Mothering Forum banner

Currently nursing Mommas. Do you plan on weaning? Powering through? Thoughts? Plans?

3K views 68 replies 38 participants last post by  mariacm 
#1 ·
This pregnancy was a complete surprise for us, so while I have had plans to start night weaning for some time, there was no "time limit" so to say
orngbiggrin.gif
But now with my BFP, and one of my only symptoms being very sore nipples, especially when DS is nursing at night; I am counting the days until we can begin night weaning. DS is teething right now, but as soon as I see a let up in the coming teeth (he's almost got all his baby teeth already) I will start the process.

When we began our breast-feeding journey I never put a time limit on how long we would nurse, I just knew that we would nurse until we were through. Now with a pregnancy underway, and considerable less help from DH due to his new longer work days away from home, I know I need to do this.

After we get night-weaning completed, I am thinking that I will fully wean just to have my body back to myself before starting breastfeeding all over again.

Mommas that are currently nursing; or Mommas that have been through this before, what are thoughts? Plans? Ideas? Suggestions? Are you planning on weaning your nursling before your new LO comes? Or powering through? Stopping and then tandem nursing?
 
See less See more
1
#27 ·
I am still nursing my dd(21 months). I don't plan on weaning her, but most of my other littles quit nursing around the 16-20 week mark. I really can't imagine tandem nursing, but I am not opposed to it.
 
#28 ·
We are still nursing - DS will be 2 in 3 weeks. I'm not having nipple pain yet, so that's nice. I hope to wean well before #2 arrives so he is past wanting to nurse because baby does (I get that he might be curious and try it, but I'd prefer not to tandem nurse for keeps). I'm only 3+ weeks, so I have some time. :) He's only nursing now in the morning when he wakes up, and 1-4 times during hte day.
 
#30 ·
I am nursing dd who is 26 months. This will be my 3rd pregnancy that she has had to nurse during. I don't see her weaning and actually really hope that she won't.

I have nursed through all of my pregnancies (except the first one, obviously). With my losses a few of my kiddos have had to deal with several first tri-mesters. My children have never weaned on their own. I usually night wean around 14 months and then promptly get pregnant. lol Then when the lo is about 6 months old I start to put the toddler on a schedule as 100 times a day is a bit ridiculous. lol

I have tandem nursed 3 different sets of kiddos. the experience was different each time depending on the personalities of the kids. I really enjoy tandem nursing for the most part and feel that it is worth getting through any pain or discomfort. The sibling bond is amazing, it allows for me to entertain the toddler while feeding the sibling, it takes the weight off like crazy, the toddler plumps up, it guarantees me lots of opportunity to sit when I wouldn't be able to do that if I was chasing my toddler around.

Also (due to my loss history i think of these things) if i were to lose the baby at some point and have weaned my toddler I would have extra guilt and for me it would have made the grief phase a lot more difficult. dd really helped when my milk came in when my son was born still at 17 wks and I was so grateful that i had muddled through it. Snuggling in bed with a nursling after you lose a baby was very healing for me. This is just what has helped me and what I am glad that I have done.

Quote:
Originally Posted by saoirse2007 View Post

i was nursing ds while pg with dd....at 4 or 5 mos it became unbearable! like someone put my nipples on a rock and smashed them with hammers! ds was just over 2....dd is almost 18 mos right now....waiting to see how it will go....
This most likely is dry nursing. I have found that it doesn't last long (maybe a week or 2) and then it lets up a bit. I have been so grateful that I have made it through as there are so many bennefits.

LLL has a great book "Adventures in tandem nursing' I recommend to anyone that is nursing during this pregnancy.
 
#31 ·
Great thread. I guess I am sticking my head in the sand and hoping dd (20 mo) will self-wean when the milk goes. I don't really want to tandem but don't want to deal with weaning either. DD is very headstrong and pretty attached to the milkies.

