Guest guest Posted July 27, 2004 Report Share Posted July 27, 2004 Can you slip a binky in to his mouth as you pull your nipple away? I have to do that with mine. He's 10 months old and still nurses at night - around midnight then around 4 a/m. When I weaned my older child I started off by eliminating the morning nurse, replacing it with a sippy cup of milk soon as he woke up. I gradually worked down to reducing mid-day nursings - having a sippy cup ready and eventually I put him to bed by giving him a cup of milk to drink first instead of nursing. Hold and cuddle while they sip from the cup because they get as much from the contact as they do for their belly, know what I mean? I recommend skipping the bottle, go straight to a cup or you'll just have to wean him from the bottle pretty soon. I have heard to give them watered down milk if they wake in the night and slowly reduce that until it's just a cup of water with no milk to break the stomach's habit of having food in the middle of the night. It's not worth waking up for water. s. Anyone else have a toddler who is still nursing? Weaning tips appreciated! Hi all! Well, Owen is almost 18 months and is still nursing. He's down to naptime, bedtime and then nighttime nursings. To be honest, I don't mind the naptime and bedtime....it's the nighttime nursings that are driving me batty! For a while there, he was sleeping through the night so everything was great. In the past month or so, he's been waking through the night solely to nurse. I usually bring him to our bed, he latches and then immediately settles down again while nursing. Each time I try to unlatch him (so that I can move him back to his bed), as if in a sleep-walking trance, he lurches his head forward to follow my breast and get latched back on -- he doesn't even wake during this time. Although, if I manage to get him off and cover up quickly before he gets back on, he wakes up and has a screaming fit. I've tried just ignoring him when he wakes up but he'll scream and cry until he's rescued....30 minutes of hoarse crying is about my limit since he shares a room with his 3 y/o sister -- not to mention that my stomach is in knots while I lay there trying to ignore him. I think tonight I may try turning off the baby monitor - perhaps if I can't hear him, it will be easier to ignore him and he'll get the message that 'booby time' is over! Any thoughts, ideas or tips are appreciated! Thanks, Daiga Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 27, 2004 Report Share Posted July 27, 2004 Can you slip a binky in to his mouth as you pull your nipple away? I have to do that with mine. He's 10 months old and still nurses at night - around midnight then around 4 a/m. When I weaned my older child I started off by eliminating the morning nurse, replacing it with a sippy cup of milk soon as he woke up. I gradually worked down to reducing mid-day nursings - having a sippy cup ready and eventually I put him to bed by giving him a cup of milk to drink first instead of nursing. Hold and cuddle while they sip from the cup because they get as much from the contact as they do for their belly, know what I mean? I recommend skipping the bottle, go straight to a cup or you'll just have to wean him from the bottle pretty soon. I have heard to give them watered down milk if they wake in the night and slowly reduce that until it's just a cup of water with no milk to break the stomach's habit of having food in the middle of the night. It's not worth waking up for water. s. Anyone else have a toddler who is still nursing? Weaning tips appreciated! Hi all! Well, Owen is almost 18 months and is still nursing. He's down to naptime, bedtime and then nighttime nursings. To be honest, I don't mind the naptime and bedtime....it's the nighttime nursings that are driving me batty! For a while there, he was sleeping through the night so everything was great. In the past month or so, he's been waking through the night solely to nurse. I usually bring him to our bed, he latches and then immediately settles down again while nursing. Each time I try to unlatch him (so that I can move him back to his bed), as if in a sleep-walking trance, he lurches his head forward to follow my breast and get latched back on -- he doesn't even wake during this time. Although, if I manage to get him off and cover up quickly before he gets back on, he wakes up and has a screaming fit. I've tried just ignoring him when he wakes up but he'll scream and cry until he's rescued....30 minutes of hoarse crying is about my limit since he shares a room with his 3 y/o sister -- not to mention that my stomach is in knots while I lay there trying to ignore him. I think tonight I may try turning off the baby monitor - perhaps if I can't hear him, it will be easier to ignore him and he'll get the message that 'booby time' is over! Any thoughts, ideas or tips are appreciated! Thanks, Daiga Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 27, 2004 Report Share Posted July 27, 2004 Can you slip a binky in to his mouth as you pull your nipple away? I have to do that with mine. He's 10 months old and still nurses at night - around midnight then around 4 a/m. When I weaned my older child I started off by eliminating the morning nurse, replacing it with a sippy cup of milk soon as he woke up. I gradually worked down to reducing mid-day nursings - having a sippy cup ready and eventually I put him to bed by giving him a cup of milk to drink first instead of nursing. Hold and cuddle while they sip from the cup because they get as much from the contact as they do for their belly, know what I mean? I recommend skipping the bottle, go straight to a cup or you'll just have to wean him from the bottle pretty soon. I have heard to give them watered down milk if they wake in the night and slowly reduce that until it's just a cup of water with no milk to break the stomach's habit of having food in the middle of the night. It's not worth waking up for water. s. Anyone else have a toddler who is still nursing? Weaning tips