Extended Breastfeeding Check-in, 3/16

[vvvvvfee]

For the purposes of this check-in, we will define extended breastfeeding as breastfeeding beyond 1 year. Questions are repeated and suggestions are appreciated!

1. How old is your LO?
2. How many times per day does your LO nurse?
3. Do you still nurse overnight? Did you deliberately night-wean or did your LO drop night feeds on his/her own?
4. Which benefit of extended BFing is most important/relevant to you right now?

Pregnant & BFing Moms: How are you doing this week? Any issues with supply, pain, aversion? Questions for other moms?

Tandem Nursing Moms: How are you doing this week? Any current challenges? Questions for other moms?

Non-BFing question of the week: What's one thing you feel you do really well as a parent, and what's one thing you feel you could improve on?

[billyhorrible]

1. How old is your LO? 21 months

2. How many times per day does your LO nurse? 2

3. Do you still nurse overnight? Did you deliberately night-wean or did your LO drop night feeds on his/her own? I still nurse overnight. I'm old school in that I believe if they're waking at night there's a reason and my pediatrician is supportive since nursing has an analgesic effect. My first dropped it on his own when he finished teething, so I'm thinking this one will do the same.

4. Which benefit of extended BFing is most important/relevant to you right now? Not necessarily specific to EBF, but like I said before, the analgesic properties.


Non-BFing question of the week: What's one thing you feel you do really well as a parent, and what's one thing you feel you could improve on? I actually think that I am a fantastic parent, doing everything well. And i say that as someone who doesn't believe she does anything well. This is (surprisingly) something I excel at. My "room for improvement" is probably not devoting as much to my kid and doing more for myself.

[jewel441]

1. How old is your LO? 1
2. How many times per day does your LO nurse? A lot. Probably 6-8 times
3. Do you still nurse overnight? Did you deliberately night-wean or did your LO drop night feeds on his/her own? She still nurses 1x overnight, I am trying to gently get her to drop it, but right now she is a little sick so back slid anyway...
4. Which benefit of extended BFing is most important/relevant to you right now? Idk, I just like nursing and LO is quite boob obsessed, I'm not even sure how I would go about weaning if that were our plan. I do wish it was a little bit less though...

Non-BFing question of the week: What's one thing you feel you do really well as a parent, and what's one thing you feel you could improve on?
I think I'm a pretty good parent in general I'm good at finding activities for us to do and advocating for my LO. I am not good at teaching LO "tricks" h is always saying why doesn't LO know any tricks... other hairs we know high five and do like "soooo big" etc, I'm like you have to teach those things. Lol. I also have a hard time letting go. I've only ever left LO while she is awake w H and once with my mil. No one else has ever put her bed, etc. mentally, I don't know how to let go.

[byjove]

1. 15 months
2. This week 8x or so... mostly at night
3. We do... these days seemingly all night.
4. Protection from illness and nutrition.

Non-BFing question of the week: What's one thing you feel you do really well as a parent, and what's one thing you feel you could improve on? I know I really struggle with patience when I am sick and/or especially sleep deprived (this is me lately). I have zero tolerance for DD1's whining and attitude and I am so touched out with DD2 lately. I am good at worrying about them

[valie]

1. How old is your LO? 13mos, 33mos
2. How many times per day does your LO nurse? 4x, 3x
3. Do you still nurse overnight? Did you deliberately night-wean or did your LO drop night feeds on his/her own? Newp (unless circumstances) LOs dropped night feeds with encouragement
4. Which benefit of extended BFing is most important/relevant to you right now? Bonding

Tandem Nursing Moms: How are you doing this week? Any current challenges? Questions for other moms? We're good. DD is big enough now to flop over me for a drink if DS and I are lying down and he's nursing. It is the funniest thing because it's basically a body slam attack from a 20lb'er.

Non-BFing question of the week: What's one thing you feel you do really well as a parent, and what's one thing you feel you could improve on? I'm good at acknowledging my kids and being present with them. I could work on having more variety in our time together.

