1. How old is your LO? 2. Did you plan on nursing this long? 3. What are your plans for weaning? 4. What's your favorite part of nursing an older baby/toddler?
Non-breastfeeding question of the week: What's something funny your LO has said/done recently?
Please feel free to suggest questions for future check-ins!
2. Did you plan on nursing this long? My original, lofty goal while pregnant was 2 years, but there were definitely times during the first year that I thought there was no way I'd make it. Once I got to 1 year things got exponentially easier. 3. What are your plans for weaning? Still thinking child-led, but I've been setting more limits w/r/t session length. 4. What's your favorite part of nursing an older baby/toddler? This is a major bummer, but right now, nothing. I'm about 7 weeks pregnant with #2, and I've pretty much been hating every second of nursing DS for the last few weeks and feeling horrible about it. I'm hoping the nursing aversion will subside a little. Any encouragement from BTDT moms greatly appreciated!!
Non-breastfeeding question of the week: What's something funny your LO has said/done recently? I used to frequently say to DS, "where'd you learn how to be so cute? did you go to cutie school?" now when i ask him "where'd you learn how to be so cute?" he says, "i went to cutie school!"
Please feel free to suggest questions for future check-ins!
1. How old is your LO? Almost 15 months 2. Did you plan on nursing this long? Yes. 3. What are your plans for weaning? Self wean or see how it goes when we get pregnant again. 4. What's your favorite part of nursing an older baby/toddler? I love that she can tell me what she wants when she needs it and she's gotten good at maneuvering herself so positioning her isn't all on me anymore.
Non-breastfeeding question of the week: What's something funny your LO has said/done recently? She likes to drop items behind furniture and turn around and give an "uh oh" with her two hands raised palms up. It's adorable.
2. Did you plan on nursing this long? Yes...I was always planning a year and hoping for 2
3. What are your plans for weaning? The thought of weaning makes me sad. Sunday morning was the last time we decided that he will nurse in the morning. We are TTC and the lactation is really getting in the way of that. Hoping I can get KU and still nurse at least once a day for a while longer. I may need to wean completely if this doesn't work. I don't like it.
4. What's your favorite part of nursing an older baby/toddler?I have so much guilt for leaving him every day when I go to work. And it's still the only thing that only I can do for him. It's our time together. Like the pp said, also it's nice to be able to calm him when nothing else works.
Non-breastfeeding question of the week: What's something funny your LO has said/done recently?Whenever he spills some water, or finds dirt on the floor, or does something "bad" like climbing the stairs without supervision, he says something that sounds like "a-ya-yay" in the funniest tones and really loud. He knows whatever he is doing is "bad" and does it on purpose to get a reaction out of us. We laugh every single time
2. Did you plan on nursing this long? No, I also thought we would only go a year.
3. What are your plans for weaning? Currently, I'm planning on letting her self-wean, but that may change depending on how TTC for a second child goes.
4. What's your favorite part of nursing an older baby/toddler? I like that it's our bonding time and I think it helps keep illness away.
Non-breastfeeding question of the week: What's something funny your LO has said/done recently?She used to say "later, later" when we'd ask her to do something she didn't want to do (e.g. brushing her teeth, going to bed, or getting her diaper changed), but now she says, "I tired" and pretends to be sleeping. Another funny thing she did when we were out to dinner last week was that she started dancing to the music in her high chair (while sitting). I love that she didn't care who was watching or what they thought of her.
2. Did you plan on nursing this long? Not originally, but I love the snuggle time. I was just planning on one year. DH would probably be happy if I was done though as we are approaching tandem nursing come February.
3. What are your plans for weaning? Child led at this point. She will have to nurse after the baby though. That may cause some issues with jealousy.
4. What's your favorite part about nursing an older baby/toddler? Definitely the bonding and seeing how much she still loves nursing.
What's something funny your LO has done or said recently? She's started repeating things and mispronounced alligator so it sounds like ally lalalala.
For @vvvvvfee, the first trimester is rough for nursing. I didn't enjoy it either and wanted to quit many times. I guess I was too stubborn to give up and I'm still nursing at 31 weeks. It did help to shorten sessions especially if biting or gnawing started up. You got this!! Let me know if you have questions too.
1. How old is your LO? 14.5 months 2. Did you plan on nursing this long? My initial goal was 1 yr with hopes to go as long as she wanted. 3. What are your plans for weaning? I don't have any 4. What's your favorite part of nursing an older baby/toddler? Getting my snuggles on her while she's still and calm (unless she's being a crazy lady), being able to gaze into her eyes after a long day away and feeling so connected still!
