Hellobee

wow! bandaids on the boobies i love it. at least you can also be happy that you’ve given her something that’s so nurturing and healthy for her for so long

I had a very very very very hard time with this exact (almost exact) same situation. My oldest was addicted to nursing, absolutely addicted loved it beyond measure and I kept waiting for the beautifully timed self wean and it never came. I am pretty sure she would have nursed until about 5 years old. Ill tell you my experience.

I was very sick when I got pregnant with Summer and Gemma had just turned two. I continued to nurse Gemma until 26 months and at that point I was 4 months pregnant, And I was too fatigued I was sick and I literally didn’t have the strength to continue. That being said, I did the lemon juice trick because nothing else worked. It wasn’t fun, she asked for it multiple times after and I kept explaining the milky was sour and I felt terrible. I don’t know if there is always an element of loss in weaning or if it was just her personality but I still can’t shake the feeling. I wish I could have continued on because I know she loved it but I couldn’t imagine tandem nursing. So yes, the lemon will work, sorry this isnt a more positive note. It’ll pass but maybe be ready to replace it with something else that is special to you two? Im not sure what the answer is…

LOL at the suggestion of bandaids on boobies! That’s what I do when I have to go braless but want to make extra sure that what I don’t want showing doesn’t show.

Good luck weaning! I think I’m going to end up nursing J longer than I did N too, but I also don’t really want to nurse past one year so hopefully the weaning process won’t be too difficult.

I didn’t nurse long enough to need to wean, but getting Chloe off the bottle was torture.

Good luck weaning! It sounds like you have a plan in place & I hope it’s an easy transition.

I’m sure you are aware, but it’s completely safe to drink while nursing. You don’t want to be drunk (but what parent would want to be drunk?!), but drinking while nursing is safe.

Will be following the responses here. I have a son who is almost 28 months and am expecting our second baby in a few days. I never thought I would breast feed past 18 months and age 2 at latest, but I am waiting for the self-wean. I am hesitant to do it now when he is about to go through a big adjustment with a baby coming home soon. Not going to lie- it has not been easy at all nursing through pregnancy, and looks like I might be tandem nursing now too. He only nurses at naptime and at bedtime. My husband has been putting him to bed 3 or 4 nights a week and he gets a little upset but I think it’s more to do with being used to me and not so much the nursing. My mother nursed my siblings and I for at least two years and weaned my brother while she was in the hospital having me! Wondering if that will happen for us too, but if not we’ll just keep on going until he gets adjusted after baby arrives and then reevaluate. Good luck and hope it goes well for you both!

I have a friend who baked special muffins for her LO and explained that instead of nursing she could have a muffin (I think they were mini muffins). It took about 10 days until her toddler forgot all about nursing.

Wow I can’t believe you’re still nursing – you’re a rock star! After 9/10 months I was totally ready to have my body back. I hope the transition goes well!

I weaned my daughter at around 26-27 months and going in I had the same fears you do. My daughter LOVED nursing! However, it ended up being much easier than expected. At that point we were only nursing twice a day, before bed and first thing in the morning. We had given up the pre nap nurse a month or two prior. I basically just told DD that soon she would be a big girl and wouldn’t need mom’s milk anymore. Then I started giving her timelines , keeping it near term and simple. In 3 days we won’t have milk in the morning anymore… In 2 days, etc. and then the day of when she asked to nurse I just reminded her that we weren’t doing milk in the morning anymore. I offered her cow milk and to read a story in bed with me and she happily accepted. From there we used a similar process a couple weeks later to wean off of the final bedtime feed. We allowed her to have milk in a sippy cup as a replacement for a few weeks and then gradually stopped offering that as well. There were a few weeks where she would occasionally ask to nurse, but I would just offer cow milk or another distraction. Amazingly there were no tears at all! The one consequence we did have, which may or may not have been related was that the night we finally weaned from the last feed, DD started to climb out of her crib. After 3-4 successful attempts we decided we had to convert it to a toddler bed. So that transition ended up coming sooner than desired and of course had its own challenges.

