KKmama
06-02-2006, 12:00 AM
I feel kind of weird posting this (here and at all--if a different forum would be better, let me know!)...
My 2 yr weaned very abruptly when my milk disappeared overnight during my last pregnancy (he was ~1 1/2 at the time). I was pretty sad... my oldest nursed until he was almost 3, and I would have liked for him to be able to nurse much longer and not have weaned in such a traumatic way (it was definitely hard on him, too).
I'd like to encourage him to start nursing again. My reasons for doing so are pretty solid but also complicated... (bear with me--I'm going to explain it all to avoid confusion) He has oral motor delays, and he's had occupational therapy since he was ~10 mos. old to help him learn how to eat, drink, etc. Nursing was the one area of "oral" success that he had achieved all by himself, and nursing is really good for oral tone. He's allergic to dairy products (outgrew an egg allergy), and he's been on a high calorie, hypoallergenic supplement since he was 11 mos (because he was FTT, losing weight, stopped growing). He's made a lot of progress orally, and we're in the process of gradually cutting down the hi cal supplement. But realistically speaking, he's going to need *some* form of formula, milk, whatever, because he's just not capable yet of taking in enough calories as solids. (But it can't be cow milk/formula, goat milk/formula, or soy milk/formula, ditto on rice milk etc... per the allergist and nutritionist.) And it's been hard to diversify what he's willing to drink. So breast milk is a perfect solution--fewer calories than the hi cal supplement, but nutritionally better than anything else. I've been pumping some, but I'm a crappy pumper, and I'm just too busy with 3 kids to get as much milk for him as I would like.
I realize this is a challenging situation, but if anyone else's toddler stopped nursing (eg, because of pregnancy) and then started again later, I would *really* appreciate hearing about it. Yes, I'm working with a LC, and I'm trying what she's suggested, but more info is always better. Thank you!
My 2 yr weaned very abruptly when my milk disappeared overnight during my last pregnancy (he was ~1 1/2 at the time). I was pretty sad... my oldest nursed until he was almost 3, and I would have liked for him to be able to nurse much longer and not have weaned in such a traumatic way (it was definitely hard on him, too).
I'd like to encourage him to start nursing again. My reasons for doing so are pretty solid but also complicated... (bear with me--I'm going to explain it all to avoid confusion) He has oral motor delays, and he's had occupational therapy since he was ~10 mos. old to help him learn how to eat, drink, etc. Nursing was the one area of "oral" success that he had achieved all by himself, and nursing is really good for oral tone. He's allergic to dairy products (outgrew an egg allergy), and he's been on a high calorie, hypoallergenic supplement since he was 11 mos (because he was FTT, losing weight, stopped growing). He's made a lot of progress orally, and we're in the process of gradually cutting down the hi cal supplement. But realistically speaking, he's going to need *some* form of formula, milk, whatever, because he's just not capable yet of taking in enough calories as solids. (But it can't be cow milk/formula, goat milk/formula, or soy milk/formula, ditto on rice milk etc... per the allergist and nutritionist.) And it's been hard to diversify what he's willing to drink. So breast milk is a perfect solution--fewer calories than the hi cal supplement, but nutritionally better than anything else. I've been pumping some, but I'm a crappy pumper, and I'm just too busy with 3 kids to get as much milk for him as I would like.
I realize this is a challenging situation, but if anyone else's toddler stopped nursing (eg, because of pregnancy) and then started again later, I would *really* appreciate hearing about it. Yes, I'm working with a LC, and I'm trying what she's suggested, but more info is always better. Thank you!