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Success after IF
MBandBud
member
? about BF, weaning: your experiences and insight please!
MBandBud
member
So we hit a year ebf and while I'm excited I have mixed emotions that maybe some of you can help me sort through. First off, DD still seems to have loose stools from the wcm; right now we are mixing 3oz bm with 2oz wcm; some days it seems better, but that is usually when she is nursing more. So that plays into where I am at. Will this just get better with time?
I am not emotionally ready to wean, but I'm afraid of continuing for too long that it will be harder for both of us. DD def is more aware and has tugged at my shirt now to bf. I don't think this is really hunger but more comfort. I don't want to rush in weaning her but I won't be that mom that has a toddler asking for milk. I also worry it will get more difficult as time goes on. Ideal for me would be nursing in the AM and before bed but I don't know if that will be confusing for DD if I deny her during the day, do I just give her wcm or mix in a cup if she tugs at my shirt? Right now she is used to getting mix bm/wcm at day care but during the weekend I will nurse during the day.
Any thoughts or insights or opinions? I realize this is a personal decision but could use some experiences to draw from. I am ready to give up the pump but first I will want to make sure DD is getting what she needs and pumping some extra to donate - I feel so thankful that I was able to go this long and want to provide for others less fortunate.
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Re: ? about BF, weaning: your experiences and insight please!
Congratulations!! making it to a year is huge! I wish we had been able to! But, I have to say, weaning when we did was way easier than I ever thought! I thought the process was going to be really tough, but I think he was just happy to be getting a full belly again, so he hasn't seemed to have any issues with it at all. That and he was in one of his less interested phases.
So I guess my advice is to read your child and take advantage of the next time that you think you could start dropping a session without her being too upset. I think that you could probably pretty easily do just the morning and night...they are so smart..she will figure it out quickly that you are no longer nursing during the day!
I'm sure some people here will have better advice about how to go about it since my body pretty much forced us to wean.
Congratulations on making it to a year!! That is huge!!! Go mama!
I don't have any experience with the stool issue. Sorry. Have you asked pedi?
My situation is different as I was open to going as long as DD wanted. From the beginning, I gave myself mini goals and just went with it, I will tell you that when I quit pumping at 1 year, I totally went through a depression stage. Now that DD is older, it has actually gotten easier. She still nurses am/pm and when she is sick I thank my lucky stars we are still nursing because she won't eat anything else.
I have been able to use distraction or offer water as a good tool when she asks to nurse in public. 9 out of 10 times it works, the other time I just go somewhere more private to nurse. This actually bothers me because I am comfortable nursing in public but I know people have issues with bfding toddlers, so I do it for others
This is also the reason that as she is getting older, I ask myself how long it will last. But truthfully, I feel horrible ending something that we both enjoy so much and that we both still benefits from, so I am not sure when we will be done. She does nurse less and less these days. Sorry to get so involved in my situation..its just one of those things I struggle with, since most people expected me to be done by 1 year.
Good luck!
Congrats on making it a year! That's awesome!
When I weaned from the pump at 13 months, Elizabeth went straight to sippy cups at daycare. I kept nursing in the morning and before bed, but she never asked to nurse during the day on the weekends. For that first weekend, we closely followed daycare's schedule of morning snack, lunch, nap, afternoon snack.
If you want to drop daytime sessions on the weekends, maybe plan an fun activity at a time when she normally nurses and see what happens? Or try offering a bottle/sippy and telling her that nursing/mama's milk is just for sleepy times?
Good luck -- like pp, daytime weaning was much easier than I thought it would be. Now dropping that final bedtime session -- that took some effort and didn't happen until she was much closer to 2!
Thank you for sharing your experiences and emotions and opinions, that is exactly waht I am looking for to help me sort through mine. I def am thankful to make it this long and I, too, have conflicting thoughts on weaning. I don't want to be that mom that nurses a toddler, why though? b/c it's not 'appropriate'? Ugh I hate that! I really appreciated this: "I feel horrible ending something that we both enjoy so much and that we both still benefits from, so I am not sure when we will be done."
I like the idea of weaning during the day and in public, and I will see it as an acknowledgement that perhaps this is not something you do in public after a certain age, but I just can't see me giving it up entirely until we are ready. I just don't want to do both of us a disservice and wait too long. But I also don't want to wean 'because, like you say, "most people expected me to be done by 1 year". Her bowel issues are helping me justify at this point...
Thanks again for your insight and experiences!
I'm a mom who nurses a toddler and sometimes...honestly, it sucks. She's big and she squirms and she doesn't need it and yet, she wants it. And there are times when it would be just so easy to nurse her with no rules and no "no times" but I think honestly I need my time too. So, she nurses morning and evening. I've recently cut out the comfort session she begged for the moment I walked in from work. I'm motivated partially because we do want to TTC again and no one thinks I'm going to get lucky on my own and my RE won't see me until we've weaned completely. I'm also motivated because she's nearly two and it is awkward to nurse a two year old - for others to see me I guess but for me to do it for sure! She really is squirmy and kicks and does these weird acrobatics while nursing. She's also grabby and uses my boobs as lovies. And while that's sweet and endearing there are days when I am just done. So...we compromise. She nurses at home at times when I need her to wind down.
So while I've not completely weaned I've "been weaning" for seemingly forever and it's hard. I sometimes wish I'd done it earlier only because she would have been less able to voice her displeasure - screaming "no milk! Mommy milk!" over and over is sort of...annoying. But, at the very same time I love that we've done it for this long and if we never have another I have these amazing memories of my baby.
This really helps me see where this could go. She def is squirmy now, and I know it is not about milk; I offer a bottle of milk when I know I don't have any more and she declines, going back to the boob. It is so endearing, yet, I don't know, awkward? I really really thought she would self wean by now, but instead she is getting more attached it seems. Funny you mention getting home from work and her wanting to nurse; DH gave DD milk when she got home but when she saw me she still wanted to nurse; I redirected and felt bad doing it but I feel like there needs to be some transition soon or I'll end up in a conundrum. Thanks again for sharing.
I agree! We cut out morning nursing and we still nap & bedtime nurse. I am so ready to be done! He is such a SQUIRMY bug and I know it's just for comfort.
I never thought I would make it a year ....here we are at 18 months
Have you read the book "The Breastfeeding Cafe"? I'm reading it now and it has a lot of real stories of women's breastfeeding experiences. One thing that stands out to me is that the only regret I'm seeing is when people weaned too soon because of pressure from family or society. So don't let people pressure you into doing something you're not ready for.