We weaned at a year relatively easily considering my son was/is a pretty spirited baby! It was a parent-led process but it only took about 3-4 days.

Nursing to sleep stopped working at around 4-ish months and nursing to extra sleep (I.e. An extra hour or two in the morning or a longer nap) stopped working at 6-7 months. If I had maintained my magical breastfeeding powers, I am sure I would have nursed for much longer!

I would think that weaning would be easier at a later age because they can understand more and you can reason with them (to a degree)? Or has the addiction become so strong that they just won’t take no for an answer?

When I decided to wean DD at 28 months (also a nursing lover and would probably still be nursing if I didn’t wean her), she was nursing 2x a day. Once before her nap and before bed time. I started with the bedtime session.
We did her bedtime routine and when she asked to nurse, I told her “no mam-ma, just jah-ja.” The first week or so I stayed next to her until she fell asleep. Once we got into the routine of no nursing at night, we did bedtime routine and told her good night, sleep well, we’ll see her in the morning and we left her room. There were tears for the first few days, but within a week she was good. Bedtime is a breeze now.
For naps.. no nursing meant no naps unfortunately. She’s fine without one and goes to bed between 5:45-6pm every night now. Gets around 12 hours of sleep a night with an occasional waking to pee.

Good luck!!!

I’m pretty sure LD would also happily nurse for years to come, I can’t picture her self-weaning at all! I hope it goes well with Olive, breastfeeding her for over two years is so awesome!

Kudos to you for nursing as long as you have. I have to say 5 months in I cant see doing it that long, I just dislike nursing so much even when it does work though the convenience at times is nice. I hope Juliet self weans preferably right at one if we make it that far, still taking it one day at a time

The only thing that worked for us was to put my husband on Lilly duty for about 3 days for each dropped feeding. Then she got used to it. Good luck! She might surprise you and wean really easily.

I’m in the same boat right now at one week shy of 2. I’m trying to figure out why I want to wean/if I really want to wean. And while doing that he seems to be losing interest. We were at 3 nursings a day and I’ve tried to drop to 2 each day recently. Potty training definitely helped because going to the bathroom in the morning helps get his mind of the milk. Ditto for the evening when our sessions have significantly shortened because he wants to hop down to play trucks on the potty. The one interesting thing he’s been doing recently is asking for his stuffed animals and “baby” to nurse. So I’ll nurse a bear and then say, “no more milk, bear had it all. Do you want to go tuck bear into bed?” It seems to work really well!

I was told by my doctor that I had to wean at 22 months when I had a D&C because of the doxycycline that I was given post-surgery. My DD was like Olive; she nursed for comfort and I enjoyed our time together. It was hard for me to quit cold turkey. I just had to have my husband put her to bed for a week or so. It broke my heart, but a year later I can say that it doesn’t seem to have had a detrimental effect on her wellbeing

I can’t believe you’ve successfully breastfed so long! That’s so awesome. Sorry I have no tips.

So grateful for this post. I don’t have many friends who have nursed as long as this, so I’m self conscious to talk about it with them. My LO is 18 months and loves nursing. She asks for milk several times a day, but on a typical day, she nurses before nap and bed and several times throughout the night (I end up sleeping with her so we all get more sleep). She goes to daycare 3 days per week and doesn’t get a bottle or anything before nap before that. I dread weaning because I can’t bear to hear her cry and be sad because I took it away.

