Are you breastfeeding a toddler?

[GEM]

I hadn't thought about it. It wasn't a black/white now we are done sort of thing. He just sort of slowed down gradually and asked less often. Up until a few weeks ago, he nursed every morning. Then, he cut down to just every couple of mornings. Then, he just stopped asking all together. It was a very easy process for us.

 

[vatmark]

Gem that is such a wonderful story. You should be so proud of yourself. I'd bet most women in that situation would not have pumped every 3 hours for months.

I wish i could have BF my daughter longer. I had to go back to work when she was 3 months old. I continued to BF her and tried to pump at work. I got her to 5 1 /2 months old and it was just becoming too much. Work was less then accomodating. I would have to go and pump on my lunch break in a one stall dirty bathroom. There was no electricity to use a good pump so I had to use a manual one. Let down took a while because I was tense. I had to give it up and it was very sad. My son was 1 when he started giving up the breast.

Annie

 

[flminivanmama]

it was gradual & painless for us too, completely childled... still the weaning party was lovely & fun

 

[DisneyPhD]

I hadn't thought about it. It wasn't a black/white now we are done sort of thing. He just sort of slowed down gradually and asked less often. Up until a few weeks ago, he nursed every morning. Then, he cut down to just every couple of mornings. Then, he just stopped asking all together. It was a very easy process for us.

That is my hopes for Lily too. She is nursing only in the morning now, if I am up before she is and don't take her into bed with me she doesn't nurse. As it is it has been a lazy summer and we don't get up too early. Her sister was in the am class for K next year so I figured it would be over then, but they called and said she isn the pm now. Not sure how I feel about it.

That is really how it happened with Anna (at 27 months) I was concerned how to stop, I shouldn't have been. No encourgment on my side either.

Either way GEM your story and Paul's is an amazing one!

 

[PoohHappens]

Read lots of this thread as I wait around for the birth of #3! It's too hot to do anything but sit anyway!

I did BF DD for 9 mos (6 exclusively and then stopped pumping at 6 months) then I BFd DS for 10 mos exclusively and stopped pumping at 10 mos and weaned about a month later. My Pump in Style and I are very close as I went back to work at a young age with both kids.

I have a question for all of you...with both kids we had big time thrush issues. With DD it was so bad that it was why I weaned her! I was depressed, tired of nystatin, tired of gentian violet, tired of pain! With DS when the problem crept up again DH finally agreed that I should try Diflucan (which I had mentioned with DD but he didn't want me to take anything). The Diflucan worked great and I was able to BF for quite a while longer. Does anyone have advice on heading this off at the pass? Can I get it stopped before it starts? I tried acidophilus with DD and it didn't seem to do anything. Having never had a yeast infection I don't understand why I am so prone to thrush? Is it leaking? I seem to leak like mad from day one - like a constant state of let down!

Now with DS #2 my goal is at least his first birthday! Pumping works well for me, extended family has gotten a little less weirded out by me, and if I can get this thrush thing under control then all the factors will be in place! I don't know that I'll ever make it as long as some of you but I'd like to make it longer than I have before!

We had thrush horrible, I was in tears a couple of times when he would latch it burned and hurt so bad. Yeast loves 3 things especially, heat, sweet, and moist. If you leak a lot you have provided that environment without even trying. No fault of your own. You also tend to give it to one another and it becomes a viscious cycle. Diflucan is wonderful. I understand being hesitant to take anything, but difulcan is a medication they can give to the baby too so it is safe. I could not take it because of an interaction with another drug I was taking,. They did give it to my son. If it happens again this time i would recommend just starting with the diflucan for both of you and then make sure to follow all the other yeast rules. Boil your pump supplies and pacis bottles etc....any thing that goes in the childs mouth. Was your bras in the hottest water they can tolerate and change them daily. change your nursing pads often. Decrease or eliminate refined sugar in your diet. Sometimes people try yogurt and acidofolis, however if you are eating yogurt with sugar or lots of the milk with it in it, it can actually make it worse. Try the supplement. Best of luck to you, I hope you can successfully nurse without the hassle of this again.

 

[Bird-Mom]

Read lots of this thread as I wait around for the birth of #3! It's too hot to do anything but sit anyway!

I did BF DD for 9 mos (6 exclusively and then stopped pumping at 6 months) then I BFd DS for 10 mos exclusively and stopped pumping at 10 mos and weaned about a month later. My Pump in Style and I are very close as I went back to work at a young age with both kids.