Non-breastfeeding question of the week: What's something funny your LO has said/done recently? She's really been interacting with her other buds at daycare this week. She learned one little boy's name and keeps yelling "That's Jack!" over and over again when she sees him. I think she's really proud of herself for being able to say the 2 words together and recognizing her buddy. It's adorable.
-My step-daughter is 12 years old.
-BFP #1 on 9/2/12, D&C 10/18/12 no heartbeat on US @ 10 weeks.
-BFP #2 on 1/7/13, R was born on 9/22/13 via C-Section
do you feel like nursing got easier to tolerate once you were past the first trimester? it's not that it's physically painful for me, it's more a creepy-crawly hypersensitivity thing.
1. How old is your LO? 1 year today! 2. Did you plan on nursing this long? I am cutting back from 2 pumps to 1; will do morning and bedtime at least through spring. I thought I'd see how I felt at 1 year, but I don't feel like giving it up just yet. 3. What are your plans for weaning? Idon't know how to do it...I'm concerned about engorgement. Maybe cut back on minutes nursed at bedtime to phase it out and do the same with morning? 4. What's your favorite part of nursing an older baby/toddler? She is so much fun at bedtime nursing! She gets so distracted, giggles, high-fives, blows in my face and thinks she is hilarious. So cute
Non-breastfeeding question of the week: What's something funny your LO has said/done recently? We blow air in each other's faces and the level of concentration shown on her face as she tries to blow air is so cute. I know, I know--only a mother can think that's adorable. Please feel free to suggest questions for future check-ins!
TTC since April 2011. DH Dx MFI in February 2012. BFP #1: 7.16.12. MMC dx: 8.22.12, D&C 8.28.12, TTC Again November 2012. DH Varicocele repair November 2012; Repeat SA showed "dramatic" improvement February 2013 (awesome!)
BFP #2: 3.26.13, EDC: 12.7.13. Anya born December 9th, 2013!
@vvvvvfee Yes it did get easier after 1st trimester. I had issues with it making me nauseated too during 1st trimester. My DH also encouraged me to keep it up at that point.
Hi! New to this board. 1. I have two DDs - DD1 is 4 and self-weaned at 16.5 months. DD2 is 19 months and still nursing. 2. Not really. She never seemed as into nursing as her older sister, who weaned much earlier, was. So I am surprised that she's nursed longer, but I have always had every intention of letting her nurse as long as she wants. 3. Planning to let her wean on her own. I might start considering weaning her around 2 just because it's exhausting for me and I can already tell my supply isn't what it used to be. 4. I love the special private time that we have together and the snuggles.
Non BF question: She loves to watch the Mickey Mouse clubhouse and always has to hop up at the beginning and end of the show to do the hot dog dance. She kicks her little legs and it's so cute.
Thank you! I have a question for future check ins! I wonder how common EBFing is among the groups of friends and regions of other ladies on this board. I've found that it's very common among my bump friends but I don't know anyone IRL that has breast fed at all past 12 months. I get VERY strange looks when people find out that I'm still nursing at 19 months so I generally avoid offering that info.
1. How old is your LO? She will be 3 in March 2. Did you plan on nursing this long? No. I was one of those annoying ignorant people who thought nursing past 1 was gross. Clearly my views changed! 3. What are your plans for weaning? Self weaning unless it is causing preterm labor (I'm currently 15 weeks pregnant) 4. What's your favorite part of nursing an older baby/toddler? I think what I love most is that since she's able to verbally ask for it. It shows me how much she still loves it and that she finds it comforting. It just is a constant reminder that we have this special bond.
Non-breastfeeding question of the week: What's something funny your LO has said/done recently? She snatched DH's phone out of his hands the other day and gasped and exclaimed "I need to check my emails RIGHT NOW!"
1. How old is your LO? 16 months 2. Did you plan on nursing this long? Nope! Original goal was 6 months, then 12 months, now … ? 3. What are your plans for weaning? Depends on the day. At the moment I think maybe in the spring, after cold/flu season. I'd like to have my body back before we TTC #2 4. What's your favorite part of nursing an older baby/toddler? Snuggles, special time together, an easy/calm way to start and end LO's day.
