When do you stop offering to nurse? Your thoughts please.

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Yes, I will be reminding him of that! He also offers her food and water, it just seems to be the numna that's an issue at the moment.

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I agree - toddlers can get very focused on their activities & then be starvacious and cranky. Whether you are offering breast or another type of snack you will proably have to keep offering for years to come!

I quit offering when it was no longer a need. As you know this is a relationship and at times if you go too long without nursing it can be uncomfortable so at those times I would offer to nurse. If child said no (yeah, right) then I would express a bit into the sink.

Other times I felt the child did need to nurse, at this age they can get busy playing and forget to nurse. Only the mother can know that the child needs to have a break and nurse a bit. Now if they wiggle to get down I let them go.

A big part of being mom is that you must anticipate your child's needs. As they get older you can rely on them more to say I am hungry, I am tired and so on and let them have a bit more independence. I think 18 months is still pretty young and the child needs to have a bit of structure set for them or they can become over tired, cranky, irritable and very hard to settle. I feel only the mother has the ability to really discern what the child needs throughout the day because of the breastfeeding relationship that establishes a very unique form of communication between mother and child.

So if your mama instinct is telling you to offer nursing then you are the only one who can know if this is correct.

I absolutely offered until dd was 2- because I feel very strongly that all children NEED to nurse until a minimum of 2 years old. After that it's hit and miss. DD never goes TOO long without asking and I offer if she seems to need to center or calm down. But I don't offer as often as I did before.

-Angela

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Thank you for the reminder about my instincts. The conversation with my DH raised some doubts for me about what I'm doing. I did flat out tell him, no I'm going to change what I'm doing, but still...it raised doubts. I don't like that! Although, it is good to have a reality check and this has helped me think through the nursing relationship I have with DD - and commit even more! I'll have to thank DH...

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Angela,
Thank you, this helps. In my mind I had targeted age two as the minimum age. Guess I need to share my thoughts and plan with DH! I've really just been going with the relationship - not questioning or thinking - just doing - until this point.

Congratulations, by the way, on the "someone new!"

My daughter is 17 months and I offer. I think of it this way: I can anticipate getting hungry before feeling hunger, and avoid getting stressed/upset before it escalates. My daughter is way too young to do that, so it's my job to do it for her at this age, and offer the breast before she needs to fuss or ask for it.
Trust your instincts!

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It is so nice to have the ability to help your child relax in that way - thanks for your post!

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That's interesting that she wants more as you were edging away - so smart aren't they. I saw your post (about being almost converted to CLW) - glad you are coming to resolution over what to do too!

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Yes, sometimes I feel like I'm begging a little too - but it's really "please won't you sit and be still and eat for a bit - focus, girl, focus" - not so much nurse. And my girl nurses a lot at night - much more than during the day. Guess it is easier to focus when your eyes are shut!

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This is a great perspective and one that I will share with DH. I'm wondering if part of his issue is that he isn't really able to do this for her yet. Thank you.