Still Breastfeeding

moongirl · Apr 3, 2006

A friend of mine had the same problem.. she ended up putting lemon juice on her nipples to make them taste bad :idea:

Good luck!!!

allnurses Guide · Apr 3, 2006

I breastfed my last until he was 3 1/2 - he didn't have a bottle. I'm wondering if, since he can drink from a cup, a bottle is not a good idea.

As to weaning - we would nurse when he woke up in the morning and before bed and then during the day when he would get an owie or was near a melt-down due to tiredness. I started cutting out different times - sometimes I would just get him busy with eating breakfast first thing in the morning and avoid the nursing. Sometimes I would just comfort him w/o nursing. It took longer to stop the nighttime feeding.

It happens - my 3 older kids are all weaned . . one is 23, one is 21 and one is 16.

The truth is, I miss it . .. .. it truly meant the end of my childbearing years when I weaned this last child.

Good luck.

steph

lpnstudentin2010, LPN · Apr 3, 2006

i read on another thread that someone told their kid "there broken"

Jolie, BSN · Apr 3, 2006

My girls didn't nurse that long, so I've never been in your situation, but I do have a suggestion.

What if you took him shopping and made a big deal about allowing him to choose some "big boy" cups and dishes. Explain that he can use them for milk, juice, water, etc. at mealtimes and throughout the day. Try and limit nursing to just morning and bedtime for awhile as he gets used to using his new cups and dishes, then gradually cut out the morning and bedtime feedings. Emphasize that this is how "big kids" eat and drink, and offer him encouragement, praise and rewards for doing so.

Good luck!

peds4now, RN · Apr 3, 2006

And that is, tell him he is a big boy now and that breastfeeding is getting uncomfortable for you (or whatever are the honest reasons you want to stop), and that you just aren't going to do it anymore. Maybe tell him that for one week he can have a treat instead (chocolate milk or something not soooo unhealthy that he can't have it several times a day), but then that will have to stop also. There will be crying. There will be feelings of anger/resentment/ambivalence that might force you to leave the room. But if you want to stop, that's it. I could see him having meltdowns about it for a week consistently. But one thing you need to realize is, it isn't him that is making this hard. It's your inability to stick by the decision to stop (hey, I fully understand. But recognizing this fact makes it easier when jr. has been screaming for 20 minutes straight). It's like parents who use pacifiers. Quitting is as easy as throwing the thing away-as long as you are comfortable enough with the decision to be firm about it.

Good luck and don't worry. If he's 3 you have nothing to feel bad about if you choose mother-led weaning (IMHO).

P.S., I personally think that at his age, trying to eliminate a feeding here and there won't work well but will just confuse the issue, but who knows. There is a good book called I think Mothering your Nursing Toddler that talks a lot about how even if they don't wean, kids this age need to "get a life" and not just run to the breast every 5 minutes.

ARLadyRN · Apr 3, 2006

Do like they did on "Desperate Housewives" on TV. There was a woman at one of the housewives work who was still nursing her 5 year old and everyone thought that she should quit. The "housewife" gave the little boy a carton of chocolate milk and after that the child didn't want the mother. It might work, I wish that I had thought of it. I nursed for a year and half and recommend it highly.

berniemcr · Apr 3, 2006

My youngest of 4 (now 28 yo) didn't want to give up nursing and she was very verbal . "Wanna nurse!!" At about 22 months old, I left the house every evening when it was bedtime,when she usually wanted to nurse the most, because she was OK with my ex-husband if I wasn't there. This went on for about 10 daysand by then she had established a new pattern and I was pretty well dried up. Told her "no more--its gone". It was a long time ago, but it doesn't look like she has any issues with it now. Good luck--you will mourn the last one being weaned. I knew she was my last, but I remember I cried because this was solid proof.

RNin2007 · Apr 3, 2006

Mine breastfed til he was 3 as well....I finally had to just make him quit "cold turkey." He yelled and screamed until he threw up for two nights in a row...then he was perfectly fine again (he was worst at bedtime/middle of the night). I just had to deal with a major headache for two days LOL.

He can still make himself throw up if he gets upset enough at something now...and he is 9! I have to tell him don't you dare make yourself so upset that you throw up...lol. It's all psychological.

~J

yvonnemuse, BSN, RN · Apr 4, 2006

My oldest had a difficult time weaning ,but we needed to as I was expecting his brother! He was 3 1/2 and very attached to nursing. I ended up putting alum on my nipples. He said " Milk yucky" We made a joke about it and he tried a few more times until he decided it really was not going to get any better. He was curious when his brother was born but did not act like he even remembered it!

BabyRN2Be · Apr 4, 2006

My oldest had a difficult time weaning ,but we needed to as I was expecting his brother! He was 3 1/2 and very attached to nursing. I ended up putting alum on my nipples. He said " Milk yucky" We made a joke about it and he tried a few more times until he decided it really was not going to get any better. He was curious when his brother was born but did not act like he even remembered it!

It is possible to tandem nurse two children and expecting another baby is not necessarily a reason to stop nursing the older child. However, in your case your son was 3 1/2 and I think that's a different story. IMHO, you had a great strategy there. :) I'm a certified breastfeeding educator and I'll have to remember this story if I encounter this situation with clients who are in your shoes.

ljds · Apr 5, 2006

Alot of my friends have breastfed their children for an extensive time period (until the kiddos were three or four), and some kids just slowly stopped on their own, some stopped on their own cold turkey, and some had to *be* stopped, and fought it kicking and screaming.

At three, your son is old enough to understand some basic reasoning. You can explain to him how much you love nursing him, how it was a wonderful thing to do for him, and how healthy it made him. Now he is a big boy, and there are other ways for you to show your love for him and to comfort him (insert whatever you do here; read, cuddle, etc). Now he is big enough to eat all the foods that can keep him healthy (insert favorite foods here), unlike babies and toddlers who can't eat those things. Explain to him that your body is telling you it is time to stop nursing.

A couple of ways to go about it--

You can have a weaning party. Invite some close friends, give some really cool gifts, and make it a celebration. Then, the next time he wants to nurse, explain, "Sorry, you had your weaning party. You are weaned. No more num-nums (or whatever you call them)." When one of my friends' daughter insisted on nursing, she made her put all her toys and clothes that she had gotten at her weaning party on a high but visible shelf, and told her that when she was *really* weaned, she could have them back. It took her about a day to decide that she wanted the toys more than she wanted to nurse.

My other friend initiates a countdown. Her child can nurse while she counts to 20. Then after a couple of days or a week, the count goes to 15; then 10, then 5. After a couple of days of counting to 5, there is no more nursing. She likes this method because it gives her and her kids a chance to learn some other coping and comfort methods while still having the nursing, albeit in shorter encounters.

Hope you find something that works for you and your son!

Lori