I recently weaned my (then) 22-month old daughter and it went a lot easier than expected. I’m newly pregnant and my breasts have been so sore that nursing was straight-up painful. We were nursing 2-3x/day (am, pre-nap and bedtime). We just changed up the morning routine and instead of bringing her into bed and letting her nurse while I dozed, we all got up and offered cow’s milk instead. For bedtime, initially I tried to give her cow’s milk instead of nursing, but that didn’t work. Then my husband started doing the milk duty and I read books after and that went really well. The nap was the hardest as she used to nurse to sleep. After a couple days of a new routine (books, back rubbing, etc), she adjusted. She still occasionally asks for “mommy’s milk” (though mainly as a bedtime stalling tactic along with other suggestions of things she wants/would like to do)- I tell her “we don’t have any mommy’s milk” and she’s been ok. Good luck!

I’m with the others who were pleasantly surprised that their toddler weaned easier than previously thought. My DD was the boob addict of all boob addicts, I swear!

But just how I made mini goals in the beginning to establish nursing, I made mini goals over the course of a few months to wean. I knew complete cold turkey wasn’t a route I wanted to take with her and I didn’t have her dad consistently around to help wean.

So like a lot of other moms that already posted, I just changed up our routine for each feed I wanted to drop (one at a time). I dropped the afternoon nap feed pretty easily by just having her stroller or carseat nap consistently. So we were out and about a lot instead of staying home after lunch. Helped me get errands done! She didn’t nap as well on-the-go at first, but over time, her naps lengthened.

I thought bedtime weaning would be hardest, but it wasn’t too bad. I would still nurse at night, but just brush her teeth afterwards and then read books. If she asked for milk, I would just say “no” and pat her to sleep. I would wear big shirts that covered up my chest instead of nursing tops or pj tops she could easily pull down. I also made sure she was tired enough that it could happen easily. Soon, those night sessions got shorter and shorter and then went from daily, to every other day, to less and less… i was also concerned about tooth decay, so brushing after nursing was really important and motivating for us. Breaking up the nurse-to-sleep habit was key!

The hardest feed to remove was the morning one, but we dropped it slowly but surely over the course of about 2 months. I would place time limits because we had to rush to get #1 to school on time anyway. Eventually the sessions got super short and some mornings I was just too busy and she forgot about it soon enough!

Good luck! It may seem impossible right now, but IMO, 2 year olds are often ready, but they don’t always let on that they are. I also felt it was important for us to wean before she got any older, when it might be more traumatic and harder for the both of us. You can do it!

I’m still nursing my 16 month old daughter and she shows NO signs of stopping. I’m feeling pressure from my mom to wean her (though she can’t give a good reason). I want to keep going until DD self-weans, but I would like to get pregnant again soon, and not sure I could handle tandem nursing. Plus, my daughter still gets up 2-3 times a night and nursing is the only way she can go back to sleep…. so if she weaned herself right now, I would be sad but okay with it- but I’m not quite ready to initiate the process because I do enjoy the bonding and believe she’s getting nourishment.

I am so impressed you have breastfed her for so long! I know the feeling of having a child who just absolutely LOVES to nurse. I thought I was going to have to do what you are going to do but M decided to wean on her own. It started with the overnight nurse session. One night, she just didn’t ask, she just wanted to be rocked. Amazingly enough, after she stopped nursing overnight, she started sttn. That was life changing.

The hardest thing for me and her was giving up the afternoon cuddle/nurse. I have nothing left at this point so I know she was just doing it for comfort. Now, when we get home from work, I have to keep her busy or she will run over to “our chair” and try to climb in for some nursing time. It makes me sad to know it’s over and that she still thinks about it but I am SO GLAD to be done.

I bet having mrbee help you do bedtime will really make the process a whole lot easier for you. Good luck!!!

@Mrs. Palette: awww i’m sorry that it was so tough! i wonder if a part of me will be sad despite how much i want to wean. for now i don’t think so, but who knows! weaning can cause depression!

@jennifer: i do have a drink after olive goes to bed, but i never have brunch cocktails or a glass of wine when we go over to a friend’s house since i don’t like drinking before i nurse her. would be great not to have to think about that at all!

@prettylizy: i wish i could bribe olive with food. alas that’s not a motivator for her! cool idea though and i could definitely see it working with some kids!

