Jokerette's BFing journey ("Breastfeeding Kenny" - 19 months)

[beautifulpack]

That's a beautiful photo and I love your journals! Very very helpful for first time breastfeeding moms :0)

 

[superfrizbee]

I really glad you both found it a comfort and hope he'll have a speedy recovery from his surgery

 

[Jokerette]

It has been a while since I posted an updates but recently we've had a few changes.

About 5 days ago I stopped taking domperidone (a medication that can help with milk supply). I originally started taking it after I got my first post-partum AF at 11 weeks because I would see huge dips in milk production every month, and I have continued taking it at a low dose of 20mg for several months now. I decided to stop taking it because I want my periods to become more regular so we can get ready to TTC #2 this fall. I'd like to keep nursing my son though up until that point or even through pregnancy if he wants.

In retrospect I realize I should have weaned off more slowly because the last 5 days my milk has been SO LOW! My son has been signing "more, more" and looking for more milk seeming confused about why there isn't much there. He is not mad or upset... just confused. I have been offering the breast a lot this weekend to try and stimulate more milk as much as possible... but its hard on work days. I worry I made a huge mistake and that this might lead to him weaning. I know he is 15.5 months and weaning at this age is totally fine, I just feel guilty if my cold-turkey medication change forces it.

On top of all this my son has been sick with a stomach bug the past 24 hours. He can barely keep any liquids down, but he does seem to keep the breastmilk down ok. Giving him cows milk just makes him throw up since he has a stomach virus. I wish i had more milk to offer him right now.

I don't know what the next few weeks will bring, but I think there may be some changes. Either my son will grow bored with the low milk supply and wean for breastfeeding, OR he will nurse more frequently and be able to bring my milk supply back up without the use of medications. As long as he does it peacefully and without being too upset then I guess I am okay with it.

On a positive note... I ovulated just a couple days after I stopped taking the domperidone so that is good!

 

[Aimee4311]

Hopefully he can build your supply back up and doesn't wean from frustration!

Is it too late to start taking like a half dose for a while, then a quarter, etc? I don't really know how it works.

 

[Jokerette]

Aimee I probably could ... That had been my inner debate. The good news was today when I got home from work I nursed him and he seemed satisfied. Hopefully that's a good sign!

 

[Jokerette]

It's been about a week since my last post. My milk supply is still pretty low, but my son has been nursing like crazy! He used to just nurse once in the morning and once before bed. This weekend he asked to nurse 6 times on Saturday and 5 times on Sunday. He has also been waking up a little earlier and wanting to nurse at like 3am instead of 5am too. So... I had thought since my milk was so low that it might be a good time to try and wean him but one attempt of trying to lay him in his crib without nursing him showed me he wasn't ready. He might not be getting a lot, but he still seems to really like the comfort. It's Monday today and I'm back to work so he will not be able to nurse as frequently as he did over the weekend. I'm hoping we can get back to what we had before with just morning and night nursing.

 

[leos_try]

How can you tell your DS wasn't ready to give up nursing? What are the signs?

My DS still nurses once in morning and again before bed. I work full-time. I had thought 15 months he'd start to self-wean. I don't want to go cold turkey because 1) I think it is too cruel and I just don't have the heart to withhold knowing that it is only 10 minutes out of my morning routine and 10 minutes in the evenings and 2) I've been plague with clog duct, so if I were to go cold turkey, I'm worried that a clog duct will happen. If my DS wants to continue for another couple of months, I seriously don't mind, I want DS to feel secure and happy. What to do, what to do?

 

[kbkb]

Jokerette- he could be teething. Mine went from 2 feeds morning evening to waking up nights and being super clingy and wanting a feed. Turns out he was sprouting 2 molars. They are out now and he is loads better. I let him nurse since it did feel like it was hugely comforting for him during molar teething. Breastmilk is the best teething gel they need!

 

[Jokerette]

How can you tell your DS wasn't ready to give up nursing? What are the signs?

My DS still nurses once in morning and again before bed. I work full-time. I had thought 15 months he'd start to self-wean. I don't want to go cold turkey because 1) I think it is too cruel and I just don't have the heart to withhold knowing that it is only 10 minutes out of my morning routine and 10 minutes in the evenings and 2) I've been plague with clog duct, so if I were to go cold turkey, I'm worried that a clog duct will happen. If my DS wants to continue for another couple of months, I seriously don't mind, I want DS to feel secure and happy. What to do, what to do?

HAHA, I had the same question last week so I decided to see what my son would do if i tried to put him to bed without nursing him. He simmediately started pointing to the glider where I nurse him and started whining! So I knew right away that he wanted me to nurse him. On nights when I have class my DH puts him to bed and his is fine without me, but with me being there he wanted to nurse.

We also added in out own made up sign language so he can signal to me that he wants to nurse. He pats his own chest a few times. It has worked out great! To get him to learn I, everytime i nursed him i said "do you want to nurse?" and i patted my chest. After a week or so he started picking up on it. I think that helped a lot because now he can oat his chest and walk over to the glider to tell me when he wants to nurse.

I sort of feel the same as you.... i don't really have any good reason for stopping, and its so good for him and he obviously likes it, so I'm planning on continuing. I think societal pressure is the hardest part. If I lived on a desert island it wouldn't even be a question!