appreciated! Hi all! Well, Owen is almost 18 months and is still nursing. He's down to naptime, bedtime and then nighttime nursings. To be honest, I don't mind the naptime and bedtime....it's the nighttime nursings that are driving me batty! For a while there, he was sleeping through the night so everything was great. In the past month or so, he's been waking through the night solely to nurse. I usually bring him to our bed, he latches and then immediately settles down again while nursing. Each time I try to unlatch him (so that I can move him back to his bed), as if in a sleep-walking trance, he lurches his head forward to follow my breast and get latched back on -- he doesn't even wake during this time. Although, if I manage to get him off and cover up quickly before he gets back on, he wakes up and has a screaming fit. I've tried just ignoring him when he wakes up but he'll scream and cry until he's rescued....30 minutes of hoarse crying is about my limit since he shares a room with his 3 y/o sister -- not to mention that my stomach is in knots while I lay there trying to ignore him. I think tonight I may try turning off the baby monitor - perhaps if I can't hear him, it will be easier to ignore him and he'll get the message that 'booby time' is over! Any thoughts, ideas or tips are appreciated! Thanks, Daiga Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 27, 2004 Report Share Posted July 27, 2004 Dagia, All of mine have nursed past 2, I don't expect Darbi to be any different. My oldest nursed till 4 actually. I nursed through my pregnancy with #2 but because of the prospect of nursing aggravating another premature birth (nipple stim. produces oxytocin and while not a cause of preterm labor, if you're pre-disposed to it it could move it along which I think is part of what happened with my preemie) I weaned at 11w when I was pg with Darbi. I wish I hadn't done that. I know my second son could have used a little more nursing time with me. He was 2.5 yo though so it was ok to wean in my mind at that time. I would not wean before 2yo personally. In my experience a 2yo needs to nurse as much as a 1yo emotionally at least. My first child night weaned at 16mo when I was pg with his brother. The milk supply at night was limited and my breasts were irritated by nursing because of pg so I wouldn't let him nurse long in the first place. So he slept through at this age because when he would try to nurse there wasn't much there and I'd pop him off because of irritation and he just had to settle by himself then. We also co-sleep, there's no cribs in this house. Not that I didn't think I'd want one - but the MIL never got it for us and once I brought my first home there was NO WAY I was letting him sleep alone and get up in the middle of the night to nurse. No way, not me. I have never been sleep deprived, baby wakes, nuzzles and whimpers a little, latches on and we both go right back to sleep. Simply perfect. So all three have co-slept but when Darbi came I finally moved my boys to their own room and bed. They share a full size bed now and it seems to have helped with moving the middle child prematurely when Darbi was born. We just up and sent them to their own room lol. Not totally sudden because they'd been going to bed in that bed for a while and we would go and get them when we went to bed while I was pg but after Darbs, we put them to bed there and left them lol. Merek (#2) did not night wean that early. No matter what I did to try to discourage him from nursing at night he really seemed to need it. The kid was hungry, plain and simple. He is, and always has been the child in this house who needs food regularly and as soon as he's up he's wanting something to eat. He morning nursed constantly when he was a baby even after nursing 2 times at night. He would go to sleep around 8, wake at 11 or 12, again at 3 and again at 6 or 7 and then nurse all morning till I got my sorry self out of bed. Then he needed breakfast. He's still like that, constantly snacking all day long on fruit (LIVES for fruit) and needs his meals regularly or he gets very cranky. This child just needs food and I doubt I could have night weaned him before he was ready even if I really wanted to. He did night wean at somewhere around 21-22mo IIRC. Apparently that's when he was ready. Darbi now, is 16mo's and still night nursing. However, she goes to sleep at 8 (or 9 or 10 occasionally now that it's summer and light out later - the boys have taken to playing outside longer as well) and usually doesn't wake till 2 or 3am if I don't move her too much when I get into bed, usually pretty late like 1 or 2am for some stupid reason. Then she nurses at that time and again at about 7 or 8 am while I try to get a few more minutes of sleep. She seems determined to nurse at night, when she wakes she doesn't settle if she really wants to nurse. An interesting side note though, if she wakes before I go to bed often I have to go and lie with her and nurse her back to sleep. Been doing that for years so I'm fine with it. But sometimes... all she needs/wants is for me to massage her calves and sometimes I have to squeeze her shoes. Sometimes that puts her right back to sleep. I am looking forward to night weaning but I'm not going to press the matter because if she wants to, and feel hungry at night I am not terribly interested in depriving her after knowing her brother needing it for so long. She too is hungry in the morning and if I don't get breakfast to her right away she'll nurse all morning long anyway. Dunno if this was helpful - but maybe comforting to know you're not alone with the night nursing. Since we co-sleep it's easy for both of us to continue this. If she were waking in another room and I had to go get her... well it'd probably be a different story. Same as if it happened when they were infants - I'd hardly be able to deal with getting up and out of bed myself plus it takes quite a bit to wake me up so they'd end up crying to the point of hysterics which leaves a baby very awake and upset as opposed