18 months, 4 days.
That is how long Edith has been breastfeeding. I honestly still can’t believe it’s been over a year. When they say a year goes by fast it’s so true. I have so much to write about our breastfeeding journey that it’s overwhelming and I sometimes don’t know where to start so lets talk a bit about the now and the future.
I find I get a mixed bag of reactions when I tell people that Edith and I are still nursing. Some people congratulate, some are surprised and others get defensive. While I appreciate the congratulations by well meaning people I also think that it isn’t necessary. I am just don’t something that is natural and a normal thing for a mother to do. When it comes to people being surprised I find it comes two ways either they are surprised that I am at all or they are surprised when I tell them that we still nurse 3-4x/day. As for people getting defensive it is usually other mothers and it seems to stem from their choice not to breastfeed as long as I have and honestly each and every breastfeeding relationship is different and I have no judgement towards those who want to breast feed two days or two years (and beyond).
Edith and I have not had the most easy breastfeeding relationship, we really have had our ups and downs but I am glad that we have been able to go as long as we have. Edith latched quickly but my milk supply has been an issue which left us nursing every 1.5-2 hours (around 10x per day) for the first 6 months. Let me tell you that was a challenge. The only time I got a break was at night when Edith would sleep for 4-5 hour stretches. Once solids were introduced nursing slowed down a bit but from 6-15 months we easily were still nursing 6-8x per day/night. I am not sure what happened but somewhere around 16 months Edith dropped down to 3-4x per (normal) day and no night nursing and that is where we are today.
I actually started writing this post awhile ago and since I started it I have found out that we are expecting baby #2 and so here I am with baby #2 on the way and I’m still nursing Edith. Now the big question I get is do you plan to tandem nurse? Honestly I am not planning not to but who knows where Edith and I will be in our breastfeeding journey in six months. As I have come to learn things can change quickly with babies/toddlers and there is no way to predict the future so I just go with the flow.
Share something from your nursing journey.
Have you ever tandem nursed or do you plan to?
I nursed my son til he was 18 months and I was 6 months pregnant with baby #2. We had a very easy time of breastfeeding especially considering I work full time, but I was still sad when it was over. I really wanted to tandem nurse but they say your milk can change flavor as pregnancy progresses and he just decided he wasn’t interested anymore one day. I am now struggling with low supply with my daughter – I’m continuously reminded how different my two babies are!
Now that I am a mother and have been breastfeeding for nearly 8 months, my opinions and choices about how long to breastfeed have totally changed. I had always thought 6 months-1 year was ideal and that I would magically be done at the one year mark. Well, we also had a rough start (wouldn’t latch without shield, supply issues, etc.) and though my supply caught up after a few weeks and has been sufficient and then some (I’ve donated milk) my little guy still wants to nurse every 2 hours during the day, even now (6-8x/day). Occasionally, I get a 3 hour stretch during the day and he does go longer at night. He takes bottles while I’m at work but between those and when we nurse together, it still adds up to the same. He’s also been very picky with solids, so that is slow going as well. All that to say, I can’t imagine being done with nursing in 4 months. I agree that it is up to every individual baby (and mother) due to their own needs and preferences.
Thank you for sharing your experiences, it’s very helpful to read 🙂
Proud of you! Audrey and I just hit 15 months of nursing and so far, so good. But I have a feeling that she’s getting close to dropping at least one session (we’re just nursing in the morning and at night) which I have mixed feelings about.
I have mixed feeling most days around nursing Edith still. I don’t know if it’s the pregnancy or not but some days I love it and some days I’m ready for it to be over. Maybe it’s just my desire to have a break before #2 arrives. It’s a bit overwhelming to think that I’ll be nursing for at least another year and most likely two. That’s four years straight of nursing!
Breastfeeding | The End Of Our Journey | Naturally Family
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