 

[Jokerette]

It has been a month since my last post and my son is still signing and asking to nurse several times per day. He asks when he is scared, hungry, thirsty, or just bored. I have started trying to distract him a little bit or offer food or water first, but if he still asks for it I sit down and nurse him and he looks up and me so happily and lovingly that it makes it all worth it. I decided that since he is making his desires and needs to well known I am going to start doing "don't offer, dont refuse".

I feel that he is more than capable now of telling me exactly when he wants to nurse so there is no need for me to look at the clock or assume that he needs to nurse at certain times. I started a couple days ago and each and every morning and night he still asked to nurse, but then tonight he didn't so I put him to bed in his crib without nursing him and he rolled over happily and went to sleep. Since he nursed 6 other times today I know he is nowhere close to weaning, but it was nice to leave the bedtime decision up to him. I know weaning is a very slow and gradual process and I think this will be the most gentle approach for us. We will hit the 17 month mark next week! I can't believe it!

 

[Aimee4311]

Congratulations on making it this far! I think I'm going to do "don't offer, don't refuse" as well when the time comes.

When did you start teaching him the nursing sign? I think I'm going to start using your chest patting idea, hope you don't mind!

 

[mia_leacey]

At your stage we ramped up a notch too and I thought it would never stop. But we're down to 1 feed a day now (morning) occasionally two. There's a developmental leap around 17/18 months that I think was causing it.

 

[Jokerette]

Congratulations on making it this far! I think I'm going to do "don't offer, don't refuse" as well when the time comes.

When did you start teaching him the nursing sign? I think I'm going to start using your chest patting idea, hope you don't mind!

We started teaching the nursing sign when he was 15 months and he picked up on it within a week!

 

[Jokerette]

Don't offer, don't refuse is going great! My son is happy, and so am I. He is now nursing about 4-5 times per day... I'd like to get it down to 3 or 4, but I'm happy with this too. He is learning lots of signs and he can easily ask for milk in a sippy cup or mommy's milk nursing, so I know exactly what he wants.

I'm really glad I am still nursing and am able to offer this form of comfort to my son in moments that he needs it. His canine teeth are almost poking through and I can tell nursing makes him feel better. He also asks to nurse sometimes in stressful or overwhelming situations. I think we're on the way to finding a good balance for both of us!

Only a few more months until I start TTC though... so hopefully I can while BFing!

I've been wanting to post a breastfeeding photo on facebook for a long time and I finally got the guts to do it Today we had a toddler photo session for my son Kenny and I asked the photographer if she would take a photo of us breast-feeding and she did an amazing job capturing the moment.

 

[Aimee4311]

I'm glad it's still going well, I hope his tooth pops through soon!

Beautiful photo!

 

[Jokerette]

We made it to 18 months! Kenny is now nursing morning, night and one or two other times per day. We are only a couple months away from TTC so I don't want to make any more drastic changes that might effect my cycles so we will just stay the course for now.

However, I do want to try disassociating nursing with wakeup and bedtime so I'm going to start nursing him about 10 mins before bed in the living room... and then at wakeup I'm going to do the same thing by bringing him into the playroom or livingroom and trying to see if he will play for a few minutes before nursing. I'll also offer water/milk in a cup.

Kenny has been sick this week with a stomach bug so being able to nurse him and keep him hydrated has been a blessing once again!

 

[Aimee4311]

That is such a sweet picture! I love it, I'd never considered having a picture of us nursing when doing a professional shoot...I think I may do that for Josalyn's one year photo shoot!

I'm glad it is still going well. Your idea about disassociating nursing with sleep/wake up time seems like a good one!

If you get pregnant soon and he's still going strong, will you encourage stopping? Or tandem nurse until he's ready to stop?

 

[Jokerette]

I will encourage stopping gently but if he really wants to continue and doesn't get discouraged by decreased milk supply during pregnancy then I would tandem nurse. But I'd prefer just to nurse one at a time LOL

 

[kix11]

I have just come across your breastfeeding story and it is so similar to mine I wish I had written down all the different stages! I had a very similar rocky start with pain and cracked nipples which went on for 8-10 weeks but it soon became easy, pain free and the best experience of my life. I planned to bf for 6 months, that date came and went then I aimed for 12 months and so it goes on!

I am still breastfeeding now at 18 months, Aaron is a very similar age to your boy he was born on 31st Jan 2012. He only feeds in the morning now which he doesn't seem to want to stop any time soon! We are off on holiday on Saturday and when we return have decided to start TTC baby 2 which I hope will happen while still breastfeeding.

I never set out with much knowledge of breastfeeding, I knew my mum had bf me and my brother but a lot of friends had bottle fed. I decided early in pregnancy that I wanted to give it a go but it was only when I had started bf that I became determined to make it work and the more I have read about it and the more I bonded with my baby it was the most natural amazing thing that I have ever done and now I am one of those annoying bf advocates that I never imagined I would EVER be. Breast milk could never be replicated and is exactly what nature intended to develop our babies after birth in the perfect way.

I can't imagine how on earth I am going to dedicate the same time to baby 2 that bf takes but I will do it!

Can't decide what to do with stopping bf are you going to let your little one decide? I don't want to bf both at the same time so hoping to stop whilst pregnant if all works out!
xx

 

[Jokerette]

Hi! Wow our journeys sound so similar! I am hoping Kenny will wean with the change in the milk during pregnancy..., I'm not sure what ill do if he wants to keep nursing the whole time. I do love our time though... It brings he back and slows him down and he becomes my baby again. And I always think of how many vitamins and nutrients he's getting