to sleepy and right back to sleep after latching in my experience. If you're bringing him to bed and then waiting for him to finish to take him back to his room... well that'd be where I drew the line. And it wouldn't be a hard line, it's be the one drawn between me relaxing and going back to sleep and me striving to stay awake long enough to unlatch him to take him back. I would be feeling like he's needing the comfort of mama in the night and since that doesn't bother me I'd not take him back but just leave him there with me. They all end up in bed with us in the morning anyway lol. Oh, and about the nursing to sleep thing. My first was able to go to sleep without nursing when he was about 18mo IIRC. So I would put him in our bed, read a story and he would go right to sleep. He did really good with this but remember, he's the one who nursed till 4. Merek, no way. He didn't not nurse to sleep till after 2yo sometime. Darbs is showing the same tendencies. Unless she's REALLY tired (like tired enough to fall asleep while I'm putting her shoes on - been known to happen) she wants to nurse. And she's the only one who I was EVER able to just lie in the bed, say goodnight and walk away when she was little. Last summer that happened all the time. She was around 2-5mo old when this phenomenon would happen. She also used to sleep through when she was just a few weeks old and occasionally till she was 5mo old too. But not anymore lol. I know this isn't helpful. No advice here. Just experiences :~} Good luck with what you choose to do- and if it doesn't happen remember... please remember... that this child will not nurse forever. You WILL someday look back and realize that he's weaned and will never nurse again. Will never sit in your lap and look up at you with those sweet adoring eyes again. Will never caress your arms and sides like he does when he's happy nursing now. Those *minutes* you spend sitting and nursing (or lying) and relaxing with him will likely not happen much after he weans - and when he's 3 or 4 and wants love he's going to come get a hug, sit for about 10 seconds and then be on his way again. So keep in mind that this phase is really and truly short lived and you won't ever get it back again so it might just be ok to let it go for a few more months till he shows you he's ready if you can stand it. If not - there are ways to night wean but they're all too labor intensive for me lol... I'm all for easy on mama hehe! Kori Mama of Kenton - 6/98 Merek - 3/00 Darbi - 3/28/03 - Rt. CF - DBB 12hr/d (¨`·.·´¨) `·.¸(¨`·.·´¨) `·.¸.·´ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 27, 2004 Report Share Posted July 27, 2004 Daiga, You know I don't think it is necessarily the nursing, but maybe the age. I only nursed Rose for about a month and switched her to formula. She is 16 1/2 months old and just the last week or so she has started waking up in the night crying. If I don't go get her hte crying gets louder and louder. When I get her she immediately snuggles up to me and is fine. When she has been asleep for 1/2 hour or so, I'll put her back to bed and as soon as she realizes I am not there, she starts crying again. The last three nights in a row she has managed to be in my bed come morning. : ) She has done this to me before and I have found that if I indulge her clingyness in a week or so it will go away. Hope it helps! Robin & Rose 3/12/03 Right club foot. Daiga Grady daiga.grady@...> wrote: Hi all! Well, Owen is almost 18 months and is still nursing. He's down to naptime, bedtime and then nighttime nursings. To be honest, I don't mind the naptime and bedtime....it's the nighttime nursings that are driving me batty! For a while there, he was sleeping through the night so everything was great. In the past month or so, he's been waking through the night solely to nurse. I usually bring him to our bed, he latches and then immediately settles down again while nursing. Each time I try to unlatch him (so that I can move him back to his bed), as if in a sleep-walking trance, he lurches his head forward to follow my breast and get latched back on -- he doesn't even wake during this time. Although, if I manage to get him off and cover up quickly before he gets back on, he wakes up and has a screaming fit. I've tried just ignoring him when he wakes up but he'll scream and cry until he's rescued....30 minutes of hoarse crying is about my limit since he shares a room with his 3 y/o sister -- not to mention that my stomach is in knots while I lay there trying to ignore him. I think tonight I may try turning off the baby monitor - perhaps if I can't hear him, it will be easier to ignore him and he'll get the message that 'booby time' is over! Any thoughts, ideas or tips are appreciated! Thanks, Daiga Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 27, 2004 Report Share Posted July 27, 2004 Kori, thanks for the encouragement! My problem is that my supply is dwindling...in fact, only one side really works any more. When he's on through the night, he's very aggressive - even though he's half asleep - and it is becoming increasingly uncomfortable. To boot, our bed seems too small (Queen) and no matter what, hubby will not budge an inch to relinquish ANY of HIS space. More than half the time, I end up just leaving Owen where he is but I then end up sleeping on the outer 6 inches of the bed on my side with no where to move or stretch or get comfortable...kwim?! I know what you mean about weaning before they're ready! My first weaned herself at 11 months (I don't think I was ready!) but as I was pregnant with #2 at the time, I think that my supply had decreased significantly. My second nursed until about 19 or 20 months - we were both ready for it to end - she was a very aggressive nurser from day 1 and it was beginning to take it's toll! My 3rd was weaned prematurely just before 12 months - I had to go out of town for a week for a family emergency and wasn't able to take her with me. I was so sad for her....my hubby said that she screamed all through the