We haven't nightweaned as I find it so much easier to feed her in my sleep than to wake up enough to do any other (and likely less effective) form of soothing. I know this can't work with two so I guess my major goal needs to be to get her to sleep on her own. :(

I am holding off on any action until the pg is a little more for-real (just got the bfp a few days ago), but I'd love to hear anyone's advice for a gentle end to bf and cosleeping.
 
#32 ·
I am not sure about a gentle end to co-sleeping, DS still comes to bed with us for a part of each night. I will get less sleep to try to put him back in his crib, but maybe I should try. We are only nursing at bedtime, and at night time wake up(s), and only on the right side; the left milk is all gone. I don't think there really is much milk on the right, but DS nurses there anyway.
 
#33 ·
"the no cry sleep solution" has lots and lots of great ideas for getting your kiddos to sleep on your own. The great thing I love about that book is that it is like hey here are a few suggestions if those don't work try them different ways, add something else etc. It is about gently giving your childen sleep independance not about training them in any way.

I have used a version of her ideas with all my kids and it works great.

between 14 and 17 months depending on the child we talk to them and let them know the na na's will be sleeping until the son comes up. Then when they wake up dh goes in there and comforts them reminding them that the na na's are asleep (and so is mommy:)). (I actually did it w/ ds 1 and it took 2-3 wks. The others were done in 1 wk or less.
 
#34 ·
I haven't tried the suggestions in "The No Cry Sleep Solution for Toddlers" when it comes to night weaning, but I plan on it. I did read most of the book and after months and months of difficult bedtimes we are now on day 9 of "easy bedtime". My son has had going to bed issues for some time, and I completely credit this book with helping us out! (just in case any of you other Mommas needed a recommendation)
wink1.gif
 
#35 ·
well put...i wish it was only 2 weeks...it was 7 weeks to 5 mos!!!!!

i am going to try harder...ds did not take it well....i still feel guilty....and he still triies to get comfort from my boobs....especially when he is sick

Quote:
Originally Posted by theboysmama View Post

I am nursing dd who is 26 months. This will be my 3rd pregnancy that she has had to nurse during. I don't see her weaning and actually really hope that she won't.

I have nursed through all of my pregnancies (except the first one, obviously). With my losses a few of my kiddos have had to deal with several first tri-mesters. My children have never weaned on their own. I usually night wean around 14 months and then promptly get pregnant. lol Then when the lo is about 6 months old I start to put the toddler on a schedule as 100 times a day is a bit ridiculous. lol

I have tandem nursed 3 different sets of kiddos. the experience was different each time depending on the personalities of the kids. I really enjoy tandem nursing for the most part and feel that it is worth getting through any pain or discomfort. The sibling bond is amazing, it allows for me to entertain the toddler while feeding the sibling, it takes the weight off like crazy, the toddler plumps up, it guarantees me lots of opportunity to sit when I wouldn't be able to do that if I was chasing my toddler around.

Also (due to my loss history i think of these things) if i were to lose the baby at some point and have weaned my toddler I would have extra guilt and for me it would have made the grief phase a lot more difficult. dd really helped when my milk came in when my son was born still at 17 wks and I was so grateful that i had muddled through it. Snuggling in bed with a nursling after you lose a baby was very healing for me. This is just what has helped me and what I am glad that I have done.

This most likely is dry nursing. I have found that it doesn't last long (maybe a week or 2) and then it lets up a bit. I have been so grateful that I have made it through as there are so many bennefits.

LLL has a great book "Adventures in tandem nursing' I recommend to anyone that is nursing during this pregnancy.
 
#37 ·
So for those of you that nursed in prior pregnancies, when did your milk dry up (if it did)? DS is 15 months, I'm not even 5 wks preg. It hurts a bit when he nurses, for hte last 10 days or so, but nothing horrible. Just uncomfortable. Does it necessarily get worse? If it gets worse, can it then get back to normal while still pregnant?

ETA: I'd like to nurse DS as long as possible, so I plan on sticking it out if I can and there's still milk. I was hoping to nurse him til age 2 or so, but the idea of tandem is not appealing and he'll be 23 mos or so when baby comes. I'm not really interested in tandem nursing at this point, but am thinking of weaning around 7 mos preg if we make it that far.
 
