So...we made it a year, or 13 months more precisely.
I'm now nursing a toddler.
Somehow this milestone has led everyone to start questioning how long I'm going to continue. As though people fear that continuing past a year is synonymous with nursing my kid until he's 7.
BTW, what's wrong with nursing my kid until he's 7 if I really wanted to?
My goal was always at least a year, but less than 2.
At this point we're going to 18 months but I'd still like to wean by the time he's 2. Mostly because I'd like to be on Baby Deux by then...not because I have a strong desire to stop nursing.
I now completely understand why people just keep going...and going. I have no reason to wean...other than the aforementioned Baby Deux.
It's not cumbersome, tedious, time-consuming or tiring.
It's calming, soothing, relaxing and still my MAGIC WEAPON.
In short, I really love nursing. It's been an easy enjoyable experience for us and I will be very sad when this relationship comes to an end.
It's not all cupcakes and roses though because while the nursing relationship has changed for the better since those exhausting newborn days...it has also changed for the worse in some ways.
The little bastard has started biting me.
The little bastard has started biting me.
Ok, it's not true biting but the fact that he has teeth is causing me some discomfort.
Sometimes there are teeth marks on my nipple. As though he's holding on with his teeth.
Again...not biting per se, just holding it in his teeth.
And sometimes when he pulls off he sort of SCRAPES his teeth along my nipple.
OUCH.
He doesn't do it always, but enough. I can see how if he did it all the time I would be like I'M DONE, NO MORE BOOB FOR YOU!
Luckily he's not doing it enough to make me want to stop...but I can see why women quit cold turkey if their kid starts biting.
Who knows, maybe one day before my aforementioned 18 months he'll bite me and I'll cut him off.
But for now we're still going strong and will continue to do so for roughly the next 6 months to a year.
So, am I in the minority continuing to nurse my toddler?
How long did you/will you go?
I agree with everything above! Pre-kids I never thought I'd nurse past 1 yr, but I realized around 13 months with Stella that I had no reason to STOP nursing, so I didn't. It truly is the magic weapon. :) I weaned Stella cold turkey at 17 months, only b/c I was magically pregnant somehow and was so exhausted & nauseous & touched out that I couldn't handle it. Otherwise I'm sure we'd have gone closer to 2 years. It's a personal decision, no matter what you do!
ReplyDeleteWe're at 10.5 months now, and I have no reason or plans to stop nursing, either (even nursing his long is not exactly usual around here). However, on "normal" days he barely nurses anymore during the day, basically only for his naps. When he does nurse awake, it's only a quick stop-and-go, which makes nursing in public pretty annoying - I'm constantly covering boob with hand, and as soon as I think he's had enough, he turns back and wants more.
ReplyDeleteHe also bit for about 2 or 3 days when he got his first tooth. Ouch! Not looking forward to those top teeth.
We are at 10 months now, with no plan to stop. I am just going to flow with it- if it comes to a point where she wants to wean or I feel intuitively it is time, we'll stop. Till then? I like the closeness and comfort of it. The only thing that it really hinders is traveling solo without Iyla- but I am not quite ready for that either!
ReplyDeleteHi from PAIL! I don't think you're the minority at all! I'm reading about so many mothers who are continuinig past the 12 month mark :)
ReplyDeleteI started weaning my son, G, at 12 months and was offically done nursing when he was 13 months. I was going to stop at 6 months, but nursing is so much easier than prepping and cleaning bottles! Then I reassessed at 9 months and decided I had three more months before G turned a year, my ultimate goal to nurse and/or pump, so I kept going. Even though I finally understood why some moms keep going after a year, and I was tempted to continue, I really was ready personally. Selfish? Maybe. But after so many friends having to stop between 2-9 months for vairous reasons, I was proud of what I accomplished.
We're just over a year here and I'm still nursing 2-3 times a day. I have no idea when we'll stop...
ReplyDeleteyay for 13 months and magic weapons! Glad you guys are still going strong and all is well on that front. We are 10.5 months in with no signs of stopping....not to mention I have given her all of 3 bottles ever, so we are not starting now! I really don't ever want to have to wean....so I am hoping when the time is right she will just wean herself. I have heard lots of people say that the baby just quit when they went back to work...so we will see. We really don't use nursing as a magic weapon at all and just nurse morning/bed and before each nap....so I don't know if that will make it more seamless? I would kind of like to nurse morning and night for a while, so I can't see myself kicking her off anytime soon, unless we have to do fertility treatment for #2. If we get pregnant on our own, I might just nurse through the pregnancy!
ReplyDelete13 months. Would have gone to 18m if I didn't want baby 2. We had dropped to morning feed only. Now she has no interest at all :( looks at them like what are those droopy things!!
ReplyDeleteHi - we are still nursing at 15 mo! and I don't think we are giving up any time soon. Also have the problem about ttc #2 esp since I am 40 next year... but hey... if we have to have an only child, so be it... onestepatatime.co.za
ReplyDeleteI'm planning on stopping after a year, but gently weaning and not pushing it. I imagine it will take a few months before we're done. The reason I plan on starting the weaning process immediately after he turns 1? My son is 10.5 months old and has been a biter/teeth scraper/etc since about 8 months, when he got all four of the teeth he has. The pain and cracked/sore nipples come and go throughout the month (I also already have my period back and notice more soreness during hormonal shifts) but by and large nursing is more painful than it isn't these days. I see an LC regularly and do all the preventative stuff like lanolin, etc...and yep, still painful. So we'll be stopping shortly after he turns 1, unless things dramatically improve between now and then.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure why that gave my screen name as unknown, by the way. Sorry about that!
ReplyDelete