I am still nursing my 25 month old little girl and I am very ready to wean her, but have been trying somewhat lately and it has been a lot harder than I expected. She nurses pretty much on-demand still, when we get home from daycare, and then about 2-3 times in the evening and she co-sleeps with me, and wants to nurse pretty much all night long. I am getting very tired of this because I am a single mom and work full time. I have tried telling her that she is a big girl and doesn't need to nurse anymore and that mommy needs to get sleep at night so that she is not crabby during the day and she won't have it... she screams at the top of her lungs and throws tantrums in the middle of the night several times until I just want to sleep and give in. She just moved up to the 2 year old room at daycare and I think that has been putting some stress on her too, but I am just not sure if I should wait a few months and try again with the whole weaning thing or if I should try to just do it abruptly? I would appreciate any advice. Thank you very much!
Change is hard on kiddos... since she just changed rooms at the daycare, I'd wait a little bit longer before introducing another major change, even though it's hard on you. :/ Good luck!
Hi M.:
I wouldn't cold turkey her nursing, it's very comforting for her. You could try less feedings at first and shorten the feeding time....this will be easier on your body as well.
The American medical Association recommends nursing until 5 years old. Which I feel is CRAZY!!! But, I personally think nursing until about 2 1/2 is great.
I would also recommend weaning your daughter from sleeping with you. This will take a few nights. Try reading her a book before bedtime or a soothing bath. Just make it a routine, every night and she will adjust to this and hopefully go to sleep in her own bed following the routine.
I always played soft soothing music while my girls fell asleep.
Try different things before bed until you find what works for you and her.
~K.
M., I nursed my 5 kids till they were 2. My best advice, let her scream. Offer her a sippy cup. My kids co slept with us also. I moved them to the floor then would start carring them into thier own bed after they fell asleep. Then just started reading to them in thier own beds. Don't give in!! they asked for water etc.. 10 times before they went to sleep. It is hard but it wont take long. There is a great Mom's organization you can look into. I have been involved for 12 years. Hearts at Home.
go to www.heartsathome.org Good luck P.
I can sympathize with you. My son is 27 months old. He still nurses before bedtime. It took a long time to get to the just nightly nursing. When he 18 months I went to just morning and night and when he turned 2 I went to just before bedtime. It took a little time but he adjusted very well. I think if you really want to stop nursing, you should gradually cut back and nurse on a schedule and then gradually eliminate one of the times you nurse. For me I had to turn his attention to something else, so he would not think about it. Now I am trying to stop the night time one and that isn't so easy. Good luck.
M.
Hello M.!
My daughter is just about 2 1/2 and I was/am in the same position as you. I told myself that I would only nurse her until she was 2 and hoped that she would self wean then, but it seemed like she actually started to want to nurse more! Anyway, a few weeks ago I tried some advice that I read on another Mamasource thread that actually is working! It might sound weird, I definitely thought it did at first, but here it is...put band-aides on your breasts/nipples and explain to your daughter that your breasts have owies (not a lie for me, because they were getting sore) and I also let her see me put medicine (lanoline) on them and the Band-Aids. She was a bit frustrated but also very empathetic and did not ask to nurse for the first few days (I also used cabbage leaves on my breasts to make sure I did not get engorged....yes, that actually works too!!!) The advantage that I have over you is that my husband has been putting her down to sleep (I was nursing her to sleep before) and went in to comfort her when she woke up in the middle of the night which lasted for about 3 or 4 days before she was sleeping through the night or at least getting herself back to sleep). Quite honestly, I think it has been as hard, probably harder on me as it has on her, as I am really missing the connection; we still snuggle and have those moments, but is another way you feel like they are growing up too fast! But....It is also nice to have my body back, (well except for the deflated breasts) and a full nights sleep....anyway M., I know this is really really long winded, but I encourage you to give it a try. She will have a hard time with it still and there will be some tears shed (definitely the hardest part not to succumb to as I have never let her cry it out!) but if you are really ready I think this will work for you too. Let me know if you try it and if it does work for you! By the way, I did try to just get rid of one feeding/nursing at a time, and it just did not work for us. Good Luck!!!