@alisonvg: the only problem is that olive doesn’t drink milk of any kind so i don’t have an alternative to offer her!

@Sammyfab: from what i’ve heard/read, older kids can be more stubborn since they’re verbal and they’re more addicted!

@chopsuey: yikes about the naptime! but great that she has such an early bedtime. oh man i would be sooo sad if olive dropped her nap, but i’m pretty sure she won’t since she is used to napping at daycare without nursing and is the best sleeper there!

@Mrs. Stroller: i like the nursing bear idea! gonna have to try that!

@SAHM0811: thanks for the words of encouragement! i’m not in a rush to do it cold turkey, but i wonder what would be easiest for olive (and me!). i think we could drop the weekend nap nursing and bedtime, but the morning would be the hardest. that’s our snuggle time and my get an extra hour of sleep time!

and one of the big reasons why i want to wean now is that i fear it may be much harder the older she gets!

I am going to favorite this. P is 19 months and show NO signs of weaning at all. We only nurse twice a day (at wakeup and before bed), but she knows what it is and asks for it at that time. If I ask her if she’s tired she says “milk momma”. Ugh. DH thinks I should wean her soon, but I think I will wait until school is out. She will be 25 months then.

This is totally speaking to me and my life right now. DS is almost 13 months, which means I’ve been nursing him 12 months more
Than I initially wanted to. I nursed my daughter for 3 months before going back to work and though I felt bad that I had to cut our nursing relationship short I also ended up having them much closer in age than I wanted. So with being pregnant 2x in 2 years, many sleepless nights and crying babies I didn’t want to nurse as long because I selfishly wanted a big part of my life and identity back.
BUT our son had different ideas apparently. Except the first 2 days of his life before my milk fully came in he might have taken a bottle a total or 3-4x. After the 3rd day, he flat out resisted it from anyone, from any position, from any temperature. So I had to do what I had to do to feed him. He was a torture, would latch on for hours, way into the night he held me hostage.
I didn’t want to nurse but I felt I really had no choice.

But he is great with solids, he loves to eat and can never seem to
Get enough. We are down to nursing just mostly at nap and bedtimes. I know when it comes time to seriously wean I will be a bit sad but the thought of my freedom back is like light at the end of the tunnel. I can’t wait to try some of These tips.

Wow, that’s awesome you were able to nurse her until 26 months! My youngest weaned himself around 14 months and I was ready too! Was ready at 12 months but we were still going strong then. Then one day he was like “yuck.” Something I ate? Who knows.. and now at 20 months he pulls my shirt up and leans in and I ask him and he covers them up. I have no story to weaning since it was easy for us. Good luck!

Thank you so much for this post! I’ve been feeling like I was all alone in this! My 21 month old is a serious serious boob addict. She’s also tiny (>1% on the weight chart!) and due to constipation problems, our doctor had us eliminate cow’s milk/goat’s milk from her diet.
So I’m wary of cutting out the extra calories and I’m concerned that she won’t be getting enough fat from dairy without my milk.
Some days it is really really hard and some days it is really really sweet. But I definitely need to work on a game plan, even if it is just to decide to wait her out.

My daughter loved nursing. She was finally weaned at 33 months and it was really a slow process…

12-18 months : gradually reduced pumping at work to 0
24-26 months : no more nursing while out of the house
28 months : Hid Boppy pillow in attic (she liked to nurse when I returned from from work)
32-33 months : By this point, she was nursing only at night. I would just tell her that I was sorry, but only a little bit of milk and had to save it for the next feeding… Finally, I just told her I was empty. (I didn’t give in when she asked to “make sure”)

Toward the end, it wasn’t as tough for me as she got a little lazy with her latch and I had to remind her “no teeth” repeatedly.

For her, it’s been tougher. It’s been a month and she still asks.

Interesting…I only nursed for 1 month, so I am a complete newbie in the BF world!