Anyone still nursing now that we're in the final weeks? How's it going?

465 Views 14 Replies 11 Participants Last post by Mamabeakley, Apr 6, 2006

Guinevere

Discussion Starter · Apr 3, 2006

You know, all my other kiddos self-weaned at some point in my pg's, so I've never had the opportunity to tandem nurse before, but it's looking like I might get my chance this time around!

Charlotte is still hanging in there, and nurses anywhere from 0-3 times a day. The longest she's gone without nursing has been 2 days, but then she'll ask again and pick right back up. She's almost 21 mos. old.

A few weeks ago, I was SO done with it, b/c it just felt AWFUL

, like nails on a blackboard. I had NO milk and NO colostrum yet, so she was dry nursing, plus she's got terrible lazy toddler latch, so it was just painful and I'd grit my teeth the whole time.

Then, just this past week (I'm 32 wks. right now), it got MUCH better -- my colostrum's in now, and it's made it much less painful to nurse her. Plus, I've had to get adamant about not letting her latch on badly, and that's making a difference, too. Before, she would latch on too superficially, just on the nipple (ouch!), and wouldn't flange her lips and so her teeth would rub (double ouch!) Now, if she does that, I take her off and tell her that it hurts and she needs to open BIG

and be gentle with Mommy. Seems to be helping. Still, I'm looking forward to nursing her with MILK, b/c I think it will make a huge difference; just a few more weeks to go now...

Anyone else relate to my ramblings

?

Guin

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lacysmommy

· #2 · Apr 3, 2006

I'm still nursing, got my colostrum quite a while ago actually. I only was dry nursing for maybe a week or two tops. I lost my milk by about 18 or 19 weeks and had colostrum about 2 weeks after that IIRC. But suddenly my nipples are sore again like they were in the first trimester! I don't know what's up because I can squirt the colostrum so I'm definately not dry nursing! (Maybe because it's the weekend and she nurses more on the weekends because I'm not at work? Or maybe she's starting to get her 2 year molars?)

DD nurses at least once a day still, on days I work she nurses at night before bed and sometimes in the evening if she really needs it. Today she nursed about 3 or 4 times. She also nurses if she wakes up in the middle of the night, and she nursed about an hour ago when she fell off the bed (she was sleeping on DH's side and she's used to having more room to her left, poor thing!).

I'm starting to get a little nervous about how this whole tandem nursing thing is going to play out! Especially since DD likes to nurse to sleep and sometimes it takes her 45 minutes or longer to settle down completely (we're thinking of doing the one bottle a day during bedtime with the new baby so DD2 will be able to actually take a bottle if the need arises for me to return to work. DD1 took 2 months before she actually accepted a bottle and ended up reverse cycling instead).

Can't wait to get DD on mama's milk again, too-- she only weighs 21 pounds at 20 months old and is pretty tall, so she's really quite thin. My thick newborn milk will do her some good!

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nitareality

· #3 · Apr 3, 2006

I came here to post about this! DS (2) has recently started nursing again in bigger volumes...he'd been dry nursing for just a minute or two about every other day for a while, now we're nursing 1-4 times a day for 5 min. + daily. It's been on the increase since I got my colostrum in, maybe a month ago. It hurts, I hadn't been prepared for that, but I see it's hurting others too so I'll take it as normal. I've always been a little too forgiving about latch

. I'd been hoping to tandem nurse, so I'm excited that he's nursing again, but I think I'm going to have to go back to basics and work on technique if we're going to last!

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dharmama

· #4 · Apr 4, 2006

We're still nursing!!

I'm 35 weeks and DD (21 mos) is nursing a LOT!!! (I was just trying to count in my head....morning...mid-morning...before nap....after nap....late afternoon...before bed... I didn't actually realize she was nursing that much.)

I lost my milk a little before Christmas and colostrum came in about a month later. Since then her nursing has been steadily increasing.

I'm SO happy that she is still nursing and really looking forward to tandem nursing (definitely a little nervous about it too!!

).

DD and I have been talking about how she's going to teach the new baby how to have monnies and how she's going to share with the baby.

She's been having me nurse her baby doll while I nurse her....and last week she asked me to nurse a stuffed lady bug and a Curious George. I had to draw the line when she asked me to nurse our dog though!!

Quote:

Can't wait to get DD on mama's milk again, too-- she only weighs 21 pounds at 20 months old and is pretty tall, so she's really quite thin. My thick newborn milk will do her some good!

Same here. DD is also 21 pounds (at 21 1/2 mos). Can't wait for her to have some nice rich mama milk!!!

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Guinevere

Discussion Starter · #5 · Apr 4, 2006

Quote:

Can't wait to get DD on mama's milk again, too-- she only weighs 21 pounds at 20 months old and is pretty tall, so she's really quite thin. My thick newborn milk will do her some good!

Quote:

Same here. DD is also 21 pounds (at 21 1/2 mos). Can't wait for her to have some nice rich mama milk!!!

Yep, my DD is also 21 lbs. at almost 21 mos., lol! But all my kids are stringbeans that way. I agree it will be nice to "plump" her up a bit

!

Guin

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KatSG

· #6 · Apr 4, 2006

Butting in here since I've already weaned dd...but I'm really curious...

