Stopping Nursing in Order to Get Pregnant

I would think that at 16 months he is old to be nursing even once per night. Most kids are sleeping through the night by then. Even my grand kids were sleeping mostly through the night right around there. Waking up 2-3 times per night seems way too many. That's what his total day of nursing would be.

Starting to lessen what he is taking in seems right in this instance.

I'm in the camp that thinks you are not teaching you son good sleep habits. Start teaching him that he doesn't need to nurse in order to go back to sleep and give him a healthy sleep pattern and then nature will take it's course.

Don't get me wrong, I applaud you for nursing to the 16 month point and beyond, but I'm concerned about the why. Why do you think he needs to nurse 2-3x's per night? You don't eat that many times at night, do you? Plus, it's not good for his little teeth to have milk sitting on them each and every night. Start giving him a sippy cup with warmed water in it if you think he needs something to suck at night.

Good luck!

ETA: I stand corrected on the "bad for teeth" part of my answer. Unless your baby has no enamel or little enamal (formed in utero,) or is pre-disposed to tooth decay, breastfeeding will not harm babies teeth.
http://kellymom.com/health/baby-health/tooth-decay/

Night weaning is absolutely the way to start out. At 16 months, this is purely comfort and he doesn't not need 'na na' in the middle of the night anymore. You will be very happy and grateful when you get pregnant that he is sleeping through the night, too. After you get him night weaned, nurse him after breakfast in the morning, and then nurse again after his nap (not before - you don't want him to associate sleeping and nursing anymore.) I'd give him a snack after the nap BEFORE you nurse him so that he doesn't nurse so long. And then one more nursing session before bedtime.

Drop the after nap session next. You'll have to have snack and milk in a cup ready for him after his nap and then get him embroiled in something that he is very interested in.

You'll have to decide which is best to drop next - morning or night. Just make sure that you do it rather soon and offer him food.

Good luck!
Dawn

Just my opinion but I would wean him at this age period. If you get pregnant he would be able to drink from a sippy cup and be done with nursing and at his age he is surely able to do this. I would say it's more for you than him at this stage. I don't think weaning a child this age traumatizes them if done slowly and cutting out night, then each feeding at a time. Kids are not as upset about it as parents are.

I nursed both my kids over a year, and in neither instance did my period not return for that long. I'm assuming you've consulted your doctor and there is no concern, but that's inconsistent with my personal experience, so it makes me wonder if there's more of a reason it hasn't come back yet.

I don't have any suggestions to offer, but I want to offer some encouragement. I am still nursing my 2.5 year old, and she still wants to nurse at night, and I haven't been able to break her of it no matter how hard I've tried. I don't want you to feel bad because everyone seems to want to tell you that it isn't okay...you aren't the only one. I don't feel bad about it. I brush her perfectly healthy little teeth, I don't let my boob hang in her mouth all night (as I'm sure you don't either)....and I'm at the point where I'd like to quit, too, but I don't know how to do it!! Good luck.

I know what you mean- it's one of the benefits of nursing (if you're lucky!) to not have Aunt Flo visit, but not when you'd like to get pregnant! With my older two, I didn't have a return of cycles until after they were two, but when they did, I got pregnant right away. Hope it goes as well for you!

An abrupt change in nursing is more likely to trigger ovulation than a gradual change. Night weaning is the most obvious way to accomplish that. Dr. Jay Gordon has a good article on how to nightwean gently:

http://drjaygordon.com/attachment/sleeppattern.html

Do be aware that at this point you're more likely to ovulate before your first cycle than someone with a younger baby- so pay attention to your fertility symptoms.

I think it sounds like nightweaning is the way to go. I have to say that I totally envy you! I exclusively breastfed all of my kids yet had periods back at around 12 weeks. After my second-to-last, I was breastfeeding and on the mini pill and managed to get pregnant anyway when he was 13 months old. If you are able to resume your cycle after the night weaning and get pregnant, you may very well be able to continue to breastfeed your son during the day while pregnant and continue as long as you are comfortable. My son self-weaned at around 17 or 18 months while I was pregnant so it was a nice way to let that end naturally and still gave me a few months off before the next baby was here.

Good luck!

Weaning should always be done gradually, not only for your son's sake, but because it's physically (and emotionally) hard on YOU to just stop suddenly. You don't want to deal with engorgement and hormone surges on top of upsetting your son's main source of comfort.
For me it was easier to drop daytime nursings first because I found it easier to distract my son (and later, my daughters) during the day. The last two nursings to go were the ones right before bed and first thing in the morning.
Beyond that I would suggest having as much sex as possible, as your age MAY be a factor in getting pregnant again.
Good luck!!!

