I’ve previously written about how I didn’t love breastfeeding with Charlie and ended up exclusively pumping for 9 months. Then I wrote about how my experience with Olive was completely different, and how well breastfeeding was going the second time around. Olive is now 9 months old, so I think it’s about time for an update!
Because Olive was born 5 weeks early, she had an extended hospital stay and a lot of trouble latching on in the early days. She was exclusively bottle-fed for the first couple weeks of her life, but I redoubled my efforts and tried breastfeeding again when she was around a month old. At first Olive wasn’t very efficient and would nurse for over an hour if I let her, only to be hungry again an hour or two later! But with time and practice, she became an efficient little nurser, and I’ve long forgotten how much effort it used to be to breastfeed in the early days.
Olive has clocked countless hours on her boppy! For some reason, babies like to stick their fingers in your mouth when nursing.
Now that Olive has started solids and she’s a little bit older, our nursing relationship has started to change. Olive absolutely loves solids. She is still nursing as frequently as she was pre-solids (every 3-4 hours), but since she’s getting a good portion of her daily calories from solids now, she’s nursing for a much shorter duration. She used to love taking her time and would easily nurse for 15 minutes, but now our sessions are down to 5 minutes. Because she’s now mobile and so interested in the world around her, she also gets distracted while nursing much more easily. My friend with a baby the same age as Olive gets so distracted nursing, she only gives him bottles when they’re out and about.
Olive still wakes up 1-3 times at night, and I nurse her back to sleep every time. I’m almost certain that she will start sleeping through the night if I night wean her, as that has been the experience for many moms who nurse at night. Yes I am tired — I haven’t slept through the night since she was born! But I don’t spend enough time with her in the day, so I don’t mind waking up enough to night wean just yet. Other than the waking up part, nursing at night is pretty easy. We’re both in a semi-awake state, but we’re in synch and somehow able to find the perfect nursing position together in the pitch black dark.
Olive is now only 2 1/2 months away from turning 1. I always thought that I’d wean her around 1 because I didn’t feel comfortable with the idea of nursing a toddler, and I was worried that it might be more difficult to wean a toddler. I also considered continuing to pump once or twice a day for up to another year, as long as I had a decent supply. Pumping is such a hassle now, but if I only did it once a day, I don’t think it’d be that hard since I work from home. And if I have the supply, why not give Olive breastmilk until she’s 2? I actually have a little bit of an oversupply lately since Olive has been taking less in her bottles, so I’ve been giving Charlie some breastmilk in his bottle every night to help with his constipation!
I’m not sure when I’ll wean. Maybe Olive will self wean and make the decision for me. As happy as I will be to have my body back and enjoy a drink (or three) when she’s weaned, I know that a part of me will be very sad when it eventually happens. I have no idea if I’ll go beyond a year, but now that we’re so close to it, I wouldn’t mind continuing to nurse beyond a year, and I wouldn’t force weaning either.
I didn’t expect to, but I have to admit that I’ve truly enjoyed the breastfeeding experience and the special bond that Olive and I have shared. I think it has been one of my greatest accomplishments as a mother to date!
How did you wean your little one? Were you ready to wean at that point?
Mrs. Bee’s Breastfeeding Journey part 3 of 7
1. I Didn't Love Breastfeeding by Mrs. Bee2. Breastfeeding the Second Time Around by Mrs. Bee
3. Breastfeeding at 9 Months by Mrs. Bee
4. Breastfeeding at 1 Year by Mrs. Bee
5. Why I Want to Wean... and Why I Don't Want to Wean by Mrs. Bee
6. Adventures in Weaning by Mrs. Bee
7. Olive is Weaned. by Mrs. Bee
GOLD / wonderful apricot / 22646 posts
I can’t believe how fast time flies, Olive is 9.5 months already?!
