Weaning and Extended BF Child?

kellystoo

Hi!  I need your help... my 20 month old little girl still nurses before her nap, bedtime and occasionally when she wakes up in the middle of the night.  My goal is to stop nursing by her second birthday as we are going to start trying for baby number two around that time?here is my problem?I?M SAD & she has never been put to bed (ever) without being nursed.  I don?t want to be nursing her while I?m pregnant and I don?t want to stop her cold turkey and traumatize her (& me).  My DD wouldn?t take a bottle all the way up until she was 9 months old and by that time it wasn?t even worth giving her one so we don?t have bottles and I don?t want to make a habit of giving her milk in a sippy cup due to the cavity risks of milk at bedtime.  My goal is to limit the time she nurses but I foresee this being a problem.  I?m looking advise from mom?s who extended bf & successfully weaned without (or at least with few) tears both me & my dd.  I love bf-ing her but really don?t want to be 6 months pg bf-ing and want to stop before I even become pg.

kelleylk

Well, I'm sorry to say that I don't have an answer for you.  I was just wondering why you don't want to BF while PG.  Personal reasons?  Medical?  I've known several women who have BF while they were PG.  What I understand from them, is that the risk of MC is very low.  Although, I get it if this is your reasoning.

kellystoo

Does it lower the risk of MC?  I never heard of that, I'm going to have to look it up!  I'm 5 feet tall and am already having problems holding my dd to nurse (who is already more than 1/2 my size)...I can't imagine adding a bump to the mix.  Plus, I think there is going to be an adjustment once baby #2 comes and feel it would be better to have her weaned far before that happens.

kelleylk

kellystoo:

Does it lower the risk of MC?  I never heard of that, I'm going to have to look it up!  I'm 5 feet tall and am already having problems holding my dd to nurse (who is already more than 1/2 my size)...I can't imagine adding a bump to the mix.  Plus, I think there is going to be an adjustment once baby #2 comes and feel it would be better to have her weaned far before that happens.

No, actually, some OB/GYN's are concerned with BFing while PG.  They are afraid that a MC will occur b/c of the nipple stimulation.  Although, I have heard from other docs and read up on it and have found that the risk is actually lower than one would think.

Although, I see now why you have chosen to wean!  Good luck with everything!

mesr

I'm pregnant and still nursing my 22-month-old.  my MWs are unconcerned and very supportive.  To be honest, I thought DD would never come close to weaning, but when I got pregnant again, my supply plummeted, and she's been much more open to drinking soymilk instead of nursing.  She still nurses a few times a day, but nothing like the constant begging to nurse before.  I think we are well on the path to weaning.  It feels very natural the way it's happening for me.

A friend of mine also nursed her son for a long time.  She became pregnant just after his second birthday and cut him off the day she found out.  He was upset for a week or so, but that was it.  I don't have the guts to do something like that though!