How do you hold your dc's while you're nursing? We can barely read a book with her on my lap because my belly is so big, and she sould never be able to reach my breasts if she was laying in my arms.

Maybe I'm a little jealous, not of the nursing, but of the ability to be close. Dd actually tried to "move" my belly the other night because she was so frustrated that she can't cuddle with me like she used to.

Sorry, don't mean to hijack your thread!

Guinevere

Discussion Starter · #7 · Apr 4, 2006

Hey there, Kat!

In our case, my belly actually makes a lovely little "shelf" for Charlotte to lie on top of while she nurses, lol, or, more often, she lies next to me in bed in order to nurse. That seems most comfortable for both of us, although Sophie loves to be really active and kick her big sister when we lie like that, which feels a bit funny!

Quite a few of my girlfriends have also nursed toddlers during pg and from watching them, I know that the nursing positions are really varied. One toddler I know stands to nurse (that's not really Charlie's and my nursing style, but I can see how it would be ideal for the "quick snack" kind of nurser.) Another one lies off to her mom's side on the sofa (kind of like a lateral football hold) when she nurses. As with so many things in life, sometimes you just need to get creative!

Guin

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ent_mom

· #8 · Apr 4, 2006

Still nursing here too. It isn't exactly comfortable but workable. Now tweaking, that's another story!! We're working on weaning just the tweaks, and it's been tough going. Colostrum is in, as of a few weeks ago, but it doesn't seem as though DD is getting any.

I ask her and she shakes her head no. She nurses often, but not nearly as much as she did in the Fall. My milk totally dried up in December.

I know the body does things for a reason, but I still feel so betrayed by it. Tweaking never phased me pre-pg and now I feel some really awful feelings.

I'm thankful though that those same feelings don't raise their ugly head with just nursing (although sometimes, due to irriitation/annoyance, I can't fall asleep with her latched on like I always used to).

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provocativa

· #9 · Apr 4, 2006

My dd turns 3 in June, and nurses 1-3 times a day. I got my colostrum quite awhile ago. Every now and then I'll have a big h20 demand day from the baby, colostrum production will abate, and then dry nursing will hurt. We have battled thrush and continue to do so- sometimes it's hard to tell if pain is from hormones, or thrush, or teeth. She rarely nurses, but gets sad if I tell her it's hurting me.

Nanners

· #10 · Apr 4, 2006

DS (21 mos) was nursing at bedtime and naptime, and sometimes once or twice during the day. Then PTL set in on 3/13, I was hospitalized for 2 wks, and am home on bedrest now. He's only mentioned it twice, and seemed very accepting when I told him the ninny was all gone now, so I don't suppose it was too traumatic for him. I hadn't planned on weaning, but was a little nervous about the demands of 2 nurslings, so maybe it's for the best. Glad the tandem thing is looking like it'll work for so many of you. I planned on it, too, but, hey, that's life, right?

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Think of Winter

· #11 · Apr 4, 2006

I'm 32 wks, and my 27 mo ds is just self-weaning now

I've been complaining non-stop about how uncomfortable bfing has been, but now that he's stopping, I'm really sad. I think the taste is changing, because he's been biting, then stopping. When I asked him why, he said "milk is yucky." Just when I'd gotten used to the idea of tandem nursing...

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Think of Winter

· #12 · Apr 4, 2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by KatSG
How do you hold your dc's while you're nursing? We can barely read a book with her on my lap because my belly is so big

I have trouble holding ds on my lap, too, but when bfing, he just curls around my belly. We've also tried standing, and bfing in bed lying down. Where there's a will, there's a way!

brackin

· #13 · Apr 6, 2006

Still going strong, here. I agree with pps--it hurts much less now that colostrum has come in--and dd enjoys it much more! She is very average in size, so it will be interesting to see how she "plumps up" when ds (and milk) arrives.

As far as position goes, dd sits beside me in the rocking chair and I semi-recline on my side next to her.

Anyone else reading Adventures in Tandem Nursing?

dharmama

· #14 · Apr 6, 2006

Quote:

Anyone else reading Adventures in Tandem Nursing?

I read it early on in my pregnancy but haven't picked it up in a while. I thought it was a really helpful, honest book.

Mamabeakley

· #15 · Apr 6, 2006

DS (25 mo) is still nursing and doesn't look like stopping. I don't especially *want* to tandem nurse, but I don't want to wean him against his will, either, so I probably will - and I don't exactly *mind*, either.

He nurses when he wakes up (from night or nap), when he goes to sleep (ditto), when he bumps himself, and anytime he wants more attention from me. Mostly not for very long. I am sore again, I think just due to changing hormones, though I've also had some minor thrush (he hasn't had any symptoms, just me.) I do NOT enjoy nursing the way I did before I was pg.

But actually, I think the process of me learning to set boundaries to limit nursing when I just can't stand it and him learning to accept those boundaries as not personal and not a sign that I don't care about him has probably been very helpful in the transition from him being an only to him being a big brother. We've been working on the changes gradually through nursing rather than having a sudden drastic change. I expect there will be some degree of "sudden drastic change" but probably not as much as there would have been otherwise.

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