Non-breastfeeding question of the week: What's something funny your LO has said/done recently? LO loves to make a lion sound "rawr!" and the other day at CVS she kept doing it while in the carrier. Finally I checked to see if there was a stuffed lion or something but it turned out to be a giant stuffed Mickey Mouse. LO saw me looking at it, got all excited and went "rawr rawr!" I think she's a little confused haha!
2. Did you plan on nursing this long? Nope. I had no specific plan and struggled early on with supply issues so really just had a "one day at a time" mindset. But various "milestones" came and went and neither LO nor I was ready to stop so here we are!
3. What are your plans for weaning? Leaning more toward child-led at this point since we are already at morning and night nursing only. For the first time this week she refused her morning nursing session and I really had mixed feelings about that. But the next day she was back to her usual routine so not sure what that was about.
4. What's your favorite part of nursing an older baby/toddler? Not stressing about my supply and whether she is getting enough.
Non-breastfeeding question of the week: What's something funny your LO has said/done recently? LO has gotten the idea that we take her temperature in her ear (she has had lots of colds recently so unfortunately we have been doing this a lot). Whenever I tell her it's time to take her temperature she grabs her ear and says "Ear!". The other day I wanted to check if it was too cold to go out and play. I picked up my phone and told LO I was going to check the temperature and she immediately grabbed her ear and said "Ear!".
4. What's your favorite part of nursing an older baby/toddler? Not stressing about my supply and whether she is getting enough.
Totally agree!
TTC since April 2011. DH Dx MFI in February 2012. BFP #1: 7.16.12. MMC dx: 8.22.12, D&C 8.28.12, TTC Again November 2012. DH Varicocele repair November 2012; Repeat SA showed "dramatic" improvement February 2013 (awesome!)
BFP #2: 3.26.13, EDC: 12.7.13. Anya born December 9th, 2013!
1. DD is 21 months 2. I didn't have clear goals related to how long I wanted to nurse. I had clear goals about BF in other areas. I really had a pretty open mind and I often thought out loud about it to anyone who would listen long enough before and after Dd was born. That helped me to find what I really wanted. 3. I plan on child-led weaning. 4. I love how tenderly I feel towards DD when I'm nursing her. I love how she can express her excitement towards nursing. 5. Yesterday I took DD and her cousin (only 9 months older) to the playground. On the way back DD was telling her cuz "jokes" and just cracking her up. The jokes were "cuckoo!!!" And "aaaaahhhrrrrr" I really thought it was so cute how they were interacting.
@vvvvvfee congrats! I have not BTDT but I am newly pregnant too (6 weeks) and I just wanted to offer my support. Hang in there! I don't have any aversion yet (though I have had it off and on since day 1 of nursing DD before getting KU) I do have nipple pain related to pregnancy. I am taking the attitude of just muscling through it. DD nurses so much (it seems like she actually wants to nurse more the last 3 weeks) and I am willing to tandem so I just try to distract myself from the pain during nursing sessions and keep going.
Even though I've had nursing aversion I don't think I can help there bc my solution was to end the nursing session as gently as possible, get up, walk around, talk, move, stretch, give it time and come back and try again and that almost always did the trick.
2. Did you plan on nursing this long?Nope, I went into it hoping to make it through the dreaded 3 week growth spurt with no expectations passed that. My new goal was 6 weeks, then 6 months, 1 year, 15 months, 18 months, 2. Now I don't really have a goal, other than to for sure be done by 3. 3. What are your plans for weaning? We've gotten down to 2-3x a day using child-led. If he doesn't drop the last few sessions on his own by 2.5 I'll probably try don't offer don't refuse. 4. What's your favorite part of nursing an older baby/toddler? Not worrying about my supply, mostly only nursing at home, the time to reconnect after a hectic day.
Non-breastfeeding question of the week: What's something funny your LO has said/done recently? He's really digging singing lately. His daycare had a Chritmas program on Friday. The walked the 2 year olds in while "Away in the Manger" was play. All the rest of the kids looked slightly scared. Mine was dancing and singing the song.
@SidraJedi thanks so much and congrats to you too!
i think things are starting to get a little better for me now as far as the aversion goes. one thing that definitely helped was cutting DS back from 3x a day to 2x a day, because i found the aversion worse when my breasts were mostly empty. at 2x a day there's a decent amount of milk both times, so it's more bearable.
i think i will start adding a pregnant/BFing bonus question to the check-in, since there are several of us here now.
