breastfeeding my 2 year old

My youngest turned 2 in july and i'm STILL breastfeeding her. :& My two older children both weened themselves at about 11 months, so i have no idea how to ween my 2 year old. I've tried everything i can think of. Soymilk in a sippy cup becuase she won't take a bottle. I;ve even just recently bought her some binkies, hoping she just needed something to suck on.
She eats good.. she eats any and everything.

Any idea's? It's time.

~M

 

my cousin is also 2 years old and he's been breastfed too. Its normal.

 

why wean? i'm breastfeeding a 3 year old.

 

Came across this site on my rambling round the net. Hope it helps

http://www.lalecheleague.org/NB/NBextended.html

 

There's nothing wrong with a 2 year old still nursing. My kids nursed at least that long, some longer.

They will usually slow down and nurse only when tired or when they need comfort, but it won't be the round the clock nursing of an infant.
Because she still wants to means she still needs to.

If you are totally over it and don't enjoy it any more, go slowly and gently with her. When she wants to nurse, distract her with a game, toy, or snack. Eliminate one nursing session a day per week or two, until only the bedtime nursing is left. Then try to pat her back or sing to her. If she insists on being nursed, let her. Don't let it be a power struggle and don't let her get upset.

Even if you do nothing, she will wean herself eventually, as the daily nursing becomes less frequent and she gets too busy to bother.

 

ahaha.. okay then maybe it's just the people i live around and know. they have been telling me it's "weird" , so i have been hiding it from them for the past 6 months or so. only my closest friend know.

i was thinking she nurses too much. 5 or 6 times a day. "snacking"

i'm starting to think its a comfort thing with her.

 

It's totally a comfort thing! She's being snuggled and cuddled and enjoying the bond that you two have had for TWO years! Too many people feel that nursing beyond a year is weird or gross or whatever. Don't let them dictate how you care for your child.

 

thank you everyone..

i feel much better about it now

 

It is perfectly normal. Looking at anthropology, human development, comparative development with other animals and the stage at life where they wean naturally, the eruption of adult teeth, sexual maturity, the maturing of the immune system (which is really not "functional" on it's own, without human milk until the 3rd or 4th year of life) the average span of weaning in a human is between 2.5 and 7 years of age.

This is when MOST human children wean. Take is slow. My kids (all four of them) weaned at different ages, none before a year. My youngest was four and a half. She still needed it until then. (and by the looks of the allergies she has gotten since she weaned 6 months ago, I can't imagine how sick she would have been if I had weaned her as a baby!)

Feel good about your nursing toddler. There is a great book from La Leche League caled Mothering Your Nursing Toddler by Norma Jean Bumgarner. It is VERY helpful. Going to a few LLL meetings are helpful, too. I am a Lactation Consultant and I also volunteer with LLL and I see some mamas who don't come until the relatives start to complain.

REMEMBER, she is YOUR baby. Not your relative's not your freinds. You know her more than they do. You care about her more. YOU make the decisions, not your freinds or your relatives. People who urge others to wean rarely have a clue about the nurturing and attachment that goes on during long term nursing. If they DID, they wouldn't be telling you to wean. They would be encouraging you to continue. THEY don't live with your baby and it is none of their business.

Keep on nursing her mama. She will stop when she no longer really needs it.

Blessing

Maggie

 

My first was 2 and old enough to reason with before I got him entirely weaned, lol. I promised him that there would always be a carton of milk in the fridge and didn't it make more sense because he could get a whole lot more a whole lot faster that way.. of course I also gave him free access to the fridge..not something most 2 year olds get.


When my daughter started nursing for comfort (like trying to nurse for 8 hours straight at night) I hooked her onto a pacifier..it was either that or dehydrate in my sleep. I don't remember if I got much sleep for a few nights after the switch, but at least I regained the ability to perspire.

Good Luck

 

I breastfed my youngest until she was 2 and 1/2, her daddy didn't like it but I didn't have a problem with it.

If you're wanting to ween her for you're own reasons, try keeping her a full cup around at all times (even if it's just water). the more independent she iss, the less she'll want to nurse (at least that's been my experience).

otherwise, I wouldn't worry what other people say. she'll stop nursing when she's ready.

 

In my personal life and as a lactation consultant I have found this to not always be true. "Dependency" has little to to do with how long most children nurse. However, a child who NEEDS to nurse and is denied will definately ask to nurse more to make sure it is still there. Some of my most independent kids nursed the longest. How do you think they GOT that way? LOL! (Independent, I mean. Their needs were taken care of, so they could get on with developing.)

That being said. moon, you may well have seen what you said in your post in your own kids. You may well have kids who wean as they become not only "independent" but also self reliant and most of all self confident (sign of a good mama!) which may be one of the reasons they then wean easily. Every baby and toddler is different, so what you have seen in YOUR babies is what works for you guys.

 

Ahh, a lactation consultant. I wish my hospital would have had someone like you! Specially when I first started, because my nipples were all cracked, bleeding, and everytime my baby latched on it was absolute agony, and I could never figure out why. It got better after about 3 weeks, but I remember those first weeks were horrible for me.

To be honest, I didn't have to do much to wean my youngest one at all. During the day she'd do her own thing, and she'd only nurse a couple of minutes each night when she was going to sleep. Eventually I just started drying up, and she stopped nursing altogether. She still cuddles against them constantly and nuzzles her face in them (almost like she's rooting or something) even though she's about to be 4 in a couple of months. Is that normal? My other 2 never did that.

 

That is normal for her! She just needs the closeness, even though she doesn't need the nursing itself anymore. Sage was still nursing at least once or twice a day at her age. My other kids were weaned at this age, too. They all "nuzzled" though. Every child is different.