I would let your baby decide when to stop. You could cut it down a little and nurse 2x a night instead of 3. For getting pregnant-have sex every other day. Relax and have fun with it. It will happen--nursing isn't a birth control. Many people get pregnant while nursing .

It will happen when it happens.You can take the steps to wean him or let him wean when he is ready to.Just becasue your nursing you can still become pregnant,happens to women all the time since your period hasn't returned your unsure when your ovulating in that case I would track backwards when you had your cycles and have sex during that window frame or take ovulation tests.You could stop nursing him at night feedings if he is still waking up to nurse now how will you handle him wanting to nurse at the same time having a newbie?Are you wanting to have him completly off the breast by then?

At 15 months I would start by night weaning and see if your period returns. Just drop one feeding per week and it should be fine for both your son and you.
Good luck!

I agree with you; night-wean and see what happens. That's the nursing that really holds the period at bay. I night-weaned my son at 22 months by leaving the room for a few nights with dad in charge. No nursing until the sun came out. It went really smoothly. For what it's worth, my period came back shortly before then when he was 20 months.

I gave birth to my son in April 2007, nursed him for 2.5 years, and have been having unprotected sex the entire time since then. I believe my period started before he was 1 year old. No 2nd kiddo. I do still have my period, but it's very light.

I suggest going to your OB/Gyn to see if your hormones are where they ought to be before you go the non-nursing route, especially if you both enjoy it.

I also am 38, nursing a 14 month old and not getting pregnant. We are only nursing 2-3 times during the day.....no night nursing, but she does take a pacifier at night. I got my period back at 6 months when she started eating food. While I chart my cycles, we've not prevented anything. I thought for sure I'd be pregnant by now. My periods before were clockwork.... not so much now.....i have 3-4 day swings. I know the older we get its harder to get pregnant. Did your period not return in the past as well? That seems odd to me (or maybe just not my experience). Good Luck!!

Updated

I also am 38, nursing a 14 month old and not getting pregnant. We are only nursing 2-3 times during the day.....no night nursing, but she does take a pacifier at night. I got my period back at 6 months when she started eating food. While I chart my cycles, we've not prevented anything. I thought for sure I'd be pregnant by now. My periods before were clockwork.... not so much now.....i have 3-4 day swings. I know the older we get its harder to get pregnant. Did your period not return in the past as well? That seems odd to me (or maybe just not my experience). Good Luck!!

ok, first, it's ok for breastmilk to pool in a baby's mouth during the night, it actually kills the bacteria that cause cavities. It's formula and cow's milk that are bad for teeth at night.

It's time to nightwean, and shouldn't be too hard. Basically, Dad takes over at night until he can fall asleep without it. Stand firm in denying it to him, even if you have to lie about it, "mommy's milk is all gone after 9pm," for instance. This is a good time to start setting boundaries about where and when you two will nurse. I stopped nursing in public after about 18mo and went with what *I* was comfortable with after that (but not to their detriment, of course).

I didn't have to wean to get pregnant, and my period returned after about 6 months, and I nursed exclusively, not even introducing solid food until they could chew it, around 7-9mo, depending on the kid. If nightweaning doesn't bring back your period, and you CAN still be fertile without a regular period, go see your OB.

And hurray for four! The fun of a big family, and everyone has someone to play with :)

Nursing should not be preventing you from getting pregnant.

If he is enjoying nursing.. take it ... I miss nursing my son, and trying to nurse my daughter was not easy she did not take to it like he did.

But, since I worked full time.. the once I went back to work nursing him in the morning and evening was all that I was doing, and once in a while over night. The last feeding to go was our morning one. My son did not use nursing to fall asleep, except in the middle of the night. But he would want to nurse first thing in the morning. Then we just stopped that.

Good luck

I nursed my first all the way through my second pregnancy and tandem nursed for a while after #2 was born. Totally possible to get pregnant. I only had 3 periods, not at regular intervals, between my period returning when #1 was 15 months and conceiving when #1 was 25 months. But you are going to need to have some sex :)
I would give it another 4-6 months, see if you get your period at least once in that time. 15-18 months is a typical return time for your period when you are nursing. If no period in that time, I would then consider cutting back gradually. Even reducing the number of nursing sessions may start things back up.
Best of luck!