night for 3 nights straight and refused a sippy cup or bottle....the 4th night, she slept through. After a week, I got home, very engorged, and offered her the breast....she laughed at me and pushed it away - I was heartbroken! As I said, I don't have a problem nursing him through the day - he nurses just before nap and bed. It's the nights that are driving me crazy. Like Darby, he goes to bed around 7:30 - 8:00 but then usually wakes up before I've gone to bed around 11 or 12. I nurse him back to sleep and put him back in bed. Then he wakes again anywhere from 1 - 4. I really don't think that he's hungry - he only really nurses for about 2 minutes....but as soon as I try to withdraw, he's right into it again! I think for my own sanity, I need to get him to sleep through the night. Thanks again! Daiga > Dagia, > > All of mine have nursed past 2, I don't expect Darbi to be any > different. My oldest nursed till 4 actually. I nursed through my > pregnancy with #2 but because of the prospect of nursing aggravating > another premature birth (nipple stim. produces oxytocin and while not a > cause of preterm labor, if you're pre-disposed to it it could move it along > which I think is part of what happened with my preemie) I weaned at 11w > when I was pg with Darbi. I wish I hadn't done that. I know my second son > could have used a little more nursing time with me. He was 2.5 yo though > so it was ok to wean in my mind at that time. I would not wean before 2yo > personally. In my experience a 2yo needs to nurse as much as a 1yo > emotionally at least. > > My first child night weaned at 16mo when I was pg with his brother. The > milk supply at night was limited and my breasts were irritated by nursing > because of pg so I wouldn't let him nurse long in the first place. So he > slept through at this age because when he would try to nurse there wasn't > much there and I'd pop him off because of irritation and he just had to > settle by himself then. We also co-sleep, there's no cribs in this > house. Not that I didn't think I'd want one - but the MIL never got it for > us and once I brought my first home there was NO WAY I was letting him > sleep alone and get up in the middle of the night to nurse. No way, not > me. I have never been sleep deprived, baby wakes, nuzzles and whimpers a > little, latches on and we both go right back to sleep. Simply perfect. So > all three have co-slept but when Darbi came I finally moved my boys to > their own room and bed. They share a full size bed now and it seems to > have helped with moving the middle child prematurely when Darbi was > born. We just up and sent them to their own room lol. Not totally sudden > because they'd been going to bed in that bed for a while and we would go > and get them when we went to bed while I was pg but after Darbs, we put > them to bed there and left them lol. > > Merek (#2) did not night wean that early. No matter what I did to try to > discourage him from nursing at night he really seemed to need it. The kid > was hungry, plain and simple. He is, and always has been the child in this > house who needs food regularly and as soon as he's up he's wanting > something to eat. He morning nursed constantly when he was a baby even > after nursing 2 times at night. He would go to sleep around 8, wake at 11 > or 12, again at 3 and again at 6 or 7 and then nurse all morning till I got > my sorry self out of bed. Then he needed breakfast. He's still like that, > constantly snacking all day long on fruit (LIVES for fruit) and needs his > meals regularly or he gets very cranky. This child just needs food and I > doubt I could have night weaned him before he was ready even if I really > wanted to. He did night wean at somewhere around 21-22mo IIRC. Apparently > that's when he was ready. > > Darbi now, is 16mo's and still night nursing. However, she goes to sleep > at 8 (or 9 or 10 occasionally now that it's summer and light out later - > the boys have taken to playing outside longer as well) and usually doesn't > wake till 2 or 3am if I don't move her too much when I get into bed, > usually pretty late like 1 or 2am for some stupid reason. Then she nurses > at that time and again at about 7 or 8 am while I try to get a few more > minutes of sleep. She seems determined to nurse at night, when she wakes > she doesn't settle if she really wants to nurse. An interesting side note > though, if she wakes before I go to bed often I have to go and lie with her > and nurse her back to sleep. Been doing that for years so I'm fine with > it. But sometimes... all she needs/wants is for me to massage her calves > and sometimes I have to squeeze her shoes. Sometimes that puts her right > back to sleep. I am looking forward to night weaning but I'm not going to > press the matter because if she wants to, and feel hungry at night I am not > terribly interested in depriving her after knowing her brother needing it > for so long. She too is hungry in the morning and if I don't get breakfast > to her right away she'll nurse all morning long anyway. > > Dunno if this was helpful - but maybe comforting to know you're not alone > with the night nursing. Since we co-sleep it's easy for both of us to > continue this. If she were waking in another room and I had to go get > her... well it'd probably be a different story. Same as if it happened > when they were infants - I'd hardly be able to deal with getting up and out > of bed myself plus it takes quite a bit to wake me up so they'd end up > crying to the point of hysterics which leaves a baby very awake and upset > as opposed to sleepy and right back to sleep after latching in my experience. > > If you're bringing him to bed and then waiting for him to finish to take > him back to his room... well that'd be where I drew the line. And it > wouldn't be a hard line, it's be the one drawn between me relaxing and > going back to sleep and me striving to stay awake long enough to unlatch > him to take him back. I would be feeling like he's needing the comfort of > mama in the night and