Question for those who nursed longer than 18 months

[Octobermommy]

I missed him terribly but he did a great job with the grandparents. I couldn't talk to him on the phone after the first day because he would get too upset. When I saw him after a week he just stared at me for a while. I thought he would immediately ask for milk but he did not. I got kind of upset thinking he wouldn't want to nurse again because I just didn't want it to end like that. He totally picked right back up though like we were never apart.

So, while I would not recommend being gone a whole week he did really good.

Thanks for all the support!




My toddler loves to nurse, I mean, seriously it is his favorite thing in the world to do. I have already nursed him longer than my other two b/c he *needs* it. He nurses at least 6 times a day. I love to nurse him and since he is my last I am cherishing it. I don't plan to try to wean him but if he weans himself that is okay obviously.

My question is if your child was a hardcore nurser at 18 months of age, were they still nursing 6 months later at 24 months? Was this because you wanted to wean or did your toddler self-wean Did you encourage weaning?

We are thinking of going on a vacation and leaving him with the grandparents in 6 months.
I don't want to do that if I am still nursing.

I'd love to hear others experiences.

TIA

[calv]

i just stopped nursing at 3 years and 4 months. It really depends on the child. For us it was just nursing at night. and I swear it was a comfort thing more than anything. I find it hard to believe that I had very much milk left. he may change his mind in 2 months, or 6 months.

[trales]

My daughter was pretty hardcore at 18months. It slowly relaxed and was finally just at night/ nap. Our last nursing session was on an airplane just before her third birthday, she nursed till she fell asleep and then never asked again.

I never really believed the self weaning thing until it actually happen. I was caught unprepared.

[egoldber]

My younger DD was a hard core nurser at 18 months. At age 2 I wondered if she would want to nurse until 18. She self weaned at around 3 years 6 months. Really, she just stopped asking to nurse.

I/We went on several overnight trips after she was 18 months and before she weaned. If you want to take a trip I would go.

[wencit]

If you want to take a trip I would go.

I would not hesitate to leave a still-nursing 2-year-old with grandparents to go on vacation! I did that with DS1, and it was totally fine. I came back, and he picked up right where he left off. He continued to nurse until he was 3 years 4 months when his little brother was born, and I forced him to wean because I was afraid the baby wouldn't have enough milk (I still regret that decision).

DS2 is 19 months and still going strong! This time I am going to nurse until he feels comfortable with weaning.

[catsnkid]

WE are 21 months in. Sometimes he likes to right when we get home after daycare/work. Other than that it is just at night/naps/sometimes first thing in a.m. It has been this way since 12 months or so. This has been entirely his choice.. My cousin's son self weaned at 15 months!

[MamaSnoo]

DD nursed until about age 27 mos.

She was nursing a lot still at 18 mos, many times a day, like your DS. By 21 months, she had cut back to am and pm only. And then to bedtime only fairly quickly. I took a trip for work when she was 27 mos and was gone 4 days. When I got back she asked to nurse only 2 more times, and then not again. She was not distressed by it that I could tell, but it did facilitate her weaning. Shortly after that she also easily transitioned from co-sleeping. She never nursed at all in her own bed, only in ours.

I did take a few overnight only work trips prior to when she weaned, and they did not seem to impact the nursing at all. My last trip was the longest separation we had ever had.

I would say go ahead and take your trip.....but if it will be more than a couple days, it might have an impact on the nursing.

HLH!


ETA-- ok I have to laugh, my 1000 post was about EBF!!! I did not even notice that I was there until it happened. Ironically, my first post ever was a thread about how desperate I was to stop nursing when DD was about 18 mos old. Well, hind-sight is 20/20, but I am happy to be posting here and happy we nursed as long as we did!

[Katigre]

Hardcore nursers at 18 months for both kids, and still nursing at age 2. DS weaned at age 2.5 (it was gradual over a few months) because I was pregnant, but his need for nursing and my ability to replace it with other things really increased once he was 2. Same goes for DD (who is still nursing well, but nowhere near the level of 'need' she had at 18 months). IME 18 months is sort of the 'peak' of nursing neediness and then it goes into a gradual slow down from there (or at least the child is amenable to a gradual slow down if mom pushes it );.

[cucaw30]

I would not hesitate to leave a still-nursing 2-year-old with grandparents to go on vacation! I did that with DS1, and it was totally fine. I came back, and he picked up right where he left off. He continued to nurse until he was 3 years 4 months when his little brother was born, and I forced him to wean because I was afraid the baby wouldn't have enough milk (I still regret that decision).

DS2 is 19 months and still going strong! This time I am going to nurse until he feels comfortable with weaning.

Did you pump while you were away? DS#2 is almost 16 months and I suspect he is starting to wean. Sometimes he will BF before bed and sometimes he refuses. He still always wants to BF first thing when he wakes up. I am trying to keep him going to at least 19 months (when DS#1 stopped) because he was a preemie and needs it so much more than his big brother did. When DS#2 has refused to nurse at bedtime, I've been really nervous that I am going to dry up. I haven't pumped or anything during these few times. Does anyone know if it is possible to skip a night here and there and not dry up? I'm convinced that I pretty much dried up before DS#1 stopped (but I was also very pregnant with DS#2) when he did. Any thoughts?

[MamaSnoo]

I pumped every away trip while DD was still nursing. I was very surprised for one trip when she was down to 2x a day. I brought a small manual instead of my love-hate PISA, and had terrbile engorgement issues. I never thought that would happen because at the time I did not think she was getting much. Boy was I wrong!

Moral of the story---I would plan to pump, but not just for supply, also for your comfort!