<p>Current nursling will be 3 in 6 weeks, my older two nursed until well beyond 3 ;-) All of mine nursed "more than a newborn" at 2 1/2. And I never tandem nursed (older 2 were twins), so there was no new baby to bring more milk. There were definitely periods of time when I was going completely crazy with the constant demands to nurse. It does get easier! They get more flexible and more willing to accept other forms of comfort or food. And you become better at predicting when an inconvenient request to nurse is likely to occur, and offering a substitute before they ask. With all of mine at this age, I found that once they've thought of nursing, it's hard to get them to accept something else. So if you can plan ahead and offer food or a cuddle or whatever before they think to ask for milk, you're more likely to successfully avoid the meltdown. 2 1/2 year olds are pretty insistent that they want whatever it is they want whenever they want it(doesn't just apply to nursing!). And by 3, they can understand a discussion beforehand if you want to avoid nursing during a certain event or for a certain time (for instance, my older two went to a co-op nursery school at this age & we talked ahead of time about how they couldn't nurse at school - never had an issue with it).</p>
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<p>I night weaned my twins at 2 1/2, which made a big difference in my sanity and tolerance. Haven't (yet!) with my DD, but I am considering it as I have insomnia and the night waking coupled w/ my own inability to sleep makes for a tired, grumpy Mommy. We have limits at night, though. I can handle her nursing on both sides, but if she starts switching back/forth, I tell her "you can nurse until I count to 10, then it's time to roll over and go back to sleep." Almost always works. She's a busy little girl and loves to be out/about, so getting her out of the house and keeping her busy with friends or at the playground or another outing basically stops the requests to nurse. And remembering to FEED her helps - sometimes we get so busy and she isn't good at sitting down with us to eat, that I realize she hasn't eaten all day when it's lunchtime. Still, it's amazing to me how she can nurse every 20 minutes on one day and only 3-4 times on others, but she does.</p>
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<p>I do wonder how much of the constant requests to nurse that you're hearing are due to a new sibling. Your DS might be asking so much because he knows it's a sure way to get your attention or reconnect with you. If you're busy with a new baby, it may also be his way of asking you to slow down and spend more time at his speed, focusing on things that are important to him. If possible, you might spend a few days really just focusing on his needs and wants, getting down on the floor and playing with him as much as possible, ignoring all the other daily chores (the laundry isn't going to go anywhere, after all!) and see if that makes a difference. Sometimes our kids are trying to tell us something when their demands go beyond our tolerance.</p>