In the back of my mind, I planned for just the first year. When she was born, and I had issues, I just wanted to get to 6m, then 1yr....now, its when she is ready to stop
3. What are your plans for weaning?
I don't have any. We only nurse for short bits now, and we are both happy with that
4. What's your favorite part of nursing an older baby/toddler?
For me, less work...She is competent on her own to switch sides, deal with let downs, deal with lack of milk on one side. Also the bonding time we have...The way she looks at me, the way we giggle together...
Non-breastfeeding question of the week: What's something funny your LO has said/done recently?
We had just gotten home from spending the day at the Magic Kingdom on Thursday. She had received a Little Mermaid dress from her "aunt". I slipped it on over her jammies, and she was running around in the dress, happy as a clam. Then she grabbed her stockings, and wrapped them around her neck, and was prancing around the room. It was adorable
Re: Extended BFing Check-in
2. Did you plan on nursing this long? Yes.
3. What are your plans for weaning? Self wean or see how it goes when we get pregnant again.
4. What's your favorite part of nursing an older baby/toddler? I love that she can tell me what she wants when she needs it and she's gotten good at maneuvering herself so positioning her isn't all on me anymore.
Non-breastfeeding question of the week:
What's something funny your LO has said/done recently? She likes to drop items behind furniture and turn around and give an "uh oh" with her two hands raised palms up. It's adorable.
2. Did you plan on nursing this long? Yes...I was always planning a year and hoping for 2
3. What are your plans for weaning? The thought of weaning makes me sad. Sunday morning was the last time we decided that he will nurse in the morning. We are TTC and the lactation is really getting in the way of that. Hoping I can get KU and still nurse at least once a day for a while longer. I may need to wean completely if this doesn't work. I don't like it.
Non-breastfeeding question of the week:
What's something funny your LO has said/done recently? Whenever he spills some water, or finds dirt on the floor, or does something "bad" like climbing the stairs without supervision, he says something that sounds like "a-ya-yay" in the funniest tones and really loud. He knows whatever he is doing is "bad" and does it on purpose to get a reaction out of us. We laugh every single time
2. Did you plan on nursing this long? No, I also thought we would only go a year.
3. What are your plans for weaning? Currently, I'm planning on letting her self-wean, but that may change depending on how TTC for a second child goes.
4. What's your favorite part of nursing an older baby/toddler? I like that it's our bonding time and I think it helps keep illness away.
Non-breastfeeding question of the week:
What's something funny your LO has said/done recently? She used to say "later, later" when we'd ask her to do something she didn't want to do (e.g. brushing her teeth, going to bed, or getting her diaper changed), but now she says, "I tired" and pretends to be sleeping. Another funny thing she did when we were out to dinner last week was that she started dancing to the music in her high chair (while sitting). I love that she didn't care who was watching or what they thought of her.
17 months on Friday
2. Did you plan on nursing this long?
Not originally, but I love the snuggle time. I was just planning on one year. DH would probably be happy if I was done though as we are approaching tandem nursing come February.
3. What are your plans for weaning? Child led at this point. She will have to nurse after the baby though. That may cause some issues with jealousy.
4. What's your favorite part about nursing an older baby/toddler?
Definitely the bonding and seeing how much she still loves nursing.
What's something funny your LO has done or said recently?
She's started repeating things and mispronounced alligator so it sounds like ally lalalala.
For @vvvvvfee, the first trimester is rough for nursing. I didn't enjoy it either and wanted to quit many times. I guess I was too stubborn to give up and I'm still nursing at 31 weeks. It did help to shorten sessions especially if biting or gnawing started up. You got this!! Let me know if you have questions too.
2. Did you plan on nursing this long? My initial goal was 1 yr with hopes to go as long as she wanted.
3. What are your plans for weaning? I don't have any
4. What's your favorite part of nursing an older baby/toddler? Getting my snuggles on her while she's still and calm (unless she's being a crazy lady), being able to gaze into her eyes after a long day away and feeling so connected still!
Non-breastfeeding question of the week:
What's something funny your LO has said/done recently? She's really been interacting with her other buds at daycare this week. She learned one little boy's name and keeps yelling "That's Jack!" over and over again when she sees him. I think she's really proud of herself for being able to say the 2 words together and recognizing her buddy. It's adorable.
-My step-daughter is 12 years old.
-BFP #1 on 9/2/12, D&C 10/18/12 no heartbeat on US @ 10 weeks.
