I need help. My daughter is almost 18 months old, and though i would love to continue breastfeeding her, i just cant handle it anymore. I'm 13 weeks pregnant, and though that doesnt mean i have to stop breastfeeding, i do. My nipples are soooo insanely sensitive i want to scream half the time she nurses! The sessions that are, of course, going to be the hardest to give up/stop are nighttime and middle of night. And morning, only because once she wakes up in the middle of the night we just bring her back to bed with us to sleep so we dont have to get up again a few hours later...so as soon as she wakes up in the morning she's on the boob. But anyway, what do i do? And how do i do it?! I feel so guilty cause i dont want to break our bond or upset her by forcing to quit nursing when she's not ready, but i feel like i may just lose my sanity. . . . So, if you can help, please please please do so.
**Yes, she is on whole milk now. Many times if i simply cant distract her with a book or game, a cup of milk will work like magic. BUT, what about middle of the night sessions? How do i wean her from those particular times?!
Children this age are fascinated by bandaids and boo boos. Take two bandaids and cover your nipples and tell her Mama has boo boos. Leave them on for a few days (of course change them) until she quits asking. I have had so many moms do this and it works like a charm!
Your nipples will not stay sensitive for a long period of time - I would attempt to stick it out for a t least 3 nursings in a 24 hour period until your nipples go back to normal in a week or two... For tandem and pregnancy nursing information, www.kellymom.com and www.drjacknewman.com are GREAT resources.
Mothers go thru the same thing as you are - and usually if they stick it out past a 'bad session' they go back to being ok with nursing, especially when they understand how much their child - the precious baby they had inside their bodies - wants and needs to continue nursing - not just for comfort, love and security - but also due to the superior nutrition and immune benefits.
I was a single Mom - breastfeeding on demand, pumping while at work and college, co-sleeping, etc. The number of times I wanted to just force her to quit had to have been over 6 times in the first year... but I persevered, did what I knew was best for my baby, and she ended up 100% self weaning at 4.5 years old.
IF she is drinking from a cup already howabout a warm sippy cup of milk for those times and/or sitting the cup by the rocker and a soft song or humming or even just talking softly as you reassure her and put her back to sleep???
Give her a sippy of milk, instead.
I know the feeling.
When I was pregnant once, my daughter was still nursing.
It hurts.
TOTALLY sensitive nipples.
Egad.
Well your daughter is 18 months old. She I assume, is on whole milk by now???
Or you just need to distract her, when she goes for your boobs.
Kids that age can get distracted easily.
Or just don't sit down or lie down. Tell her "Mommy is busy.... in a minute..." then MAKE yourself busy. And she will get distracted.
My daughter self-weaned at about 2.5 years old.
That is what I would do. Distract her sometimes.
Then again, the sensitive nipples, does go away after a time.
If you can put up with that or not. Its up to you.
I never nursed while pregnant so I can't answer the dealing with sensitivity thing, but when I weaned my girls I eliminated one feeding per day until we were down to just the bedtime one. Then I made that one a minute shorter every night until it was 2 minutes. The next night I just rocked, no nursing. It worked well for both of us since I wasn't engorged and they were happy. As far as the middle of the night, she shouldn't really need to eat then, so it's probably more of a comfort thing. Maybe you could comfort her in another way--offer (or introduce) a lovey, give her a quick cuddle, etc. Good luck and congratulations on the new baby!
Been where you are and it is tough. Offer her a cup of milk/water/juice in the middle of the night if she insists on nursing. The first couple of nights she will be pawing at your chest, but then she will adapt. Just make sure you wear a t-shirt or covering shirt, hold her with head on your shoulder or seated facing out on your lap and do whatever it takes to calm her. Work on middle most bothersome feeding first, when she's not begging for that one, move on to the next. Kids adapt best when change is made over time. It usually took me a month to wean fully. Also, shorten her nursing sessions to just a couple minutes then your breasts will gradually produce less milk making it less desirable to her.
I got pregnant while using contraception when my second child was turning 1 and still nursing 5 times a day and during night too. So I do understand how you feel. You can do this without a lot of resistance if you do it slowly and offer lots of reassurance. Thankfully breastfeeding is only one of many ways to nurture a toddler. Best wishes and Congrats on your new addition to the family.
Seriously? At 18 months she DOES NOT need anything in the middle of the night - she should have been sleeping through the night long ago. I'm sorry to sound harsh and I'm trying not to be rude, but you need to be stronger or you'll be so sorry when baby #2 comes. I made so many mistakes with my first, so I'm not throwing blame - we all do it. I was 4 months pregnant with #2 when I weaned #1 (she was 14 months), but at that time I believe she was only nursing once or twice a day and certainly not in the middle of the night. The best way to wean is distraction - babies are easily distracted and that's what you have to do when she tugs at you for the breast. At night you have to be strong - this child will never sleep through the night or in her own bed all night if you keep doing what you're doing. Try putting her to bed with a sippy cup of water that she can reach for if she wakes up and is thirsty; she really doesn't need milk in the middle of the night and you deserve to be able to sleep through the night. She is drinking water throughout the day, right? If not, she should be. Just be strong and don't give in - it's hard and you'll feel guilty, but in the end it is the best for both you and her. Good luck.
These might help:
http://lilyrose.hubpages.com/hub/Sleep-Training-Help-for-...
http://lilyrose.hubpages.com/hub/sleep-training-good-nigh...
http://lilyrose.hubpages.com/hub/Sleep-Training-Baby-Slee...
It sounds like night weaning is your first priority right now. I've found this article by Dr. Jay Gordon to be immensely helpful:
http://drjaygordon.com/attachment/sleeppattern.html
I don't think hard-core sleep training is the way to go- it just seems to set families up for a more combative relationship in the long run. The gentler you're able to meet everyone's needs, the better for long-term family harmony.
Totally feel your pain! The all night nursers are hard to break. Good Luck with that mama!
So sorry to hear you're dealing with physical pain on top of the tricky process of weaning. I weaned my daughter at around this age. We started by substituting water for the less pressing feeding (turned out to be the bedtime one). She had a leakproof sippy cup next to her bed. Likely that my husband was putting her to bed until she stopped asking for the breast. This took a few days. Next up was the middle of the night one and/or 4/5am this one we adressed basically with sleep training. At a mellow point during the day prior to beginning this night weaning, I told her that the milk was all gone and when if she woke up she wouldn't be drinking milk. That night and the next we had Dad go in to her when she cried and soothe her. We used what I guess is the Ferber method of going in to soothe, then stepping away, going in after 5 minutes, soothing, then 10, then 15. I dont think we got to fifteen. This took about 2 nights. The discomfort of engorged breasts went away after 3 or so days (hot showers, pain relievers helped)
Best of luck :)
I don't get what you mean she is on whole milk, isn't your breast milk whole? Are you saying you want to go from human milk to the milk of a cow? Strange....