[vvvvvfee]

1. How old is your LO? 20 months
2. How many times per day does your LO nurse? 4
3. Do you still nurse overnight? Did you deliberately night-wean or did your LO drop night feeds on his/her own? No. DS mostly outgrew it on his own. I think it was around 14 months or so when I put DH on nighttime duty (his crib is next to our bed but on DH's side). He still often wakes in the MOTN and DH will bring him into our bed, but then he goes back to sleep without nursing.
4. Which benefit of extended BFing is most important/relevant to you right now? It improves DS's mood when he's cranky and tired- it seems to be like drinking a bottle of Gatorade for him.

Non-BFing question of the week: What's one thing you feel you do really well as a parent, and what's one thing you feel you could improve on? Do well- I think I'm good at letting the kids grow at their own pace and not trying to rush them to do things before they're emotionally ready. Improve on- I get exasperated too easily when DS1 is testing me and I'm tired/hungry/in a rush and am too quick to yell (although this applies to all facets of my life, not just parenting ).

[lilyelayne]

1. How old is your LO? - 2 years

2. How many times per day does your LO nurse? - 3+

3. Do you still nurse overnight? Did you deliberately night-wean or did your LO drop night feeds on his/her own? - if he wakes up and doesn't put himself back to sleep, then I go nurse him. It comes and goes.

4. Which benefit of extended BFing is most important/relevant to you right now? - comfort

Non-BFing question of the week: What's one thing you feel you do really well as a parent, and what's one thing you feel you could improve on? -
Do well: going at DS's pace
Improve on: putting down my phone

[packmomma]

1. How old is your LO? Almost 19 months
2. How many times per day does your LO nurse?
3-6 depending on how he's feeling.
3. Do you still nurse overnight? Did you deliberately night-wean or did your LO drop night feeds on his/her own?
We deliberately night weaned at 6 months due to a living situation (kitchen flooded and ds and I had to stay with in laws). I still feed him at night if he's sick but it doesn't happen often.
4. Which benefit of extended BFing is most important/relevant to you right now?
The immuneilogical(sp) and cuddle time. Ds is a mover and that's usually the only time he stops and cuddles.

Non-BFing question of the week: What's one thing you feel you do really well as a parent, and what's one thing you feel you could improve on?
I feel like I validate his feelings really well and teach him ways to express and deal with his frustration even though he's not super verbal. I struggle with ptsd right now and I find myself using TV a lot more than I had (which I know isn't a huge deal but I feel like detached sometimes). I'm working on making a schedule for us so that we have planned activity time each day to really hang out.

[sammysam]

I've been gone for a while but I hope it's ok if I jump back in!

1. How old is your LO? 3

2. How many times per day does your LO nurse? 2...usually another 2 over night

3. Do you still nurse overnight? Yes. I'll let her decide when she's done. She is asking for it less and less as she becomes a better eater and sleeper.

4. Which benefit of extended BFing is most important/relevant to you right now? Comfort

Non-BFing question of the week: What's one thing you feel you do really well as a parent, and what's one thing you feel you could improve on? I feel like I'm good at giving her new experiences and playing with her. It's just her and me most of the time so we have a very close bond. I have to work on finding better ways to address her when she decides to do something ridiculously dangerous. She thinks she's 17 and doesn't understand the idea of possibly breaking her neck...which terrifies me constantly.

[sammysam]

A quick question for those of you with 2+ kiddos...did you have any trouble getting KU while breastfeeding (or were you still BF when TTC)? We're TTC right now and I'm wondering if BF is having any effect on my fertility.

[billyhorrible]

Mar 20, 2017 18:25:19 GMT -5 sammysam said:

A quick question for those of you with 2+ kiddos...did you have any trouble getting KU while breastfeeding (or were you still BF when TTC)? We're TTC right now and I'm wondering if BF is having any effect on my fertility.

We wanted a larger age gap between kids so it wasn't an issue. My oldest had stopped breastfeeding long before we started trying.

[sammysam]

billyhorrible What is the age gap between your kids (if you don't mind my asking)? I wasn't planning on having a second but SO really wanted to try for one more so here we are. We're looking at a minimum 4 year age gap at this point. How have you found the spacing in terms of how your older child reacted? That is my biggest concern right now...

