[haleyelianasmom]

My dd will be 1 year old in another 2 weeks. She doesn't eat much food and still nurses every couple hours. She started showing more interest in food around 10 months and now will feed herself quite a bit in a sitting if I keep giving her more food. So yesterday I got worried... Is this the beginning of an end? I want to nurse her AT LEAST 2 years and I want it to still be a major source of nutrition for a while. Yesterday, I gave her hoummos and avocado, then bathed her (it got messy), then we had to go to the birth center for a gathering right away, she played there for almost 2 hours and fell asleep on the car ride home... And she's laying there on the mat in the living room and suddenly I panicked "when was the last time she nursed???" She was so busy playing at the birth center that she never wanted to nurse (I tried once but she didn't want to). I was so worried I actually tried to get her to wake up and nurse. She wasn't upset, so maybe she wasn't going hungry, but my breasts started feeling full (which doesn't really happen to me anymore except maybe first thing in the morning) and she doesn't really eat THAT much yet.

Is that what it's like nursing a toddler? Sometimes they just get too busy to nurse?

 

[~Megan~]

For me it was a really slow process. Occasionally they are so distracted that they don't want to nurse as much but the desire and need to nurse is still very strong.

 

[alegna]

Well, my dd pretty much never gets TOO busy to nurse.

Maybe for an hour or two, but not much longer. It's very individual I think.

-Angela

 

[EastonsMom]

E still nurses ALOT and he is 15 monthes. Somedays it is only a bite or two of table food and ALOT of nursing and sometimes it is ALL the table food with just a 'snack' here and there. IMO he will eat/ nurse when he needs it. I try and not and stress over it because everyday is different. As long as he is thriving( NEVER a problem) and happy, it works for me.

 

[JunipersMom]

My babe, 15 months, has some days where she doesn't want to nurse at all except for when she goes to sleep. And then other days I cant get her off the boob. I think all babes go through stages and I wouldn't worry about your babe weaning yet... you may be writing next week looking for advice on how to get anything done with a toddler on the breast all day

 

[BlueStateMama]

DD (16 months) isn't "scheduled" intentionally, but I find that there are certain times that she is used to or expects to nurse and I take advantage of that and take a break in the action to nurse her then (ie when she wakes up, before her am nap, after her am nap, before and after her afternoon nap, a snacky nurse before dinner and bedtime.) She's so busy that if I waited for her to initiate nursing, she'd probably forget!

We usually go upstairs to my room and I nurse her on the boppy - she has such a strong association with that that she starts yelling, "Sie??? SIE???" (her word for "nursie") whenever she sees it.

 

[Marco Esquandolas]

Quote:

Originally Posted by haleyelianasmom Is that what it's like nursing a toddler? Sometimes they just get too busy to nurse?

Yep. And enjoy it. Because other days, it is the dead opposite. They are fickle fickle people and while they KNOW what they want and need, they feel free to be curious and sometimes put off nursies b/c well, life is all fun and new stuff is cool, and mama is always there. Pat yourself on the back for establishing such strong bonds in your relationship that your child feels confident enough to check out the world w/out a boob in the mouth. Enjoy your big break in all of one day of your entire nursing relationship. That was all it was, imo.

 

[timneh_mom]

My DS is 21 months now AND I have pretty much no milk anymore due to being pregnant... and he STILL wants to nurse. Even if it's a couple of times a day, he still wants to, and needs to... especially at bedtime/naptime.

I think it's wonderful you want to nurse til 2... I'd just go with the flow each day, sometimes they do get really busy but still want to come back for that 2 minute reconnection with mom.

And most likely, with teething or illness, she will want it quite a bit! The changes are pretty gradual, though, so you'll begin to see what your daughter is like as she gets older!

 

[Periwinkle]

Easy! And lovely. Zero downsides so far for us, honestly. My ds is 18 months old and still nurses anywhere from 3 to 6+ times a day, depending on what he wants. He is nightweaned - has been for some time now.

 

[midstreammama]

My 19mo still nurses quite often, matter of fact, if I'm sitting there is a pretty good chance dd will come along and lift my shirt to nurse. She can go a pretty long stretch if she has to. I went shopping last night from 7 to 10:30pm and she wasn't upset that she couldn't nurse in that time....but as soon as I came thru that door she wanted it...NOW. It is very much a confort for her now, so I let her do it...I love that she can help herself if we are sleeping

...I still get a pretty good sleep. My toddler is more fidgity nursing and more on the run type nurser but, we adapted...and we're going strong.

Ok, i am rambling. It's getting late.

 

[Synchro246]

My 18mo old nurses as much as a newborn some days and then won't nuse much on days where we are busy with other children. If we are shopping it's somewhere in between. I ,too, think it's very individual and a slow process. It's the beginning of the end the moment the baby takes his first bite of solids, but the end is FAR away. Follow your child's lead and you probably won't go wrong.
I do have to say that starting at about 14 months I didn't like to nurse baby to sleep anymore. The non-nutrative suckling IRRITATED the crap out of me. I think night weaning might be in our future and now I really understan the meaning of the AAP's words about "as long as mutually desired". I intended to let my kid be a self-weaner too.

 

[MCatLvrMom2A&X]

Both mine once they started walking the day nursing went way down. Ds now at 21m nurses maybe 3-4 times in the day time then makes up for it at night

 

[MyZoeJane]

My DD is 32 months old and some days she'll nurse 9 or 10 times.. others 2 or 3... The whims of a toddler are difficult to predict!

 

[haleyelianasmom]

Thanks for the replies!

She's still nursing quite frequently, I think that playgroup just threw her off. She loves her nursies. In fact, yesterday and today have been much the opposite. She has been trying to figure out how to pull my breast out of my top on several occasions while out

 

[sewingbarbj]

Every toddler is so different!
I am now nursing my third and so far each has been different!
I think the one thing they all had in common wash the fact that you can count on them liking to nurse at nap and bed time and when ever they are hurt of sick.
This kind of nursing does not need to be encouraged they will let you know when they want to.

 

[heatherdeg]

Mine is 31 months. He can go most of the day without nursing (just wake-up and going to bed) or he can nurse every 2 hours (usually when teething). It's a crap shoot!

 

[sparklefairy]

Yes. And sometimes they cut way back for a few weeks and then suddenly want to nurse a lot more often again.

 

[haleyelianasmom]

And today we were at a different group at the same birth center with WAY more people there and she nursed maybe 3-4 times (we were there for 3 hours). So I guess you're all right on the "crap shoot" comments

 

[lyttlewon]

Quote:

Originally Posted by haleyelianasmom Is that what it's like nursing a toddler? Sometimes they just get too busy to nurse?

It's fun mostly. She is a goof ball and plays a lot. If you ask her a question sometimes she will shush you and say "I am drinking my milk right now". Sometimes it is annoying because I get touched out, from the rubbing of the eyebrows or the toes in the nose. Yesterday she decided she wanted to nurse with a blanket over her head which she would never do as a baby.