P.S. love BF posts~ thanks for the update!
blogger / nectarine / 2010 posts
I always thought I’d go for a year, but now I think I’ll just keep going until M wants to stop. Because I have such a huge freezer stash I think I’ll probably try to go to just wake up and bedtime when he turns a year. Check back when he’s 18 months though, I might be getting sick of it then
pomegranate / 3414 posts
I stopped pumping and started weaning at 12m. First I reduced down to only nursing first thing in morning and at bedtime. At 13m I dropped the morning session. At 14m we went on an trip that prevented the before bed nursing session for two nights (we were driving so I couldn’t nurse DD), DD nursed the first night we were back home but then didn’t show interest in nursing at all the following night so we stopped.
pear / 1728 posts
Too funny, I had these same thoughts. Liv will be 1 on Sunday. I had planned on stopping at a year, but I dont see that happening. Liv shows no interest in stopping any time soon, though right now she only nurses first thing when she wakes up, right before bed, and occasionally before naps. I have a feeling one of us will know when its time to stop, and then we will. I just see no reaosn to stop right now.
honeydew / 7968 posts
When I was pregnant, I wasn’t even sure what I was going to do! Now that I’ve reached the 3 month mark, my goal is 6 months… Once I hit 6 months, I’ll try to hit 1 year… But it’s so tiring! I don’t think I’ll go more than a year!
admin / watermelon / 14210 posts
@tequiero21: well you have two so that’s understandable! it was so much easier when she just breastfed and didn’t eat solids.
GOLD / pomelo / 5167 posts
My experience with BF was WAY better the second time around too. I also have some issues with BF after 1. Actually I think it’s as soon as they have teeth. I’m afraid one will chop my nipple off.
admin / watermelon / 14210 posts
@Mrs. Sunglasses: olive has 4 teeth and has bit me a couple of times, but not super hard. it hasn’t been that bad at all yet!
honeydew / 7968 posts
@Mrs. Sunglasses: i definitely fear the teeth!
GOLD / pomelo / 5167 posts
@Mrs. Bee: @tequiero21: Well I know someone’s who got a chunk of her nipple bitten off by her 10 month old boy. She bleed for days.
blogger / pomegranate / 3300 posts
With my twins I went a year and was not that sad. I was pretty much ready to stop. Breast feeding twins is tiring and they were seeing their brother with a sippy cup so they were fine. They tugged on my shirt a bit but got over it soon. My daughter is almost nine months and I am having a hard time thinking about weaning her. She is my fourth and final so I am a little sad seeing the infant stage end. I will probably go a little over a year but I don’t think I will nurse until 2.
pomegranate / 3053 posts
B/c of Nicholas’ allergies I decided to wean him off before Christmas of that year at 8 months, on Christmas Eve. I had a fabulous Christmas Day meal full of dairy and soy and whatever I wanted.
clementine / 889 posts
I (unwillingly) weaned DS at 7 months. I got sick when DS was around 6 months and spent about 30 hours in bed. I didn’t pump or nurse more than 2-3 times in that time span, and that was the beginning of the end for my supply. Over the next month my supply tanked and we had to switch DS to formula. I tried all the supplements, drank gallons of water a day, spent days doing nothing but nursing and pumping and it just didn’t matter.
I had a pretty good nursing experience and hope to nurse my next one to 1 year and beyond.
cherry / 187 posts
I’m so happy to hear how well things have gone with Olive. I did not have a great experience with nursing my daughter so I feel really anxious about if I have another and how long I’ll be able to do it. I have hope now that maybe it will go better next time!
GOLD / pear / 1845 posts
I nursed Toddler Girl to 17 months. My goal was to wean sometime between one and two years so I was very happy with that. She just self weaned so we were both ready (especially me as I was three months pregnant and getting twitchy about the idea of tandem nursing!).
When she was around 10 months she dropped her nightime session and I stopped pumping. Such a relief, I was so over the pumping! After that she only nursed when waking up, and on the odd time that I was out she got distracted with a snack and all was well.
grape / 90 posts
PB will be 9 months old this week, and I’m having a similar experience – including not really minding the nighttime wakeups (he tends to wake once a night, though I’ve been experimenting with a “dreamfeed” around 10:30pm which helps him sleep through the rest of the night). I had seen myself weaning him around age 1, but that seems so soon now! Now I’m telling myself that if he wants to nurse to 2, that works for me. I am looking forward to cutting down on pumping, though. The pump is a wonderful innovation, but I’m really tired of it.
grape / 90 posts
Also, yay for you and Olive! I’m glad it’s going so well.
grape / 90 posts
@Mrs. Sunglasses: My little guy has 4 teeth (and is working on two more, I think) and we’ve had one chomping incident that resulted in what one of my friends calls “the Conversation”: A quick, stern talking to. That was a couple of months ago, and we’ve had no problems since then.
grapefruit / 4049 posts
DD 2 just turned 1 year old… I’d love to wean, but I’m making the decision to keep going until she self-weans or she turns 2 yo, whichever comes first.
