Breastfeeding the Older Baby
MamaNatural.com I’m a huge extended breastfeeding advocate, and plan on nursing Griffin as long as he wants to. When he was first born, I found so many awesome books and online resources about breastfeeding. I learned about the proper latch, the appropriate amounts and times to nurse (any and all times!), the best breastfeeding positions, etc. Griff and I sailed through nicely for the first 8 months because, up to that point, he really wasn’t eating a ton of solids. Once he did start incorporating food, he dropped his afternoon feeding. Like any first time mom, I started wondering… “was this OK?” I then started looking for books and online sources to learn more about the process of weaning. I didn’t find much… What I did find was vague and theoretical… I wanted a plan! Unlike the 8-12 feedings in 24 hour period guideline for newborns, all I saw were general statements like “the baby and you will figure it out.” So, I stumbled through the weaning process, and will continue to, by talking to other moms, a lactation consultant and my Bradley teacher. What I’ve learned along the way is trust yourself and trust your baby. The baby will lead the way The weaning process certainly isn’t linear There’s no set plan or program. All we can do is share our experience. We need to talk more about this so that we aren’t alone through. By 13 months, Griffin went down to one nap a day, and dropped another feeding. At this point, he had just three feedings during the day; however he …
My baby started weaning at 1 1/2 and by the time she was 2 she was all done. When she was 1 1/2 I thought she was all done. However I still had milk lift and I wanted to her to finish it up. (I didn’t know the more she drank the more I would get) So I would only nurse when she was sleepy, and that went on and off until she was 2.
Fia loved solids at around 6-7 months and we breast fed until she was 18 months (1X/day by 18 months… i forget how often before that 2-6 times probably). But she pretty much just weaned herself at that point. I also never had comfortable breast feeding with her, so 18 months was LONG ENOUGH! (although I would have gone longer if she had wanted.)
Thanks for the vid. At 11 months I was getting so frustrated with the night time feedings but I just wasn’t sure about the “let him cry it out” routine. Seems so cruel. How did you do it?
I did not enjoy nursing Augustine until he was an older baby becasue we had such a difficult time the first 6-8 months. I felt like I did not have the early bonding experiencing I hear about through nursing but instead I was blessed with an older baby bonding experience… It is all a journey and everyone will have a different experience
Go Mama Go! I think it’s so great you are still BF.
I love this! Thank you! I currently have a 13 month old who nurses every 3 hours around the clock. He will eat a small breakfast and dinner but the real deal for him is the “NaNas” (breast). He is in the 92nd percentile for height and weight and I am not worried at all.
I think one of the greatest misconceptions about “extended” nursing (past a year) is that you’ll be nursing them ALL day like they were a newborn. Moms worry that they’ll be strapped down to “the chair” or pump, but in reality, as the frequency of nursing goes down, I think the potential for bonding goes up! Nursing is such a great way to reconnect and have a calm moment with your busy baby/toddler! I hope that’s encouraging to moms who want to breastfeed past a year!
@alandamandamama YES! Breastfeeding my daughter was SO stressful in the first couple of months (because of a bad latch) that nursing became “just business” and I really didn’t ENJOY nursing. I kind of “turned off” while nursing, but out of sheer stubbornness, we made it to a year.
When my second baby was born, we got off to a rough start again, but quickly corrected and it was THEN that I saw what an amazing bonding experience nursing can be. We nursed to a year and a half!
@MyWordsofLove6 Amen, sister! As a new mom, I thought extended breastfeeding meant feeding 8-12 times a day for 4 years. LOL! In my experience so far, it is MUCH different. It gets easier every day and yet the bonding and specialness remains.
@ShonHealth It was quite a process but one day your baby will be ready. You will just know. I started teaching him how to self-soothe when we were together and he started to be able to do by himself. Now, I put him to bed awake and we say night night and he’s off to slumber land. I’m gonna do a video on.
I THANK U SOO MUCH FOR THIS VIDEO MY HUSBAND SAID THAT I WAS BABYING HER BUT SHE WANT’S ME AND IT’S OKAY TO STILL BREASTFEED YES MADE MY DAY TO KNOW ITS OKAY SO NOW MY 12 MONTH OLD CAN GO 3 X A DAY =]
I love your videos. My LO is currently 8 months and is only breastfeeding and is eating solids here and there. I plan on continuing breastfeeding for as long as possible =]
SO exited to breast feed again! Just got BFP two days ago for baby #2! Baby #1 is going to be 4 this month! Goes so fast!!
My toddler at 19 months is still nursing, but she nurses at least 5-7 times a day/night. This is still a normal toddler nursing routine. You have implied, slightly, that they should nurse infrequently and therefore you have all this freedom, but you know what, I am not ‘worried’ that she may want to nurse when we are out, and I have just as much freedom. She feeds 1-2 times at night, and this is normal too. They will sleep when they are ready!!
I think it’s great that you plan to BF as long as possible! I envy you! I had a breast reduction when I was 18 and after 3 weeks of successfully (…..barely! I had EVERY problem you could possibly have) nursing, my milk dried up! Apparently I had nerve damage from the surgery, so my body wasn’t getting the signals to keep producing milk. I was sooooo sad! So I say, “If you’ve got the milk, use it!”
i plan to bf for a year at least, my 7 month old is still on the boob, but she does get 1 bowl of rice cereal for breakfast, and one veggie arround dinner time…we co sleep and she still does 2-3 night time feedings, but i dont mind i love the cuddle and bonding time,i plan to keep her mostly on breast milk giving her “tastes” of food, but liek you said its up to baby when they are ready they will let you know
Love this video! And I would love to hear your experience with getting him to sleep through the night. =)
Alex is going on 4 months and has started sleeping from 10pm to 4 or 5am. But I find myself waking up at around 3am feeling extremely full. I end up pumping and leaving that bottle at my bedside to feed him when he wakes up an hour later. He has also went from eating every 3 hrs to every 4 hrs. I feel so full at times when he wants to go past 4 hours! I’m starting to worry that when he starts eating solids, I’m going to burst! lol How did you feel as you put more hours in between each feeding?
Aria weaned herself at 10 months old. I was really upset by that because my minimum of breastfeeding for her was a year, and I would have kept going after that, but alas she just lost interest.
@MamaNaturalBlog looking forward to that show. Thanks!
My son is 32 months old and still nurses frequently. I don’t exactly know how many times a day he nurses, because I’m not worried about it.
He always nurses first thing in the morning, always nurses before naptime and before bedtime, but he will also ask to nurse if he is feeling physically or emotionally upset. Having a hard time coping? Nurnur can ‘help-uh feel better’ (according to him). I’m currently 7.5mos pregnant, so I don’t have much – just some colostrum. He doesn’t care. 
My son is almost a year old now. He eats 3 meals a day, sometimes a snack in the afternoon, if he wakes up from his nap early. He nurses 6-8 times a day still, depending on whether he wakes up at night or not. He doesn’t nurse for long, only a couple minutes (unless it’s nighttime, then he’ll nurse like a newborn, lol). I hope to nurse him for 2 years, but would go longer, if it was still working for both of us.
My son will be 10 months tomorrow and is still nursing frequently but he LOVES solids
i hope to nurse him for a while at least til hes a year old… hopefully longer
@MamaNaturalBlog please do a video on this!!!
My son is 15months and he eats his veggies, grains, fruits, and meats but he still nurses all through the night and during nap time. He drinks juice and water just fine, I’m just wondering at what point do you think he’ll stop? He’s still very dependant on the.nursing to sleep or get comfort almost like a pacifier; any tips on how to calm him without having to nurse? Would be much appreciated