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As i mentioned in my post yesterday, day one was a huge success. She went down well, only cried for a few minutes and slept for about 2 hours. Other than asking a couple of times while we were reading her book she didn’t seem to really miss nursing at all. She was incredibly happy to nurse before bed yesterday though!
Day two was a success as well. She is now napping soundly. It did take her longer to fall asleep, about 30 minutes. Although, she only cried for a couple of seconds today, most of the time she was just talking to her stuffed animals. I had expected it to be a little rougher today as she went down for her nap late due to a lunch date we had with friends, but so far so good.
Today I did the same as yesterday. I:
- Got her ready for her nap as usually; grabbed her blankie, kissed the kitties, changed her diaper, got her crib organized, and closed her blinds.
- I started to read her a story. However, today she wasn’t all that interested in the story, I read a couple of pages and then she just closed the book and pointed at her bed and said “bed”.
- I gave her a big hug and kiss and laid her down in her crib and left the room.
The big success for me was that she didn’t ask to nurse and when she didn’t want to listen to the story she asked to go into her bed. This might be way easier than I had thought it was going to be. I had been prepared for a battle and had been dreading starting this process, but Maya has surprised me again and made me so proud of her.
I’ll keep you posted on our progress.
My daughter is 17 months old and I’ve been very slowly weaning her from breastfeeding since her first birthday. Basically, I was dropping feedings every few weeks or so until I was down to these last three, morning, before nap and before bed. Now it is time to tackle the big ones.
Since birth Maya has nursed to sleep for naps and bed. Now that she is older she often doesn’t fall asleep nursing anymore. Sometimes she’ll drift off but is always awake when I lay her down in her crib and she puts herself to sleep. I wanted to make sure she was putting herself to sleep well and no longer really nursing to sleep before I tackled eliminating the before sleeptime nursing sessions.
So, today is the big day. Day number one of weaning her from her before nap nursing session. Here is what I did:
- Got her ready for her nap as usual; grabbed her blankie, gave the kitties a kiss, changed her diaper, set up her crib and closed the blinds in her room.
- Sat down in the chair in her room with her in my lap and read her a story.
- Gave her a big hug and a kiss and laid her down in her crib.
It went pretty well, much better than I expected. A few times while we were reading her book she tried to close the book and signed that she wanted to nurse. I explained to her that “mommy’s milk” was all gone right now and that we were going to read a story instead. When I laid her in her crib she was fine and was no longer asking to nurse. She did start to cry when I left the room but had stopped and was sound asleep within 5 minutes of me leaving the room.
All and all a very successful first day. I’ll let you know how tomorrow goes. Let’s hope it goes smoothly and this weaning process is easier than expected.
I’d love to hear any of your advice or your own weaning success stories.
Often new parents prepare for the arrival of their new baby by putting a lot of time and energy into getting the room ready, preparing as best you can for labor, and reading as much as you can about how to car for newborns. However, people often don’t give breastfeeding as much thought as they should. Many parents will read about it and maybe even take a breastfeeding class at their local hospital, but beyond that they tend to not give it much thought, thinking it is natural and won’t be that hard. The challenges of breastfeeding during the first few weeks are many and often result in a mother giving up altogether. The more you know about the challenges you may face and the better equipped you are to handle those challenges the more like it is that you will successfully continue breastfeeding your baby beyond the first few weeks.
The Challenges You May Face:
- The baby has trouble latching on. This is very common and easily over come with a little practice, patience, and some time with a good lactation consultant. Most hospitals provide lactation consultant services while you are in the hospital and after you go home. If your baby isn’t latching on properly take advantage of their services, you’ll be happy you did.
- The baby wants to eat all the time. In the first few days your milk supply is not in yet and the baby is only getting colostrum. Often your baby will want to eat very frequently. By allowing your baby to feed frequently you will help ensure you have a strong milk supply when it comes in. Also, their little tummies don’t hold much so they do need to eat often. Don’t worry it gets better.
- Your breasts become engorged. As your milk supply comes in you may experience some engorgement. Allowing your baby to nurse often will help alleviate this, along with hot showers, a little pumping and warm compresses. Usually this passes in a day or two as your body adjusts. If you are concerned contact a lactation consultant.
- Your nipples are sore, chapped, or irritated. It is common to experience some discomfort during breastfeeding early on. However, if it remains painful after the first few minutes it may be a sign that your baby is not latching on properly. For chapped or sore nipples use lanolin and allow your breasts time to breath outside of a bra for a while.
- You can’t tell if your baby is getting enough to eat. This can be especially difficult since most babies will have some weight loss after they are born and you can’t see how much they are taking in. Feed your baby frequently and as long as they are gaining weight and your doctor isn’t concerned than you shouldn’t worry. If you baby isn’t gaining weight you may need to meet with a lactation consultant to ensure the baby is latching on properly, and in some cases you may need to supplement with formula until both you and the baby get the hang of things.