I have to disagree with Blackie that a child who can pull it out is too old? What is this based on? Evolution, child development, age of sexual development, the eruption of permanant teeth, comparative zoology, the development of the immune system all prove that MOST kids can "pull it out themselves" long before they are ready to wean. I have had 6 month olds who could "pull it out" and seen 10 month olds who could walk up, and my kids could "ask for it" at 7 months, ("mama, numanumanumanumanumanumanuma!") and I don't think ANYONE would think this is old enough to wean!

 

my friend willow's mom nursed her little sister till she was 4. she turned out ok. :0)

 

hi there
my daughter is 2 and a half i still breastfeed.
i used to worry about this but all the people
around me dont worry, but i understand how hard it is
she has no bottle uses grown up cups no dummy but still likes
to snuggle for my milk.
i am going to try to ween her before the new year,her understanding should
be alittle better so she will notice other children who dont feed from thier mums..
but its natural to feed,and if you can cope let your child carry on,or even cut back on the comfort feeds, if you can cope with a few days crying then stop
just say no i suppose,but thats hard to do,i know my son cried for days
until he got used to none of my milk ,but that was years ago.
and also you dont have to stop feeding yet if you dont want to
its natural milk,and outside should not tell you whats right for your child
who is still only 2..

years ago woman feed for alot longer time than today
with the way they treat woman who want to feed themselves..

so dont stress about this,you are giving your child the best
but if you had enough then you have to stop and dont let your child have any more or you will confuss your child......
be stronge and try to understand the crying is just because they are
not getting what they are used too , ie your milk..


good luck
love n peace from saff

 

When my youngest turned 2 I was definantly ready to wean, she wasn't. It was really hard, but I felt as if I just really wanted my body back I had been pregnant or breastfeeding for over 4 years, since i got pregnant with her while breastfeeding her sister. I found it helped alot if Dad would put her to bed and when she really was insisting to breastfeed I would give her to him and he would walk her around. He finally got her to take a binky. It was very hard, she would reach over and try to grab my breast in her sleep no matter how I tried, i finally took to sleepin with my arms crossed in long sleeves. I know she wasn't ready herself but she turned out allright without any major emotional issues and even gave up the binky fairly quickly. I have known family's who do breastfeed until 6 or 7 but all I could say was not me I couldn't do it. Their children also seemed to be perfectly allright without any major issues. I think it is a personal choice.

 

There is no guarentee that weaning her will cause her to "notice other children." My youngest nursed until she was 4 and a half. Had more freinds, while still nursing, than she could count. She is now a certified genius. Really. Her IQ is higher than the school tests could score it (they go up to 130.) Sage is very social, and was while she was still nursing. Weaning does nothing for the child's social life, after nursing 4 kids, I can guarentee you that! If your baby isn't interested in other kids, it is her personality, not because you are "still" nursing her. If she pays no attention to other children now, she probably won't once she is weaned. Especially if that weaning comes before she wants it.

I do have to commend you for nursing her as long as you have, what is a few more months?

IF you are going to wean, DO NOT do it cold turkey (meaning just stop dead all at once) you can not only cause permanant ductal damage to your breasts, you can cause damage to the child's emotional and immune system. The immune system EXPECTS to adjust GRADUALLY as the child weans. A child does not have a fully functioning immune system until nearly 6 or 7 years old. Not that anyone expects you to nurse that long, but closer to that is better than farther. Basically, when you wean, it ISN'T just your "choice" you are making a choice for your child, who may or may not be ready. The child's needs should always be taken into account.

When your child is ready, weaning is NO PROBLEM (hell I've weaned four kids, no problems, why? They weaned themselves when they were ready. No sore breasts, no leaking, NO CRYING (NOT IN MY HOUSE!) no sad babies, no exhausting "distraction." It is a hell of a lot easier when the child is ready.) WARNING LACTATION CONSULTANT MAGGIE'S SOAPBOX: Parenting is FULL of "doing things I'd rather not be doing at the moment." I HATE wiping preschoolers butts after a messy poo. HATE IT! But I do it because I am supposed to, and they can't manage on their own. And I would be a negligent parent if I simpy refused to. Breastfeeding, even if the bloom is off the rose, so to speak, is nowhere near as nasty as doing that. IS it?

I've spent like,12 years of my life breastfeeding. Close to four years pregnant. (not counting miscarriages.) That's what happens when you take on the responsibility of being a mama. "Get my body back?" I KNEW my body was going to be shared when I let an other human take up residence in my womb the first time. My kids get ME for the rest of their lives. Body mind and soul.

Wait until your baby is ready. Or at least take it VERY slowly. With a two year old who is not ready, you will need to take more than a month to do it properly. PLEASE, for your baby, take it slow. Clinging or constant begging to nurse is a VERY strong sign that things are out of control for the child, and weaning needs to be stopped, put on the shelf and tried again in a few months. NEVER LET A BABY OR TODDLER CRY IT OUT DURING WEANING. The child feels rejected, as nursing IS YOU to him. Take it slow, and stop the weaning if the child shows signs of stress. PLEASE.

I have to disagree with this, Nursing is MORE than just "milk." It is a child's need, comfort and his way of loving. Weanings that go well, from the baby's POV, do NOT involved crying. PLEASE do not let your baby cry. He depended on you for years, since his conception. Take weaning VERY seriously. Take it slowly. PLEASE. "Being strong" is continuing with what your child NEEDS regardless.

 

I didn't bad rep you on this thread, blackie, Damn, quit worrying about the reps, dude.

I also have no idea what "Being a nudist" has anything to do with supporting breastfeeding. Never mind.

 

what does being a nudist have to do with breast feeding rights? you mean in public?