-BFP #2 on 1/7/13, R was born on 9/22/13 via C-Section
do you feel like nursing got easier to tolerate once you were past the first trimester? it's not that it's physically painful for me, it's more a creepy-crawly hypersensitivity thing.
1. I have two DDs - DD1 is 4 and self-weaned at 16.5 months. DD2 is 19 months and still nursing.
2. Not really. She never seemed as into nursing as her older sister, who weaned much earlier, was. So I am surprised that she's nursed longer, but I have always had every intention of letting her nurse as long as she wants.
3. Planning to let her wean on her own. I might start considering weaning her around 2 just because it's exhausting for me and I can already tell my supply isn't what it used to be.
4. I love the special private time that we have together and the snuggles.
Non BF question:
She loves to watch the Mickey Mouse clubhouse and always has to hop up at the beginning and end of the show to do the hot dog dance. She kicks her little legs and it's so cute.
1. How old is your LO? She will be 3 in March
2. Did you plan on nursing this long? No. I was one of those annoying ignorant people who thought nursing past 1 was gross. Clearly my views changed!
3. What are your plans for weaning? Self weaning unless it is causing preterm labor (I'm currently 15 weeks pregnant)
4. What's your favorite part of nursing an older baby/toddler? I think what I love most is that since she's able to verbally ask for it. It shows me how much she still loves it and that she finds it comforting. It just is a constant reminder that we have this special bond.
Non-breastfeeding question of the week:
What's something funny your LO has said/done recently? She snatched DH's phone out of his hands the other day and gasped and exclaimed "I need to check my emails RIGHT NOW!"
2. Did you plan on nursing this long? Nope. I had no specific plan and struggled early on with supply issues so really just had a "one day at a time" mindset. But various "milestones" came and went and neither LO nor I was ready to stop so here we are!
3. What are your plans for weaning? Leaning more toward child-led at this point since we are already at morning and night nursing only. For the first time this week she refused her morning nursing session and I really had mixed feelings about that. But the next day she was back to her usual routine so not sure what that was about.
4. What's your favorite part of nursing an older baby/toddler? Not stressing about my supply and whether she is getting enough.
Non-breastfeeding question of the week:
What's something funny your LO has said/done recently? LO has gotten the idea that we take her temperature in her ear (she has had lots of colds recently so unfortunately we have been doing this a lot). Whenever I tell her it's time to take her temperature she grabs her ear and says "Ear!". The other day I wanted to check if it was too cold to go out and play. I picked up my phone and told LO I was going to check the temperature and she immediately grabbed her ear and said "Ear!".
2. I didn't have clear goals related to how long I wanted to nurse. I had clear goals about BF in other areas. I really had a pretty open mind and I often thought out loud about it to anyone who would listen long enough before and after Dd was born. That helped me to find what I really wanted.
3. I plan on child-led weaning.
4. I love how tenderly I feel towards DD when I'm nursing her. I love how she can express her excitement towards nursing.
5. Yesterday I took DD and her cousin (only 9 months older) to the playground. On the way back DD was telling her cuz "jokes" and just cracking her up. The jokes were "cuckoo!!!" And "aaaaahhhrrrrr" I really thought it was so cute how they were interacting.
@vvvvvfee congrats! I have not BTDT but I am newly pregnant too (6 weeks) and I just wanted to offer my support. Hang in there! I don't have any aversion yet (though I have had it off and on since day 1 of nursing DD before getting KU) I do have nipple pain related to pregnancy. I am taking the attitude of just muscling through it. DD nurses so much (it seems like she actually wants to nurse more the last 3 weeks) and I am willing to tandem so I just try to distract myself from the pain during nursing sessions and keep going.
Even though I've had nursing aversion I don't think I can help there bc my solution was to end the nursing session as gently as possible, get up, walk around, talk, move, stretch, give it time and come back and try again and that almost always did the trick.
Anyway congrats and GL!
thanks so much and congrats to you too!
i think things are starting to get a little better for me now as far as the aversion goes. one thing that definitely helped was cutting DS back from 3x a day to 2x a day, because i found the aversion worse when my breasts were mostly empty. at 2x a day there's a decent amount of milk both times, so it's more bearable.
i think i will start adding a pregnant/BFing bonus question to the check-in, since there are several of us here now.
2. Did you plan on nursing this long?
3. What are your plans for weaning?
4. What's your favorite part of nursing an older baby/toddler?
Non-breastfeeding question of the week:
What's something funny your LO has said/done recently?