#38 ·
I want to clarify. I had tenderness and discomfort for most of the pregnancies but was bearable. The extreme pain from the dry nursing usually happened in the second try and lasted a few weeks. Then in the third tri my colostrum was I. And no more dry nursing.
Maria-sometime in the second tri is when it happened for me. I haven't always had the dry nursing, just a few times. If u are for sure weaning I would do it sometime in the second tri. That is the most uncomfortable and would give plenty of time for the weaning not to be associated with the baby.
 
#39 ·
I am only 8 weeks, and already most of my milk is gone. DS is almost 15 months, I really doubt we will even make it to the 2nd Tri with milk.

I did like the NCSS. (didn't use anything, because she also says if what you are doing works for you, then why change it?) but lots of great ideas!
 
#40 ·
Still nursing my 19 month DD. I got pregnant very consicously, via a FET, and thus was on medications that I knew had the potential to diminish my milk supply. I did not want to wean her just to "try" and get pregnant and I don't want to wean her now that I am pregnant. My milk supply has definitely dropped through the FET, although I know I still have some. The bonus is that this last attempt at night weaning has been quite successful so far. (We had 2 not so successful attempts in the past 5 months). She sleeps through till sometime after 4AM and then gets 'babas'. Of course, I'm still not sleeping well! I think it must be the pregnancy?

Still nurses about 4-5 times a day when I'm home. It's not terribly painful yet although sometimes when she first latches on it's a bit sore. I 100% aim to tandem nurse but I am open to what happens during this pregnancy. My hope is that she won't self-wean but that if it gets too much for me, that I can manage to wean her down to 1-2 times a day until this next one comes and then tandem.
 
#41 ·
I'm pregnant with a FET baby too! It hurts like holy heck when dd latches on, so much so that I wince when I see her coming! But after a few moments the pain eases up. My breasts are so tender right now too! DD is 25 months, nearly. She still loves to nurse, and I'm still playing it by ear, so we'll see what happens.
 
#42 ·
Yay for nursing through a FET! I am so glad that I did. I know I would have regretted weaning no matter what the outcome of the FET was. Did you tell your RE you were still nursing? I didn't. He didn't ask and I didn't volunteer. I figured I had done enough of my own research and was comfortable with the "risks" that he didn't really need to be involved in the decision. Kind of feel as if I want to go back to him though at 10 weeks or something and let him know.

And I see you're in BC. Whereabouts? I grew up in Vancouver and most of my family still lives there.
 
#43 ·
I'm in Vancouver, and I did tell my RE that I was still nursing and he ordered me to wean immediately ... and this was back in November when we were preparing for a December FET that resulted in a BFN. I said, "Please test my prolactin levels, and if the numbers concern you, then we'll discuss it. If the numbers are acceptable, then I'll continue nursing DD as long as she wants." He was not impressed. But guess what? The prolactin levels were fine.
 
#45 ·
I am so disappointed in my ObGyn...I checked with her to see if I could take Zofran while still nursing dd, and she said, "well, the medicine should be fine, but you MUST wean IMMEDIATELY. Breastfeeding is NOT okay while pregnant." I asked her why and all she could say was "It is strictly counter-indicated." Moron.

So I told her I would wean tonight. Riiight....fat chance.

It is nice that this is my third baby and I finally have the confidence to realize that the doctors don't know everything (or in this case, ANYTHING). First time mommas, please do not take your doctor's word as gospel...they can be great, but they are not gods!
 
#46 ·
TeacherMomma~ That alone would make me find a new doc. Very ignorant comment and I'd worry about all the other stuff she is going to be wrong about.

D just turned 2 and shows no interest in weaning. I'm not sure how long I am going to be able to do it though. I'm already having some plugged duct issues that hurt like crazy and he isn't a gently nurser most of the time. Guess we'll see what happens.
 
#47 ·
TeacherMomma: I can't believe your doc was so uneducated about breastfeeding while pregnant! Moron indeed!

