We had a bit of a rocky start to nursing, but all has been going well since just a few months in. We nursed exclusively until seven months, and then began the slow and gradual weaning process with the introduction of solid foods. I have seen very little noticeable decrease in nursing since we left the newborn period, except when we're out. We do a lot less nursing in public now that Annabelle is more mobile and more engaged with everyone and everything around her. She may ask for milk, but nursing sessions on the go usually last little more than a minute or two before she decides there are far more interesting things to do. Her size and squirm factor definitely play a role as well. I can no longer nurse comfortably while standing, unless I'm using a structured carrier, so I find myself offering a snack or a drink of water instead when there's no desirable place to sit down.
If we're fortunate enough to have another child, I'd like to avoid nursing to sleep from fairly early on if I can help it. This would also be nice because it would make having Andrew put our babies to sleep much easier, which would in turn make my life much easier by allowing me to take more breaks when needed. That would have been hard to do with Annabelle anyway, as I was solo parenting for the first eight months, but now that I've put it off well into toddlerhood, I really have my work cut out for me.
The only other thing I will (intentionally) do differently the next time is try to encourage good "nursing habits" from the start. The twiddling of the 'other side' has gotten pretty intense and doesn't feel very good, so I've been trying to let Annabelle know that and give her something else to do, but that is proving to be a challenge. I know we'll be able to do it, but I could have avoided the entire scenario and a good bit of discomfort along the way if I had never allowed myself to be pinched to begin with.
Other than those two small things, I still love that I'm able to provide Annabelle with milk, and she seems quite happy with its continued availability as well. A few fun nursing habits that have been making it all worthwhile this week:
- When Annabelle wants to switch sides in bed, she climbs on me and gives me a big squeeze until I turn over.
- When she's really hungry, she squeals and makes super excited noises at the site of me getting ready.
- She absolutely loves milk in general, whether real or almond. I put a dash of almond milk in her oatmeal to cool it down sometimes and she throws her hands up in excitement before happily looking at me and signing "milk!"
- I get loads of grins, hugs, and hand claps. There is even the occasional unlatch to smile and sign at me, with milk in both corners of the mouth.
- While nursing actively, Annabelle still signs milk into the air every so often, as though to remind everyone around know what she's doing.
What will you, or did you do differently with a second nursling? What sweet nursing habits do your children have?
If you want to try a gentle way to get Annabelle to sleep without nursing you could try the No-cry Sleep Solution by Elizabeth Pantly. It is a very long winded way of doing things and it did not work for me and my son because we are both very impatient people. He learnt to sleep without nursing through the dreaded Cry it out. But is worked in three days so it was better for us.
ReplyDeleteSecond and subsequent children often learn to go to sleep without nursing simply because you can't do it. With Johnny and Livi I would feed them while the older child(ren) were in the bath and having a story read, then I would put the baby down and have a cuddle with the older one(s) and then come back to find the baby asleep!
My dad jokes that he was nursed for 8 years, until his baby brother was born! Breastfeeding really is the best way, so glad that it's working so well for you & yours. yea!
ReplyDeleteAs is often the case when I read your blog, we are in EXACTLY the same place, Melissa!
ReplyDeleteFin absolutely loves his milk. He calls it "noo" (not to be confused with 'no'!) and if I offer him any other type of milk (rice, almond, oat, soy or dairy) he nods his head vehemently, calling it "na-noo".Now that I'm caring for other children in our home he seems to rely on breast feeding as a constant reminder (to himself , to me and to the others!) that I'm HIS. I'm really pleased that he has this way of re-connecting with me throughout the day, and since he is often too busy for cuddles this has turned into our special time.I too am struggling with the feed-to-sleep issue. I often find myself wishing that I hadn't let it go on this long, but it really is a sure-fire way to get him to sleep - so I am also grateful to have this trick up my sleeve, especially when he needs to sleep somewhere away from home (especially on planes or on vacations). Who knows how long this pattern will continue...? We're still working on the no-milk-during-the-night routine!It's so cute that Annabelle has a 'twiddling' habit. Fin's habit is twiddling my ear lobe!
It's so interesting how you find the chance to redo everything with your second child! I always try to "plan" how things will be, and then they never go the way I think they will. With my first, I thought he would sleep with us more, but he was not a snuggler. I nursed him to sleep every night, constantly fearing that he would never go to sleep on his own, and then one night he did.
ReplyDeleteWith Mason, just because I need the sleep, I nurse him to bed AND sleep with him. At this point, I'm throwing everything to the wind. As long as I have my sleep I can handle whatever.
Nursing to sleep is something the wife and I want to avoid next time around. My wife found it really taxing, and it made it difficult to semi-wean (some breast, some formula) the little one.
ReplyDeleteOther than that, we're pretty happy with how we handled breast-feeding.