My son nursed all the way to a year, several times a day. When I went back to work, we scaled it back to before work, a bottle of breast milk during the day, and nursing before bed. After 14mos, he started really only nursing at night.
He's now 20mos and I've been off for the summer. This past month, he's been asking to nurse 2, sometimes 3, times a day! Whenever I say it's time for nap or na' night, he ALWAYS responds immediately with "mama milk!". I had been hoping to wean using "don't offer, don't refuse", but I never expected he would start asking MORE. I know this could be for several reasons -
1. He's stalling =)
2. He's gotten accustomed to having me home and enjoys the comfort of nursing more
3. Teething, no binky
4. He's developed a late- but strong- association with sleeping and nursing
All of these are well and good, but I'm going back FT a week from this Thursday and I'm very concerned about him making this transition if he's become more dependent on me.
How can I lovingly scale things back to "before bed only" nursings so he can transition healthfully? If we can get back to that point, I'm ok w/going to 24 mos (if he's still asking). I really think our nursing relationship helped him adapt well when I went back to work the first time.
Thanks for your advice!
Thanks, moms!
I found out today that the little girl we were with a few days ago was sick (incubation period) and his behavior is consistent w/what she was doing. He's feverish, too. At least there's a legit reason if his body is fighting something off.
I think if I tried to pump I would be next to nothing - not to mention all of that is packed away!
So I'll "tank up" to get us through this till his fever breaks. He'll be with his sitter on Thurs, so we'll see if there were any issues w/my not being there. He's been going once a week through the summer and according to her, he has not asked or mentioned "mama milk" before naps.
i think it will be easier than you think; you won't be around him, so he can't ask to nurse. let him know you will nurse him only before bed, and then stick to it. good luck!
I think since he is older and understands more, since you don't be around he won't ask. Simple :).
I did not have the extended time off work that you do, but when my daughter was an older nursling (or even a young one) she nursed when I was around and was fine when I wasn't. For example, if we went on vacation, she nursed a few times a day, but when the vacation was over she had no trouble. Same with weekends vs. weekdays.
I might try something else as a naptime routine just to ease the transition--can someone else put him down? Or do something that's not dependent on you and be sure the caregiver does it. That can be a new routine that means "sleep" to him and something you can use when you're ready to wean at bedtime.
Congratulations on nursing this long!
I get the impression you won't like my advice, but I would just refuse. It will be tough in the beginning but he will adjust quickly. You are the parent and you make the decisions here. It will be MUCH easier on the caregivers when you go back to work if you do it this way. Use a phrase like you are a big boy now and you drink from a big boy cup, or Mommy doesn't have anymore milk because you are big now. Whatever works. I truly think if you don't do this, you are headed for a lot more stress when you go back.
I would switch over to your milk in bottles only. I.e. offer the milk, just not you.
Obviously you can still cuddle and hold him as part of his routine. Your daytime routine should mimic that of his caregiver when you are at work.
not really related to your question but, I eliminated the before bed nursing before eliminating the after work nursing. When it was time to wean (starting at 2 and ending at 2.5 years) it was easier for her to get distracted and skip an afterwork session than to skip or be distracted from a before bed session.
My other thought is that if you aren't careful this week, you might find yourself with a lot more milk during the day than you want as your body is used to producing more - are you planning on pumping when you go back to work?
I agree with a couple of the others, if you are not around he will be fine! On more than one occasion I had to travel for several days when my older nursling was at home. I had to express milk for comfort but he was totally fine. He picked right up when I came back, but he was not distraught without me there. I know how stressful it all is, but they're more resilient than we think! Good luck!