I talked to my Dr quite a bit about nursing while on clomid. We knew there was a risk of my milk drying up but she believed that to be a higher risk with newly lactating moms rather then someone like me who had been nursing DD for 2 years. It had no affect. She told me nursing while pregnant and tandem nursing is just fine... just let the baby nurse first when it comes time for that. I feel lucky to have her as a Dr because she accepts my crunchy ways no problem! She also told me she regrets weaning her son "so early". He was 20 months! So yeah, she gets it.
 
#48 ·
I'll see what DD, who is almost 22m does. If she weans, fine, but I am not going to force the issue. I can see the benefit of tandem nursing close-in-age siblings (basically to ease that jealousy and maintain that closeness and comfort for her during what is sure to be a stressful time). I never really imagined I'd be doing it (and this pregnancy was not planned, I never really imagined having kids this close in age) but hey.

I would love to have her night-weaned though! She's close. Except for this past week or so... I suspect that milk may be already going down some b/c she suddenly is asking to nurse a lot more. but she's also been sick, so maybe its that?
 
#49 ·
Poor DS, our main way to get him to go back to sleep just isn't working! he nurses, then pops off and pushes my boob around and touches the nipple and starts crying, latches on again, repeat. It took a long time to get him to go back to sleep the last couple nights. Bedtime and nighttime is the only time he gets to nurse so I don't really want to nightwean, but if there isn't any (or much) milk, it seems like that would be more frustrating than the alternative.

My OB didn't ask, so I didn't mention it, that we still nurse. For anybody that does ask (and that is nearly everyone that knows we are still nursing) I just say it is mainly a supply issue; it isn't that the new baby will be harmed by it or anything, but pregnancy is sapping my supply, so that is the only real downside. Doesn't seem to be much you can do about it, Adventures in Tandem Nursing seems to say that most galactogogues don't work well in pregnant women.

I may need DH to take over night time duties for a few days , but that also means weaning DS. It just breaks my heart to see him so pitiful! that, and I need him to get back to sleep easier . . .
 
#50 ·
So, are you all trying to get your LOs to drink more from other beverages? Any tips? My DD (almost 22mo) just isn't into other things much. She has a little (open) cup of milk or water at meals, but its seriously a few oz. She just isn't that into her sippy cup, or her straw cup. She kind of likes brother's sport-top water bottle so maybe I'll let her use that a bit... We're really strapped for $$ right now and I don't want to go buying a bunch of things for someone who is almost 2 and who CAN drink from an open cup just fine. I have resorted to letting her drink juice, which I normally don't think it so great for her. Also some vanilla soymilk (a fairly low sugar kind).

We do EC and so I am pretty aware of her peeing (lol, since she's usually not in diapers), and really, she's going maybe 4x per day!?! She'll be dry sometimes from 4PM until she wakes the next morning... ugh. Its making sense now that I realized that I am preggo- she still nurses 4x+ per day but might not be getting much (I can hear her swallowing, so its something).

I guess I'll just keep offering frequent, if small, drinks... maybe its time to try smoothies again? I am also trying to just add a splash of juice to her water so it has more taste...
 
#51 ·
I had been kinda stalking this thread, sorry, until I was sure. Got two BFPs yesterday though so I'm going to go ahead & let myself post, lol. This is one of many things that has been on my mind about ttc #3. My first two girls are spaced really far apart, so dd1 had weaned (at 4 y.o.) before I was pg again. This time though I dunno. Dd2 turns 3 next week. I feel like because she is older, more independent (I work nowadays so she goes to a little preschool), I wouldn't mind if she stopped when/if my milks dries up.

But then of course we all got really sick this month. She hasn't really recovered from the flu. Has an ear infection and possible secondary thing like pneumonia. It's been really scary. And she's eating, like, nothing. So my big plan of cutting back around her big girl 3rd bday party is kind of fading.

TeacherMomma, I have to agree that your OB sounds a little "counter-indicated" in this department.

And emmaegbert, hi again, I would say you're on the right track with giving her more options to drink from there. My toddler loved the sports bottles too.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top