She has 8 teeth and it was tough when they were coming in and she would bite. If I yelped, she thought it was funny
So I’d cover up and let her know that biting = no milk. After a few times, she got the picture.
hostess / wonderful honeydew / 32460 posts
awwwwwwwwww i love her face!!!!
LO still asks for boob at 15 months. I’ve completely dried up, but it soothes her and I love nursing her too so I still “nurse” 2-3 times a day.
I thought I’d wean before baby 2 arrives, but I’m open to tandem nursing. I love nursing my baby.. I’m gonna miss it when she’s older, so planning on going for as long as I can!
You may see me on the next cover of Time magazine!! (kidding).
pomegranate / 3595 posts
Thanks for sharing this update! My LO is 7.5 months and still nursing away so i have started thinking about what comes next with solids and weaning. We started solids at 6 months but she still has the same number of nursing sessions so i am glad to know the same is true for Olive.
As for weaning, i am definitely planning to stop pumping and day wean at a year. As a wohm it will make my schedule a lot easier. Otherwise i am open to see how it goes for mornings and evenings.
clementine / 958 posts
I had such a hard time at the beginning that I was sure I would wean LO at a year, if we even made it that long. Now at 9 months, I also don’t see us stopping any time soon. The plan now is to wean when she’s ready.
guest
I’m still nursing my 9 month old three to five times/day. It’s so funny that you mention how they like putting their fingers in your mouth…so true. What is that? ha!
olive / 70 posts
I only breastfed my first child until 6 months. I’m hoping to breastfeed my second until 1 year, but it’s been hard because I don’t make enough milk and feel so discouraged. It also doesn’t help that my mom is constantly telling me to stop breastfeeding and pumping. I don’t know why she is so against it.
honeydew / 7488 posts
I am in a similar situation. I am bf’ing my 10 mo old and trying to dial down. He only takes 2 bottles at day care since he loves his finger foods, and lately he has been rejecting the 2nd bottle. He does nurse in the am before work, at bedtime, and up to 2x at night. I keep allowing him to nurse at night since I do enjoy the bonding time, and since the pediatrician says he needs at least 25 oz a day. I am down to 1 pump during the day now, but it is painful and I am mastitis prone. I also pump once before going to bed. My goal is to get down to no pumping during the day and only morning and evening feeds. Having a 4 year old makes everything a little more challenging as well! My mom is also asking me every other day if I’ve stopped bf yet which annoys me to no end.
coffee bean / 30 posts
With my older boy, I was planning on only nursing for 12 months but then he got sick for the first time at his 1st birthday party. All he wanted to do for the following week was nurse! I kept nursing up until 14 month mark and as a Valentine’s day gift to myself, I decided to start weaning.
My little one, who is now almost 6 months, has been nursing for fewer minutes during each feeding. I’m not sure if it’s because he loves solids and/or bc he’s so interested in everything around him. I didn’t experience this with my older one, so I’ve started getting nervous about my supply for the first time. I’m so glad to hear that it’s not just me!
hostess / wonderful apple seed / 16729 posts
Aww, thanks for the update. I can’t believe Olive is 9 months, now.
cherry / 128 posts
@Mrs. Bee – so happy to hear that breastfeeding is working out more positively for you this time around. Olive is a little darling!
My original goal was to breastfeed for 1 year as per AAP recommendations, but when 1 rolled around my LO seemed to still really need it. He didn’t develop much of an interest in solids until after 2. And it’s such a natural and easy part of our relationship – plus the fact that he’s rarely sick, even though he’s in daycare – that I’ve continued and now I’m considering tandem nursing. He definitely nurses much less frequently now (and since I’m pregnant I don’t have any milk) but I’ve noticed whenever my dad makes a comment about his nursing, he wants to nurse even more. If I don’t make a big deal of it, he naturally forgets…until bedtime.
Oh, and you can indulge in a drink even while nursing – alcohol phases out of breastmilk at the same rate as your bloodstream, so there’s no need to pump and dump.
@tequiero21 & @mrs. sunglasses – I found dealing with teeth very easy. My LO quickly learned not to bite Mommy if he wanted to nurse, and it’s never been an issue.