yes, sick of nursing. Been doing it with only a brief break between second and third kid, so roughly 5 years. "baby" is turning 2 soon. he loves to nurse. I love it when my boobs are like magic- when I can get him to fall asleep anywhere. I love it on some occasions. But the burden of is also very real. And nursing makes me hate having my breasts touched by my husband. I guess because they are over touched and overstimulated. I have a chance to do it this month before out next vacation. Though part of me wants to wait until our traveling is over for the summer so I have "magic boobs" to get him to sleep in new locations. And the truth of it is, it makes me really sad to be done with it all. This is my last baby so far as tied tubes can be depended on. Is it normal to be so done with it and so sad to let it go? I'd feel better if I could let him self-wean. But if he's anything like his sister, he'd nurse until he was 4 (no I did not let her nurse until she was 4, but trust me, she still wanted on).
Yes, it's normal to be ambivalent about all of this parenting stuff.
Whatever you decide to do will be fine!
I would wait until after vacation because it seems like too much at once with an out of the norm routine playing out.
I didn't make it that long nursing but pumping at work was simply not working for me. I dropped pumping first and then cutting back on nursing at home. I was done in about two weeks. I was initially bittersweet about the breastfeeding but after a couple of days it was nice to have my boobs back and work on other ways to connect with my child. I gave it a couple of weeks between kid and hubby taking over the boob duty. For me it was nice for them to be objects of desire again and not just objects of food. Good luck - remember there are seasons to everything in life. Time for the next season with your child.
I can understand that you have mixed feelings. I have mixed feelings just reading this.
Mine both self-weaned. They were both over age 1 so it wasn't "early". But I was still sad when it happened. And I was also very glad - no more pumping at work Woo Hoo! So, while I won't tell you what decision to make, I will tell you that feeling that you are so done but also so sad is totally normal.
i think the opposing emotions are completely normal. boy howdy, you're a trooper! that's a long time to have magic boobs!
and it'll probably take a while for you to start feeling as if they're anything BUT baby-magic. your husband must miss them. :)
i totally get it. it's always hard when you're well and truly done with something you know you're not going to do again. some things just don't end with emotional neatness, do they?
khairete
S.
Totally normal feelings! I was somewhat like that with my last. If it were me though, I'd wait until the craziness of traveling and different routines settles down to wean completely but may start cutting down on nursing now and do it gradually.
Hope you find something that works for you guys!
I started weaning anytime between 9 months to 11 months I think .. and yes, a little blue to begin with, but it passed almost immediately. And I'm sentimental.
I just loved having my body back and was happy to see them move on to a new stage. I thought I'd lose that connection or something but it was time. I knew because they never looked to nurse afterwards. Not even once.
I can't relate to my kids loving to nurse. Mine purely did to be fed. I didn't nurse them to sleep or for comfort - so for me it was easy. You might have some resistance if your 2 year old really loves nursing as you say - or relies on it to fall asleep. If that's the case, consider that before you vacation although a month should be enough time to wean I would think.
Good luck :)
I think I'd wait until after vacation. New foods, sitting in the car seat for extended periods of time, less of lots of things and lots of new things.
Constipation, diarrhea, stomach gunk, etc...let him nurse through vacation then start weaning once you're back to your normal routine. You'll have all sorts of time.
Plus while on vacation there's no reason he can't drink more out of a cup and only nurse at night or when needed.
I'd wait til vacation is over so that he is in a familiar place to have to give it up.
Put bandaids on your nipples and tell him "Mommy has an ouchie." And to dry up your breasts, do this trick that the nurses at the hospital told me about and it really does work. Put cold cabbage leaves in your bra against your breasts. Sounds bizarre, I know. But there is a chemical in the cabbage that is released with your sweat and breast milk when you leak that helps stop your milk supply. When you get the cabbage out of the frig, slice the big veins of the leaves with a knife, and then put the leaves against your breasts inside the bra cup. Change them out for new ones when they get wet and limp. The cold leaves feel good against your breasts and will make it easier to get through this.
If you get rock hard, put hot washcloths on your breasts or let the hot water in the shower help you express a LITTLE milk to give you some relief. But don't pump and nurse anymore.
Let Daddy put your toddler to bed. Have him sit beside him on the bed in your child's room and read a book, (TELL HIM NOT TO LAY DOWN ON THE BED) and then move to a CHAIR beside the bed and turn off the light. Have him sit in the chair, not touching his son, and to stay there until he goes to sleep. If he gets out of the bed and tries to go out of the room, Daddy gets up and brings him back to the bed and sits back down in the chair. No talking. No engaging. No allowing his son to leave the room. Just sitting and being there. This is really important.
It might take an hour the first night. It will get better if your husband is totally consistent. After a week or so, it will probably take him 10 minutes to go down. And as it gets better, your husband should move the chair farther from the bed towards the door. Eventually there will be no more chair in the room - only in the hallway. Leave the chair in the hallway for a while so that your son will know that someone is sitting out there for him for at least a few minutes.
This is the SuperNanny approach and is really a good way to handle sleep training for a child your son's age. The reason for your husband to do it is because you smell like milk and that's all your son will focus on. Your husband doesn't have the milk and he will keep him in the room. If he cries and cries, that's just the way it is. Your husband is in the room and that's what matters. He will just have to cry until he gets that there is no more nursing, period.
If you cave in even once, you will make his crying and sleeping even worse. Don't do it. When you start this, stay with it.
i weaned my daughter in april of 2013, and i still hate hubby touching them or doing anything to them. so that feeling may take a while to go away. i say continue to nurse but cut back on the sessions one by one till you have fully weaned. i weaned both my kids by dropping one session at a time till we were left with bedtime only. (i waited 2-3 weeks between dropping sessions, but i know others that had to wait 4-6 weeks to make it easier on the child)