I have a question for all of you...with both kids we had big time thrush issues. With DD it was so bad that it was why I weaned her! I was depressed, tired of nystatin, tired of gentian violet, tired of pain! With DS when the problem crept up again DH finally agreed that I should try Diflucan (which I had mentioned with DD but he didn't want me to take anything). The Diflucan worked great and I was able to BF for quite a while longer. Does anyone have advice on heading this off at the pass? Can I get it stopped before it starts? I tried acidophilus with DD and it didn't seem to do anything. Having never had a yeast infection I don't understand why I am so prone to thrush? Is it leaking? I seem to leak like mad from day one - like a constant state of let down!

Now with DS #2 my goal is at least his first birthday! Pumping works well for me, extended family has gotten a little less weirded out by me, and if I can get this thrush thing under control then all the factors will be in place! I don't know that I'll ever make it as long as some of you but I'd like to make it longer than I have before!

To try and head off thrush before it gets there, cut out as much sugar as possible from your diet, and change your nursing pads very frequently to keep dry as possible. Did you have antibiotics in labor (GBS positive)? That could be a contributor too. If you did before, it is likely you will again (unless you test negative and have an open minded care provider b/c once positive always positive is the current mainstream thought), so start taking acidophilus now and continue for at least 6 months after baby is born. If baby starts showing signs of thrush, you can break open the acidophilus capsule and put the powder on your nipples so baby gets it too.

 

[Bird-Mom]

GEM, I just want to say that you rock! Your story is so amazing. I admire your courage and perseverance. Paul is one lucky little man to have you as his mama!

 

[CRSNDSNY]

Wow...what a great thread with many phenomenal women here! WTG!

For the woman who BF her adopted baby, GEM for continuing to nurse your son for so long and for all of the women who continually face adversity because of such a naturally giving thing, I admire you!

It is great to not feel so alone...and I think that is why we are all patting one another on the back. When you have your own family asking you rediculous questions like, "SO HOW LONG ARE YOU GOING TO CONTINUE TO DO THAT???" and "OH, YOU'RE STILL DOING THAT???" -- it is important to surround yourself with women who are likeminded.