- It is too exhausting. Taking care of a newborn is a lot of work, around the clock. Breastfeeding can feel that much more frustrating when you are exhausted. Remember to sleep when the baby sleeps and enlist the help of your partner for some of the baby care tasks.
The most important thing to remember is that you are doing a wonderful thing for your baby by breastfeeding him or her. It does get easier, a lot easier, once you get past the first few weeks. Once you get past these challenges you will feel very proud of yourself for sticking it out. I had my own challenges during the first couple of weeks after my daughter was born, however, I suffered through and now am still breastfeeding her almost 15 months later.
However, if do end up deciding to formula feed instead, don’t feel guilty or let others lay a guilt trip on you. Formula is a perfectly good alternative to breastfeeding. Sometimes it just doesn’t work out, and that’s OK.
Be sure you have all the necessary baby feeding supplies to help you with successful breastfeeding. Including things like a breastfeeding support pillow, comforting nursing bras and clothing, and a breast pump so you can pump and let dad take over one of the night time feeding sessions when you are too tired.
Remember to talk to your doctor, your child’s pediatrician, a lactation consultant or other breastfeeding moms if you have questions about breastfeeding or the challenges you are facing. Successful breastfeeding requires support.
Extended breastfeeding is breastfeeding beyond the first year. It is a very common practice in other countries but is still a little taboo here in the United States (and much of the western world for that matter). There is a lot of pressure on women to wean their babies by their first birthday. Women often face disapproval from family, friends and strangers if they choose to breastfeed beyond their child’s first birthday.
Choosing extended breastfeeding is a personal decision that you need to make based on what is right for your child and you. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends continued breastfeeding beyond the first year as long as it is mutually acceptable to both mother and child. If you are considering extended breastfeeding but have questions about what to expect or what is best for your baby talk to your child’s pediatrician.
So what are some of the advantages and disadvantages to extended breastfeeding:
Advantages:
- Provides your child with additional calories, nutrients and valuable immunities. Although most of their nutrition will come from solid food after their first year breastmilk is a great addition to that nutrition and can be particularly important if your child is lacking nutrients in their solid food diet.
- Provides reassurance and support for your child as they go out and explore their world more and become more independent.
- If your child is sick breastmilk may be the only thing they can keep down providing very necessary nutrition to help them get better, and has been found to help avoid dehydration.
- Continues the bond you have built with your child through breastfeeding during the first year.
Disadvantages:
- You may have to deal with negative comments and stares from family, friends and strangers. Always having to explain yourself may get a little tiresome.
- Some people believe that trying to wean a stubborn 2 year old is much harder than weaning a 1 year old. Depending on your child you may run into this if you breastfeed beyond the first year.
- If you have another baby it can be difficult to tandem nurse, or try to wean your toddler during this already difficult transition for them.
- If you become pregnant while still breastfeeding your toddler you may find a decrease in your milk supply.
As I stated before, the decision on whether or not to breastfeed beyond the first year is one only you and your family can make. You will need to look at your own personal situation and make a decision that is best for you and your baby. Talk to your doctor, your local La Leche League, or other moms who have chosen extended breastfeeding for support and advice.
On a personal note, my daughter just turned 1 and I am still breastfeeding her. I didn’t originally think that extended breastfeeding was for me, but now I see it differently. My plan is to wean her from a few of her middle of the day feedings over the next couple of months but to continue breastfeeding her in the morning and at bedtime (and probably naptime) until about 18 months or so. I may let her self-wean, particularly from the nighttime feeding so the transition is easier for her. We’ll see!
Additional Resources:
The CDC has released a new study showing a rise in the number of new moms who are choosing to breastfeed their babies. 77% of new moms are breastfeeding their newborns at birth, up from 60% in 1994. The greatest rise was seen among African-Americans who are now breastfeeding at a rate of 65%, up from just 36% in 1994. These are the highest rates of breastfeeding in at least 20 years.
The rise is thought to be a product of the increase in information available to new moms about the benefits of breastfeeding, the increase in education through hospital-run breastfeeding classes, access to lactation consultants immediately after delivery, and a society that is becoming much more accepting and supportive of breastfeeding.
The study found that breastfeeding was lowest among women who are unmarried, poor, rural, under 20 years old, and have a high school education or less. Women in these categories are less likely to have the support necessary to successfully breastfeed, have limited or no access to education material, and are less likely to be aware of the benefits of breastfeeding.
The study is great news for all those newborns out there who now are much more likely to get the benefits of early breastfeeding. As our society continues to accept and support breastfeeding mothers hopefully the rates will continue to rise.