since that doesn't bother me I'd not take him back > but just leave him there with me. They all end up in bed with us in the > morning anyway lol. > > Oh, and about the nursing to sleep thing. My first was able to go to sleep > without nursing when he was about 18mo IIRC. So I would put him in our > bed, read a story and he would go right to sleep. He did really good with > this but remember, he's the one who nursed till 4. Merek, no way. He > didn't not nurse to sleep till after 2yo sometime. Darbs is showing the > same tendencies. Unless she's REALLY tired (like tired enough to fall > asleep while I'm putting her shoes on - been known to happen) she wants to > nurse. And she's the only one who I was EVER able to just lie in the bed, > say goodnight and walk away when she was little. Last summer that happened > all the time. She was around 2-5mo old when this phenomenon would > happen. She also used to sleep through when she was just a few weeks old > and occasionally till she was 5mo old too. But not anymore lol. > > I know this isn't helpful. No advice here. Just experiences :~} Good > luck with what you choose to do- and if it doesn't happen > remember... please remember... that this child will not nurse > forever. You WILL someday look back and realize that he's weaned and will > never nurse again. Will never sit in your lap and look up at you with > those sweet adoring eyes again. Will never caress your arms and sides like > he does when he's happy nursing now. Those *minutes* you spend sitting and > nursing (or lying) and relaxing with him will likely not happen much after > he weans - and when he's 3 or 4 and wants love he's going to come get a > hug, sit for about 10 seconds and then be on his way again. So keep in > mind that this phase is really and truly short lived and you won't ever get > it back again so it might just be ok to let it go for a few more months > till he shows you he's ready if you can stand it. If not - there are ways > to night wean but they're all too labor intensive for me lol... I'm all > for easy on mama hehe! > > > > Kori > Mama of > Kenton - 6/98 > Merek - 3/00 > Darbi - 3/28/03 - Rt. CF - DBB 12hr/d > (¨`·.·´¨) > `·.¸(¨`·.·´¨) > `·.¸.·´ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 28, 2004 Report Share Posted July 28, 2004 Hi My son is 15 months and I nursed him for about 6 months but I had to go back to work so I thought I could just do morning and night but I also found that one had more than the other and in the end I don't think he was getting anything..... I changed him to formula milk. He has never been the best sleeper and I would put him to bed at about 7.30 with his milk and then actually wake him at 11pm and give him another bottle which then took him through till 6.30/7am. I have just stopped giving him his 11pm feed and sometimes he goes through and sometimes (like last night) he must have woken 5 times. He had 2 extra bottles as he doesn't want comfort he just is so cross that he is awake but he doesn't want me to leave the room, so I could stay in there stroking his head for hours!!!! I still think it has been his bar that has made him restless but then again, it could of course be teeth!!! Who knows? Sometimes I wish I could just take him into bed with me so I could get some sleep, but now he is not used to it and is a complete wriggle, and we don't seem to have enough room either and it is so hot!! So I just have to make the best of the 8/10 nights that he does sleep through!! I am just thankful I am only part-time!!! Also he has dropped a nap in the day so maybe sleeps only an hour now. Does you son take any ordinary milk at all? Rach, Steve & Connor (b/l c/f UK) -- Anyone else have a toddler who is still nursing? Weaning tips appreciated! Hi all! Well, Owen is almost 18 months and is still nursing. He's down to naptime, bedtime and then nighttime nursings. To be honest, I don't mind the naptime and bedtime....it's the nighttime nursings that are driving me batty! For a while there, he was sleeping through the night so everything was great. In the past month or so, he's been waking through the night solely to nurse. I usually bring him to our bed, he latches and then immediately settles down again while nursing. Each time I try to unlatch him (so that I can move him back to his bed), as if in a sleep-walking trance, he lurches his head forward to follow my breast and get latched back on -- he doesn't even wake during this time. Although, if I manage to get him off and cover up quickly before he gets back on, he wakes up and has a screaming fit. I've tried just ignoring him when he wakes up but he'll scream and cry until he's rescued....30 minutes of hoarse crying is about my limit since he shares a room with his 3 y/o sister -- not to mention that my stomach is in knots while I lay there trying to ignore him. I think tonight I may try turning off the baby monitor - perhaps if I can't hear him, it will be easier to ignore him and he'll get the message that 'booby time' is over! Any thoughts, ideas or tips are appreciated! Thanks, Daiga Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 28, 2004 Report Share Posted July 28, 2004 LOL ! Actually, that breast has ALWAYS been bigger by at least a cup size - kind of makes it difficult to buy those sexy bras. It's also always been the favoured breast by all of my babes...it's the one that flows with little or no stimulation. I've been wanting to have my boobs 'done' for about 10 years but had decided to wait and have kids first and finish all of the breastfeeding stuff. Now that I'm *almost* there, I'm kind of excited. I have a consultation lined up for September. Daiga > > Dagia, > > > > All of mine have nursed past 2, I don't expect Darbi to be any > > different. My oldest nursed till 4 actually. I nursed through my > > pregnancy with #2 but because of the prospect of nursing > aggravating > > another premature birth (nipple stim. produces oxytocin and while > not a > > cause of preterm labor, if you're pre-disposed to it it could move > it along > > which I think is part of what happened with my preemie) I weaned at > 11w > > when I was pg with Darbi. I wish I hadn't done that. I know my > second son > > could have used a little more nursing time with me. He was 2.5 yo > though > > so it was ok to wean in my mind at that time. I would not wean > before 2yo > > personally. In my experience a 2yo needs to nurse as much as a 1yo > > emotionally at least. > > > > My first child night weaned at 16mo when I was pg with his > brother. The > > milk supply at night was limited and my breasts were irritated by > nursing > > because of pg so I wouldn't let him nurse long in the first place. > So he > > slept through at this age because when he would try to nurse there > wasn't > > much there and I'd pop him off because of irritation and he just > had to > > settle by himself then. We also co-sleep, there's no cribs in this > > house. Not that I didn't think I'd want one - but the MIL never > got it for > > us and once I brought my first home there was NO WAY I was letting > him > > sleep alone and get up in the middle of the night to nurse. No > way, not > > me. I have never been sleep deprived, baby wakes, nuzzles and > whimpers a > > little, latches on and we both go right back to sleep. Simply > perfect. So > > all three have co-slept but when Darbi came I finally moved my boys > to > > their own room and bed. They share a full size bed now and it > seems to > > have helped with moving the middle child prematurely when Darbi was > > born. We just up and sent them to their own room lol. Not totally > sudden > > because they'd been going to bed in that bed for a while and we > would go > > and get them when we went to bed while I was pg but after Darbs, we > put > > them to bed there and left them lol. > > > > Merek (#2) did not night wean that early. No matter what I did to > try to > > discourage him from nursing at night he really seemed to need it. > The kid > > was hungry, plain and simple. He is, and always has been the child > in this > > house who needs food regularly and as soon as he's up he's wanting > > something to eat. He morning nursed constantly when he was a baby > even > > after nursing 2 times at night. He would go to sleep around 8, > wake at 11 > > or 12, again at 3 and again at 6 or 7 and then nurse all morning > till I got > > my sorry self out of bed. Then he needed breakfast. He's still > like that, > > constantly snacking all day long on fruit (LIVES for fruit) and > needs his > > meals regularly or he gets very cranky. This child just needs food > and I > > doubt I could have night weaned him before he was ready even if I > really > > wanted to. He did night wean at somewhere around 21-22mo IIRC. > Apparently > > that's when he was ready. > > > > Darbi now, is 16mo's and still night nursing. However, she goes to > sleep > > at 8 (or 9 or 10 occasionally now that it's summer and light out > later - > > the boys have taken to playing outside longer as well) and usually > doesn't > > wake till 2 or 3am if I don't move her too much when I get into > bed, > > usually pretty late like 1 or 2am for some stupid reason. Then she > nurses > > at that time and again at about 7 or 8 am while I try to get a few > more > > minutes of sleep. She seems determined to nurse at night, when she > wakes > > she doesn't settle if she really wants to nurse. An interesting > side note > > though, if she wakes before I go to bed often I have to go and lie > with her > > and nurse her back to sleep. Been doing that for years so I'm fine > with > > it. But sometimes... all she needs/wants is for me to massage her > calves > > and sometimes I have to squeeze her shoes. Sometimes that puts her > right > > back to sleep. I am looking forward to night weaning but I'm not > going to > > press the matter because if she wants to, and feel hungry at night > I am not > > terribly interested in depriving her after knowing her brother > needing it > > for so long. She too is hungry in the morning and if I don't get > breakfast > > to her right away she'll nurse all morning long anyway. > > > > Dunno if this was helpful - but maybe comforting to know you're not > alone > > with the night nursing. Since we co-sleep it's easy for both of us > to > > continue this. If she were waking in another room and I had to go > get > > her... well it'd probably be a different story. Same as if it > happened > > when they were infants - I'd hardly be able to deal with getting up > and out > > of bed myself plus it takes quite a bit to wake me up so they'd end > up > > crying to the point of hysterics which leaves a baby very awake and > upset > > as opposed to sleepy and right back to sleep after latching in my > experience. > > > > If you're bringing him to bed and then waiting for him to finish to > take > > him back to his room... well that'd be where I drew the line. And > it > > wouldn't be a hard line, it's be the one drawn between me relaxing > and > > going back to sleep and me striving to stay awake long enough to > unlatch > > him to take him back. I would be feeling like he's needing the > comfort of > > mama in the night and since that doesn't bother me I'd not take him > back > > but just leave him there with me. They all end up in bed with us > in the > > morning anyway lol. > > > > Oh, and about the nursing to sleep thing. My first was able to go > to sleep > > without nursing when he was about 18mo IIRC. So I would put him in > our > > bed, read a story and he would go right to sleep. He did really > good with > > this but remember, he's the one who nursed till 4. Merek, no way. > He > > didn't not nurse to sleep till after 2yo sometime. Darbs is > showing the > > same tendencies. Unless she's REALLY tired (like tired enough to > fall > > asleep while I'm putting her shoes on - been known to happen) she > wants to > > nurse. And she's the only one who I was EVER able to just lie in > the bed, > > say goodnight and walk away when she was little. Last summer that > happened > > all the time. She was around 2-5mo old