Demanding Nursing Toddler
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Breastfeeding a Toddler > Demanding Nursing Toddler
I have made the choice of extended breastfeeding at certain times of the day. My
daughter is just over two years old, and very much loves nursing. I too enjoy the
connection and feel it important to nurse her at least until she's three. My problem
is the way she asks for it. She'll often say, "Nurse!!!!" in a very loud and demanding
voice and begin to bang on her own chest like a gorilla or poke at my breasts rudely.
She'll fling herself into nurse position, nuzzle at my chest, and kick and whine and
holler if I try to offer other alternatives. I often find myself embarassed around
others, and somewhat insulted by my daughter's manner of request! Sometimes I just
nurse her outside her normal nursing times just to stave off the tantrum. But then I
feel like I've "given in". Has anyone had this problem and how did they deal with it?
I try to stress to her to ask quietly, and
to say please, and to offer alternatives (juice, snack, hug, etc) when the time is
inappropriate, but so far not much has changed!
I nursed my toddler too and I can still see the benefits
today, so I applaud your decision to let your daughter
enjoy extended nursing. However, toddlers can be
demanding. What worked with my daughter: we made a
rule of no nursing in public. I sometimes made exceptions,
but if she ever shouted or had a tantrum, I NEVER gave in.
I tried to use the nursing as a reward, or sometimes let
her nurse when she was upset but BEFORE she started to
behave badly. She soon learned that shouting and having
a tantrum were not effective (amazing how fast they learn
to get what they want!). Also, we used a code (nonsense)
word for nursing so when she asked for it in public it
wasn't so embarrassing. Unfortunately this society is
very disapproving of extended nursing, so it's too bad
that we have to hide this way...
As the mother of a nursing toddler, I can relate to all of the comments I'm
reading about strange looks, rude comments, feeling embarrassed, et cetera.
I feel very strongly that I don't want my daughter to feel inhibited or
ashamed in any way about nursing her own toddler in public. That is why I
refuse to hide our nursing relationship. We nurse pretty much whenever and
wherever we want to. I am as discrete as possible, and have taught my
daughter that if she wants to nurse, she must leave my shirt down so that
with the combination of it and her head, no breast is exposed. I do not,
and have never used a drape. If people are shocked or offended by seeing me
nursing my baby, it's only because it's so rare to see such a thing in our
culture. How can we ever expect that to change if we buy into the
ignorance-based reactions of other people by becoming closet nursers?
Another parent wrote "However, waiting for a child to wean themselves seems
to be a myth, unless one is willing to continue nursing until four or five"
I would not consider it to be a myth. My daughter weaned herself at age 2
yrs and 11 mos. I only rarely told her a flat "no", though I often
redirected her, especially at the very end ("you just nursed an hour
ago--are you hungry for food?" "Do you want to nurse, or do you just want
to be close to mom?"). And she did go through a period of increased
requests in the last month or two, though each time it was clear she just
wanted to make sure that she still *could* (she would nurse for about 1
minute, and be on her way). At the end, she asked only a couple times a week
(though I could see that she was actually still getting milk, even though
not much). She hasn't asked for about 3 months now, so I think we're really
done. Baby-led weaning is possible, and it doesn't necessarily mean you'll
wait till they're 5.
this page was last updated: Dec 28, 2004
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