Breastfeeding a toddler
Rhett is about to be 18 months old. I’m still breastfeeding and there is no end in sight. So I wanted to share how it is for me to breastfeed a toddler. I want to normalize breastfeeding, no matter how long you decide to feed you baby, it is normal!
Rhett nurses still as much as he did when he was an infant, I know he can go a little longer because when he is being watched by someone else he doesn’t take a bottle. But when he is with me he nurses first thing when he wakes up and usually before naps and going to sleep and sometimes a few times between. One thing I do not understand is when people say to wean they say just drop a feeding, maybe if he was on a strict schedule but he is not.
When Rhett is sick or teething he nurses so much more. Some days he doesn’t care to eat solids at all and just wants to nurse all day.
At night time some nights I do not think Rhett is ever off the boob. Other nights he sleeps great, but even on good nights he still breastfeedings two to three times. Honestly I do not know another way to get him back to sleep so I immediately offer. We also co sleep. Well, he sleeps at first on his nugget for maybe 3 hours and then comes in our bed. Sometimes I wonder if he will sleep better if we wean him but I don’t know how I would get him to sleep in the first place.
Since becoming older it has been much easier and more comfortable, as opposed to when he was an infant and we were always trying to get a good latch. We can nurse in every position so… that’s fun. He also has learned to ask to nurse. He just just points to my shirt and I ask if he wants to nurse and he nods yes, so there are no guessing games.
Also since he has become a toddler he likes to twiddle and that drives me absolutely crazy. I hate it so much, I can usually hold his hand to make him stop but sometimes he gets so mad that I won’t let him put his hand in my bra. He even tries to play with my belly button.
I have never had an issue with biting. When his molars were coming in there were a few times where it hurt but he wasn’t biting me. I think he was clenching his jaw a little hard.
Other people have not really given me opinions besides my father-in-law telling me to wean him when he got his teeth at six months and my husband suggesting it to help us sleep better. I feel like I have gotten stares from people but no one has spoken up and been negative about it at all. Even if it did offend somebody and they said something I probably would just avoid them and ignore it I wouldn’t stop because someone else told me too.
Some days I feel so touched out and it drives me crazy. But most days I love it, I love the bond and the time we get to spend together. I love that I can bring him comfort. I do not see us stopping anytime soon, but who knows.
I am not for or against anybody breast-feeding longer than they want to, so if you want to breast-feed your baby Till they are 4 go for it or if you want to do it till they’re 12 months go for it. I understand that it can be tiring and exhausting. I mainly do it because I’m lazy and don’t want to sit there rocking a screaming baby and I love holding him. There is no wrong way to your breastfeeding journey, it is yours and no one else’s
