J.S.
Hi M.,
I am a Lactation Consultant in the Sacramento area and nursed all 3 of my kids as well.
When it is time for mom to wean - we know it. :) Sounds like you are ready. :) That is perfectly fine. 18 month olds are notoriously easily bored. When they get bored they want to nurse. They like it, it's fun and gives them time with mom. :) So, a couple folks advised keeping him busy. Fabulous advice! Also, the best one for weaning: Don't offer - don't refuse - distraction... This means: you NEVER offer to nurse. Ever. But, when he asks, you don't <necessarily> refuse. You can distract him with, "Ok, honey - give me a minute," or "Let's go do 'this' for a minute first,", or even my personal favorite that I used with my youngest, "Ok, do you want two minutes or less?" To which he'd respond, "LESS!" so he'd get less than two minutes on the breast and when I'd say "Ok! Less is up!" he'd happily go off and play. :)
The main idea here is to be gentle and consistent. Older kids will often go down without nursing if mom is not there, but if she is, they want and need that connection with her. I'd suggest dropping that one last.
You can also purposefully drop your supply by drinking sage tea. This will help with that uncomfy feeling. Drink 2-3 cups per day and that will help drop that supply.
I already know he is probably eating solids like crazy anyway - so I suspect he is nursing a lot because he is bored. Get out of the house - go to a park - find a mommy group - sty out a lot...it will perk you up and will keep him occupied.
The tiredness you mentioned bothers me and could be a low thyroid or boredom thing for you too. You mentioned you had tests done and all was fine. Often times tests come back with a range of normal - even if you are on the low end of normal they tell you you are fine - but there you are having symptoms. Talk to you Dr again about the tests and look at your numbers...if your thyroid is a low normal they won't treat you but you can research alternative methods to treat yourself (been there done that myself).
Many people assume that breastfeeding can make you tired and can cause thyroid issues and drain your body, etc...those are MYTHS. They are NOT true - they are not even close to fact. Sadly our society (especially the medical field) has to find something to blame mom's issues on and breastfeeding is an easy target. I have worked with too many moms who weaned due to such myths being touted as fact only to find that they still have the SAME problem when they are no longer breastfeeding. Then the HCP finds another thing to blame it on... I have had moms call me and say they need to wean because breastfeeding is causing their acne, ingrown toenail (seriously!!), rash (from poison oak), etc...
Lastly, let me say that those who believe that breastmilk provides all the best in the first 5 weeks or 6 months or whatever and then loses it's ability to provide important nutrients after whatever arbitrary time truly don't know what breastmilk is all about nor what it does at different ages and stages as the child grows. The simple fact is that breastmilk is always a huge benefit to a child - always - the age of the child does NOT matter. There is NEVER a time when it is not. Period. If one really looks at the funding of studies that 'prove' (supposedly) such nonsense one will find often times they are done by pharmaceuticals and formula companies...
Simple fact: Breastfeeding until the child is 21 months of age gives the baby's brain the optimal nutrition and physical stimulation for optimal brain development. This has been documented and researched. When you nurse this length of time you give your child the gift of the best possible brain growth. This has a myriad of positive effects that encompass not only nutrition and intelligence but also relationship development later in life. For those people who have normal IQ's the normal development that comes along with breastfeeding into toddlerhood is not noticeable. But for those with brain issues (Cerebral Palsy, Down Syndrome, brain injury due to birth trauma) the results can be the difference between functioning on their own in adult life or not. I have personally seen the results...
Yes there are many people who grew up on formula and are 'just fine'. This happens. Humans are sturdy for the most part. However, there are millions of babies each year who die because they do not get breastmilk - yes even here in the USA. I have worked with several babies over the past 13 yrs who were near death because of formula - their bodies couldn't handle it. We got them breastmilk and they survived and thrived.
Off that soapbox now... :)
If you'd like to talk more about this please feel free to give me a call. ###-###-####. You are not alone in what you are trying to deal with here...those of us who nurse our kids into toddlerhood (which is actually biologically normal) go through this. Sometimes we decide we are done - sometimes we get ourselves out of the house, keep the kid busy so that nursings drop down to 2-3 rather than 6+ and decide that we can do this for a while longer. Whatever length of time you choose to continue I congratulate you! You've done an amazing job so far!
Take care, good luck!
Warmly,
J. Simpson, IBCLC, CIIM
www.breastfeedingnetwork.net