when this phenomenon would > > happen. She also used to sleep through when she was just a few > weeks old > > and occasionally till she was 5mo old too. But not anymore lol. > > > > I know this isn't helpful. No advice here. Just experiences :~} > Good > > luck with what you choose to do- and if it doesn't happen > > remember... please remember... that this child will not nurse > > forever. You WILL someday look back and realize that he's weaned > and will > > never nurse again. Will never sit in your lap and look up at you > with > > those sweet adoring eyes again. Will never caress your arms and > sides like > > he does when he's happy nursing now. Those *minutes* you spend > sitting and > > nursing (or lying) and relaxing with him will likely not happen > much after > > he weans - and when he's 3 or 4 and wants love he's going to come > get a > > hug, sit for about 10 seconds and then be on his way again. So > keep in > > mind that this phase is really and truly short lived and you won't > ever get > > it back again so it might just be ok to let it go for a few more > months > > till he shows you he's ready if you can stand it. If not - there > are ways > > to night wean but they're all too labor intensive for me lol... > I'm all > > for easy on mama hehe! > > > > > > > > Kori > > Mama of > > Kenton - 6/98 > > Merek - 3/00 > > Darbi - 3/28/03 - Rt. CF - DBB 12hr/d > > (¨`·.·´¨) > > `·.¸(¨`·.·´¨) > > `·.¸.·´ > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 28, 2004 Report Share Posted July 28, 2004 LOL ! Actually, that breast has ALWAYS been bigger by at least a cup size - kind of makes it difficult to buy those sexy bras. It's also always been the favoured breast by all of my babes...it's the one that flows with little or no stimulation. I've been wanting to have my boobs 'done' for about 10 years but had decided to wait and have kids first and finish all of the breastfeeding stuff. Now that I'm *almost* there, I'm kind of excited. I have a consultation lined up for September. Daiga > > Dagia, > > > > All of mine have nursed past 2, I don't expect Darbi to be any > > different. My oldest nursed till 4 actually. I nursed through my > > pregnancy with #2 but because of the prospect of nursing > aggravating > > another premature birth (nipple stim. produces oxytocin and while > not a > > cause of preterm labor, if you're pre-disposed to it it could move > it along > > which I think is part of what happened with my preemie) I weaned at > 11w > > when I was pg with Darbi. I wish I hadn't done that. I know my > second son > > could have used a little more nursing time with me. He was 2.5 yo > though > > so it was ok to wean in my mind at that time. I would not wean > before 2yo > > personally. In my experience a 2yo needs to nurse as much as a 1yo > > emotionally at least. > > > > My first child night weaned at 16mo when I was pg with his > brother. The > > milk supply at night was limited and my breasts were irritated by > nursing > > because of pg so I wouldn't let him nurse long in the first place. > So he > > slept through at this age because when he would try to nurse there > wasn't > > much there and I'd pop him off because of irritation and he just > had to > > settle by himself then. We also co-sleep, there's no cribs in this > > house. Not that I didn't think I'd want one - but the MIL never > got it for > > us and once I brought my first home there was NO WAY I was letting > him > > sleep alone and get up in the middle of the night to nurse. No > way, not > > me. I have never been sleep deprived, baby wakes, nuzzles and > whimpers a > > little, latches on and we both go right back to sleep. Simply > perfect. So > > all three have co-slept but when Darbi came I finally moved my boys > to > > their own room and bed. They share a full size bed now and it > seems to > > have helped with moving the middle child prematurely when Darbi was > > born. We just up and sent them to their own room lol. Not totally > sudden > > because they'd been going to bed in that bed for a while and we > would go > > and get them when we went to bed while I was pg but after Darbs, we > put > > them to bed there and left them lol. > > > > Merek (#2) did not night wean that early. No matter what I did to > try to > > discourage him from nursing at night he really seemed to need it. > The kid > > was hungry, plain and simple. He is, and always has been the child > in this > > house who needs food regularly and as soon as he's up he's wanting > > something to eat. He morning nursed constantly when he was a baby > even > > after nursing 2 times at night. He would go to sleep around 8, > wake at 11 > > or 12, again at 3 and again at 6 or 7 and then nurse all morning > till I got > > my sorry self out of bed. Then he needed breakfast. He's still > like that, > > constantly snacking all day long on fruit (LIVES for fruit) and > needs his > > meals regularly or he gets very cranky. This child just needs food > and I > > doubt I could have night weaned him before he was ready even if I > really > > wanted to. He did night wean at somewhere around 21-22mo IIRC. > Apparently > > that's when he was ready. > > > > Darbi now, is 16mo's and still night nursing. However, she goes to > sleep > > at 8 (or 9 or 10 occasionally now that it's summer and light out > later - > > the boys have taken to playing outside longer as well) and usually > doesn't > > wake till 2 or 3am if I don't move her too much when I get into > bed, > > usually pretty late like 1 or 2am for some stupid reason. Then she > nurses > > at that time and again at about 7 or 8 am while I try to get a few > more > > minutes of sleep. She seems determined to nurse at night, when she > wakes > > she doesn't settle if she really wants to nurse. An interesting > side note > > though, if she wakes before I go to bed often I have to go and lie > with her > > and nurse her back to sleep. Been doing that for years so I'm fine > with > > it. But sometimes... all she needs/wants is for me to massage her > calves > > and sometimes I