Keep it up ladies!

~~~~~~~~~~~
OH! And one thing I did learn that I don't think I saw mentioned here was that the best moisturizer for your n*pples is your own MM. I used that to help keep things functioning. And like someone else just said, keep your bras clean and pump mechanisms well-sanitized...I never had a problem with thrush.

 

[Tired Mama]

GEM, I just want to say that you rock! Your story is so amazing. I admire your courage and perseverance. Paul is one lucky little man to have you as his mama!

I just want to echo this sentiment

 

[PoohHappens]

Sorry this is OT but throughout this thread I have seen AP and crunchy and I do not know what these terms mean. Please excuse my ignorance.

 

[chobie]

AP is:
http://www.family.org/fofmag/pf/a0025000.cfm

Crunchy, I think, refers to beign completly natural. Home birth, cloth diapers, non vac or cir etc.

 

[katytrott]

I am a preschool speech therapist and the advice about the Signing Times videos/books is great! If you do not see an improvement, ask your pediatrician about a speech and language evaluation. You may also be seeing tantrums as a result of frustration in his difficulty communicating. IMO and according to research these early years are critical for language development and it would not hurt to evaluate him early.

There is a lot of research about bottle feeding affecting language development, not so much about breastfeeding. I would think that at his age you were not nursing as often as bottle fed kids get a bottle- does that make sense? We recommend weaning from a bottle at 12-14 months, not sure about nursing. I really don't think it has the same impact, but I have to admit I am not sure. i will look and see if I can come up with any information for you.

Slightly off topic - sorry, but wanted to mention I did signing with our son and it was fantastic. He is now 21 months and speaks hundreds of words and sentances. I am sure this is down to the signing.
I do have one question for belle&beast, hope you don't mind. I had to give up breast feeding when my son was three months (due to my Dad having a diagnosis of cancer and me having to nurse him pre-op). My son is now 21 months and I cannot get him off his bottle. He only uses it for milk, everything else is out of a normal cup, and he only uses it for a bit in the morning and a bottle before bed. He doesn't necesarily want the milk, but I want him to have it as it is still recommended for his age group. Problem is he wont drink the milk out of anything but his bottle. Is it more important he has the recommended amount of milk or he gives up using a bottle and therefore his milk for his speech development reasons etc? Hope that makes sense.
I am so sorry I have asked a bottle feeding question on a breast feeding thread but I really didn't want to miss the opportunuty of asking an expert.

 

[PoohHappens]

Ok this is also OT but I have just felt so welcome here. I don't really always fit in as I would have breastfed forever if I could have but I had to use some formula. ( I am the one with the adopted baby) At the same time my formula using friends did not understand my great concern with feeding my child formula. My son required soy due to eczema and other problems with dairy ( I really do not think cow's milk was designed for babies anyhow). But I was shocked reading our first can of soy formula that the main ingredient is corn syrup solids, it also has sucrose and other "crap" in it. This is not to knock anyone who is using formula, this would just not be my choice. Anyway there is a formula out there Baby's Only thay is made with brown rice syrup solids and soy protein. I was just wondering if any of you "natural" folks out there have any imput on this. We are considering adopting again and I will do everything in my power to provide breast milk, but know alas I will require some formula. I would love any imput or suggestions you all might have. I realize you all have probably never even touched formula but I thought I would ask. We tried a milk bank, but most have such a great demand with NICU's that they will not allow a private individual to purchase the milk. I can't afford the $2.50 and ounce price anyhow. I offered to purchase a friend of mine a pump in style if she would provide me one pumping a day for the duration of her nursing and she really thought about it but decided it was just too much for her. Thanks for listening to me. Jenn

 

[Bird-Mom]

PoohHappens, I think you are amazing to BF an adopted baby! That is awesome. I would go as natural as possible with the formula. There is also a recipe for making formula. One of my friends is BF twins and had a supply problem, so she occasionally supplements with the homemade stuff. I think it can be found in the cookbook called Nourishing Traditions. Our midwife recommended that over the store bought stuff.

Did you try domperidone when you started the lactating protocol? That stuff works wonders for supply problems. I took it with my first when her weak suck caused my supply to crash. Let me know if you want more info on it.

 

[DisneyPhD]

Pooh happens. Lily never had any formula (excpet those darn 2 oz they gave her at birth.) So I never had to deal with the soy issue, but after the fact I read that soy formula is not good. It has super high levels of something that really isn't good to do. Now I can't remember what, but I read a few articles on the mater and I was relived she never needed it. I don't think this is the case with other non cow's milk based formulas, just soy.

Don't ever kick yourself for not being able to bf for as long as you might have wanted to. You did great.

 

[amarberry]

Pooh Happens- I am in awe of mother's who nurse adopted children. What a wonderful gift to give your child. As for the formula issue, I am familar with the Baby's Only brand and have heard good things about it. If your child has eczema and is having issues with dairy (early signs of food allergies), I can't imagine that a formula containing corn would be a good idea. Corn is a common allergen whereas rice is a low allergen, so if possible, I would definitely stick with the Baby's Only.

Best of luck to you!

 

[becca011906]

Pooh happens, if you will head over to MDC you will often hear of mom's pumping extra milk and shipping it to mama's who will feed the BM to thier babies, i have given a friend of mine a whole days worth of my frozen milk when she was hospitalized, ect. b/c she was so worried of giving formla to her baby... i wasn't using what i was freezing anyways it was just every 2-3 days a week when allie would skip a nursing session for one reason or another... there are mama's out there that are willing to help moms who want BM for thier babies. I would if i could be my dd has began weaning and is down to 1 time a day, my supply is very gone now, never feel full, actully think i might be pregnant still haven't had a post period since allie was born, but haven't checked either no symtems but we'll see... just though i would tell ya there are ways of getting Breast Milk w/o paying a milk bank!

 

[PoohHappens]

PoohHappens, I think you are amazing to BF an adopted baby! That is awesome. I would go as natural as possible with the formula. There is also a recipe for making formula. One of my friends is BF twins and had a supply problem, so she occasionally supplements with the homemade stuff. I think it can be found in the cookbook called Nourishing Traditions. Our midwife recommended that over the store bought stuff.

Did you try domperidone when you started the lactating protocol? That stuff works wonders for supply problems. I took it with my first when her weak suck caused my supply to crash. Let me know if you want more info on it.

Thanks all for the wonderful comments and suggestions. Yes I did take Domperidone and yes it did work wonders. I went from no milk to drops withing the first 24hours and to pumping 3 oz per time within days. Not something commonly known here in the states, I had to get it from Canada. Thank you again for all your suggestions. Please now return to the wonderful world of discussing bf your babies/toddlers.

 

[pjupton]

Anyway there is a formula out there Baby's Only thay is made with brown rice syrup solids and soy protein. I was just wondering if any of you "natural" folks out there have any imput on this.

I would love any imput or suggestions you all might have. I realize you all have probably never even touched formula but I thought I would ask.

On the contrary, formula kept my babies alive for the first 6 weeks of their lives while I recovered from nearly dying due to complications from their birth. It wasn't my first, second, or even third choice, but formula is not horrible. It has a purpose and that is to keep babies from starving to death.

There are several organic formulas on the market but I urge you to please, please, please do lots and lots of research before choosing to make your own.

 

[TinkerbellMama]

On the contrary, formula kept my babies alive for the first 6 weeks of their lives while I recovered from nearly dying due to complications from their birth. It wasn't my first, second, or even third choice, but formula is not horrible. It has a purpose and that is to keep babies from starving to death.

There are several organic formulas on the market but I urge you to please, please, please do lots and lots of research before choosing to make your own.

I completely agree with everything she said.