I found myself wondering, after reading Tara’s post, Weaning a toddler while pregnant, how many women need advice like this? What percentage of women are still breastfeeding a toddler and what percentage of those toddler nursing moms are willing to endure the pain of nursing, due to sore nipples from pregnancy, in order to continue breastfeeding? I would guess very few.

When my son was nearing a year, friends and family started asking me how long I planned to nurse. They also tried to convince me that my son didn’t need the breastmilk anymore. A very good friend of mine even told me that I had to “cut the cord” and that breastfeeding “had no nutritional value” after a year. The funny thing is that at one point of my life (prior to having a child) I believed that.

It is true that breastmilk comprises less of a baby’s overall diet as it grows and begins to eat a variety of foods, but it is certainly not true that breastmilk loses its nutritional value.

“Breast milk continues to provide substantial amounts of key nutrients well beyond the first year of life, especially protein, fat, and most vitamins.” (Dewey 2001)

Kellymom put out a fantastic fact sheet about the value of

extended breastfeeding, including information on nutritional value, and there is also a list of references if you would like to read the the actual studies.

Now my son is two, and I am breastfeeding once a day, just at nap time. For us, the best way to get down to one nursing session a day was to have my husband take over putting our son to bed, reading him a lot of good books, and always having a sippy cup full of water ready. We also found that just talking to our toddler about when he can and can’t nurse was also very helpful to him.

I would tell him that we were not going to nurse as much any more and that he could nurse at nap time, but not at bed time. So at night when he asked to nurse I would say (in a very upbeat and confident manner) “we already nursed today, you can nurse tomorrow at nap”. He seemed surprisingly agreeable for the most part. Although there were definitely times where it was hard to “stick to my guns” and not nurse him. Occasional tears were shed. The first few days were the toughest.

As a first-time mother, I am also learning the importance of consistency. I tried to night wean several times when he was about one and a half. But I was not always consistent about it. In general, the inconsistencies left him confused and frustrated more than anything. Now I make more of an effort to be consistent and I see that he can adjust much better when I do.

I would like to stop nursing completely soon, although I find it very difficult to just “let go“. I keep changing my mind about whether or not we are ready to completely wean… It has been such a wonderful bond between us. I am also concerned that my son will stop napping altogether if I do wean. He naps 2-3 hours a day and this time has become very precious to me as I am trying to finish my doctorate degree. Friends tell me he will wean when he is ready. I am not so sure- but have vowed to wean when I get pregnant again. Hopefully sooner than later!

Since writing this post I have completely weaned my toddler. Read the “Pretending to nurse… to wean” post here.

Be sure to read the other bloggers posts.

Badass Dad writes about his experience as a breastfeeding father.

Naturemoms Breastfed three children and reviews a book about breastfeeding.

Adventures of Pip and Squeak Breastfeeding an infant and weaning a toddler.

Breastfeeding Mums Reflects on her time as a breastfeeding mother of three.

A mama Knows Breast Deals with a low milk supply.

Motherwear Breastfeeding Blog Gently encourages weaning.

Crunchy Domestic Goddess Inauspicious breastfeeding beginnings.

blog.reidelizabeth Found support in La Leche League, a lactation consultant and family and resisted supplementing her breast milk.

Breastfeeding 123 It’s about weaning during pregnancy.

Related posts

• Weaning a toddler by playing pretend (14 comments)
• Weaning a toddler while pregnant (8 comments)

Here are my thoughts on breastfeeding and sleep…

When our son was an infant he slept in a bassinet next to my husband’s side of the bed. I couldn’t have him too near to me because his every move and squeak would rouse me from my sleep, heart racing. That is, if I was lucky enough to be asleep. For much of the night, I would lay awake, waiting for the next breastfeeding session.

When he grew older, we assembled his crib and placed it at the foot of our bed. He spent a few nights in it, until I read Dr. Sears’s The Baby Sleep Book (see side bar). The book convinced me the best place for my son to sleep was between his parents. Sears makes many convincing arguments as to why your kid should sleep next to you: breastfeeding is more comfortable and easier to do, baby will sleep better, SIDS risk is lower, etc. So I lifted my beautifully sleeping child out of his crib, which we started using to store clothes and blankets.

If I wore earplugs, I could block out his sweet little noises and actually get some sleep. Breastfeeding was easy. He would just fuss a little, find my breast and then we could both go back to sleep. However, it wasn’t until he was 3 months old that I could actually lay down and nurse him. Before that time, we didn’t line up very well, which made it painful to nurse. For the most part, this sleeping arrangement worked out well for us. My husband and I enjoy cuddling up next to him at night, quietly taking turns mimicking the funny things he said during the day. There have been times, however, when the “co-sleeping” arrangement breaks down and none of us get enough rest at night.

We’ve tried to end night nursing a few times with the hopes of all sleeping better, but haven’t yet succeeded. The first time, it took about three nights of our son sleeping only with my husband before he could get himself back to sleep after waking up. He’d cry less and less each time (meanwhile, I had barricaded myself in the second bedroom). I can still feel that joy of waking up one morning, realizing I had slept through the night. “I feel great!” I said to my husband. “Isn’t it wonderful to be you,” he said grumpily, between espressos. The euphoria didn’t last long, however, because the little one fell sick with the flu a week later, and the most comforting thing I could do for him was to nurse on demand. Each time we try to break his night habit, something sets us back—illness, irritability from shots, or teeth breaking through.

Perhaps sleep will come to us when our son graduates to his own room? Who knows. Some people (read: our parents) tell us, “You’ll never get him out of your bed!”

Good thing we bought a king-sized mattress.

For more great posts on this topic, please visit the other carnival participants: www.breastfeedingmums.typepad.com
mamasmagic.blogspot.com
crunchydomesticgoddess.com
www.veggieway.blogspot.com
www.jodimeisner.blogspot.com
www.breastfeeding123.com
thelactivist.blogspot.com

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