon]

my 14 month old will sometimes crawl over my shoulder from behind me while i'm sitting and nurse upside down. it's hilarious!