have to squeeze her shoes. Sometimes that puts her > right > > back to sleep. I am looking forward to night weaning but I'm not > going to > > press the matter because if she wants to, and feel hungry at night > I am not > > terribly interested in depriving her after knowing her brother > needing it > > for so long. She too is hungry in the morning and if I don't get > breakfast > > to her right away she'll nurse all morning long anyway. > > > > Dunno if this was helpful - but maybe comforting to know you're not > alone > > with the night nursing. Since we co-sleep it's easy for both of us > to > > continue this. If she were waking in another room and I had to go > get > > her... well it'd probably be a different story. Same as if it > happened > > when they were infants - I'd hardly be able to deal with getting up > and out > > of bed myself plus it takes quite a bit to wake me up so they'd end > up > > crying to the point of hysterics which leaves a baby very awake and > upset > > as opposed to sleepy and right back to sleep after latching in my > experience. > > > > If you're bringing him to bed and then waiting for him to finish to > take > > him back to his room... well that'd be where I drew the line. And > it > > wouldn't be a hard line, it's be the one drawn between me relaxing > and > > going back to sleep and me striving to stay awake long enough to > unlatch > > him to take him back. I would be feeling like he's needing the > comfort of > > mama in the night and since that doesn't bother me I'd not take him > back > > but just leave him there with me. They all end up in bed with us > in the > > morning anyway lol. > > > > Oh, and about the nursing to sleep thing. My first was able to go > to sleep > > without nursing when he was about 18mo IIRC. So I would put him in > our > > bed, read a story and he would go right to sleep. He did really > good with > > this but remember, he's the one who nursed till 4. Merek, no way. > He > > didn't not nurse to sleep till after 2yo sometime. Darbs is > showing the > > same tendencies. Unless she's REALLY tired (like tired enough to > fall > > asleep while I'm putting her shoes on - been known to happen) she > wants to > > nurse. And she's the only one who I was EVER able to just lie in > the bed, > > say goodnight and walk away when she was little. Last summer that > happened > > all the time. She was around 2-5mo old when this phenomenon would > > happen. She also used to sleep through when she was just a few > weeks old > > and occasionally till she was 5mo old too. But not anymore lol. > > > > I know this isn't helpful. No advice here. Just experiences :~} > Good > > luck with what you choose to do- and if it doesn't happen > > remember... please remember... that this child will not nurse > > forever. You WILL someday look back and realize that he's weaned > and will > > never nurse again. Will never sit in your lap and look up at you > with > > those sweet adoring eyes again. Will never caress your arms and > sides like > > he does when he's happy nursing now. Those *minutes* you spend > sitting and > > nursing (or lying) and relaxing with him will likely not happen > much after > > he weans - and when he's 3 or 4 and wants love he's going to come > get a > > hug, sit for about 10 seconds and then be on his way again. So > keep in > > mind that this phase is really and truly short lived and you won't > ever get > > it back again so it might just be ok to let it go for a few more > months > > till he shows you he's ready if you can stand it. If not - there > are ways > > to night wean but they're all too labor intensive for me lol... > I'm all > > for easy on mama hehe! > > > > > > > > Kori > > Mama of > > Kenton - 6/98 > > Merek - 3/00 > > Darbi - 3/28/03 - Rt. CF - DBB 12hr/d > > (¨`·.·´¨) > > `·.¸(¨`·.·´¨) > > `·.¸.·´ > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 28, 2004 Report Share Posted July 28, 2004 > > Does you son take any ordinary milk at all? > > Rach, Steve & Connor (b/l c/f UK) Oh yes, he drinks from sippy cups through the day. He drinks milk or juice or punch drinks. It's not that he can't use a sippy cup through the night, it's that he won't. He's very stubborn! Last night I ended up going to bed and turning off the baby monitor. It worked...I slept through until 7am. Whether Owen woke or not, I don't know - if he did, I didn't hear him! He was fine this morning, FAB still on (he tends to take it off when he's having a tantrum in his crib - he's the only one of my 4 kids who can undo double and triple tied knots!), and ate breakfast like a champ. I think I'm going to continue with the monitor off for the remainder of the week and see what happens. Daiga Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 28, 2004 Report Share Posted July 28, 2004 Agreeing with Robin. Kai is 19 months and has just stopped doing this again. For about a month or so between 17-18 mo he was super clingy and refused to even fall asleep in his own bed. Bit by bit he began falling asleep in his own bed again (I tried it every night!) and then he stopped waking up in the middle of the night (again) last week, I think. Soooo ... it might just be that Owen is going thru one of those stages and so is unwilling to stop nursing. Just a thought, but when I ws weaning Kai, I weaned him from night nursing first. I usually sleep without a shirt on, but while doing this I made sure to always be covered, and when he woke up, I would go get him and bring him to bed and just cuddle him close, not nurse. If he did not settle down after a while, I would nurse him for a couple minutes then stop and just cuddle him. If he protested, I just quietly told him " no, no more nursing right now, it is sleep time " . It took some time, but soon he got the idea! Angel Re: Anyone else have a toddler who is still nursing? Weaning tips appreciated! Daiga, You know I don't think it is necessarily the nursing, but maybe the age. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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