[geners]

1. How old is your LO? 15.5 mon
2. How many times per day does your LO nurse? 2-4x and once MOTN
3. Do you still nurse overnight? Most nights, once. I'm fine with it, I assume he needs it b/c there are plenty of times he either doesn't wake up, or doesn't need it to go back to sleep.
4. Which benefit of extended BFing is most important/relevant to you right now? Oh gosh all of it. My favorite is how quickly it calms/soothes him and clearly provides comfort.

Non-BFing question of the week: What's one thing you feel you do really well as a parent, and what's one thing you feel you could improve on? I think I do a good job of being there for him while letting him be his own person. I could probably do a better job of providing structure/a schedule (am working on it) and staying off my phone around him (also working on it).

[byjove]

sammysam, I was still nursing when I got pregnant with my second. My period returned around 8 mo pp and I got pregnant when DD1 was 19 mo (we hadn't been trying though).

[vvvvvfee]

Mar 20, 2017 18:25:19 GMT -5 sammysam said:

A quick question for those of you with 2+ kiddos...did you have any trouble getting KU while breastfeeding (or were you still BF when TTC)? We're TTC right now and I'm wondering if BF is having any effect on my fertility.

i was still BFing DS1 when i got pregnant with DS2-- he was a little over 2. i got pregnant right away (i was charting my cycle and checking cervical position/mucus so i had a fairly good idea of when i was ovulating).

it can have an effect on some women, though, or just make your cycles kind of wonky so it's hard to figure out when you're actually ovulating. are you charting your cycles?

[sammysam]

vvvvvfee I am only using OPKs and CM. Temping doesn't work for me because my sleep is all over the place! I'm so glad to hear that you did not have any problems getting pregnant while BFing! It took 4 cycles for us to get pregnant with DD (4 years ago now...) and we're only on cycle 3 right now of TFAS so it's still early days yet. I am just a little worried that BFing plus being AMA might be a recipe for defeat...but my cycles seem to be fairly regular and I'm able to turn an OPK each cycle so if it's just being old that I have to worry about then that makes me feel better!

[billyhorrible]

Mar 21, 2017 7:13:17 GMT -5 sammysam said:

billyhorrible What is the age gap between your kids (if you don't mind my asking)? I wasn't planning on having a second but SO really wanted to try for one more so here we are. We're looking at a minimum 4 year age gap at this point. How have you found the spacing in terms of how your older child reacted? That is my biggest concern right now...

So you're already where we were, mine are almost 4 years apart, but I wasn't still breastfeeding at 3.

I will say it's a fantastic age difference. I'm excited for you. I think having an older child made the experience easier because he was more independent and understood more. We didn't have jealousy or acting out. He was so excited to have a built in friend and was able to occupy himself when I needed to focus on the new baby. They are really close. This morning he crawled into his brother's crib so he could lie beside him and wake him up.

[sammysam]

billyhorrible Thank you so much for that!!! Hearing how much they love each other means so much. My biggest fear is DD resenting a new baby but your experience sounds wonderful. I am so hopeful that we end up being as lucky as you!!!

And yeah...still BFing at 3...she has been cutting way back lately so I'm thinking if I'm lucky enough to get pregnant again and if my milk dries up during pregnancy then she may just end up giving it up. It took 3 months after she was born for my milk to come in properly (although still very low supply), and pumping, medication, and AL devices during that time were hell so I always joke that I'm going to BF her until she goes to college. The older she gets the more I'm thinking this might actually happen...

[iqeb]

Jumping in...

1. How old is your LO? 19 months (and 37+2)

2. How many times per day does your LO nurse? I'm never sure how to count. At a bare minimum, first thing in the morning, before nap, and in the evening, but generally she'll have at least one stretch in the morning or afternoon of nursing on and off for an hour or so. She also nurses briefly to calm down pretty much whenever she gets upset.

3. Do you still nurse overnight? Did you deliberately night-wean or did your LO drop night feeds on his/her own? A little before she turned 1 we started giving her 5 minutes to self-settle in the motn and that was magic for us. We nurse before brushing teeth at night (7pm or so) and then not again until morning (between 6:45 and 7:30).

4. Which benefit of extended BFing is most important/relevant to you right now? How it helps her calm down when she's upset.

Pregnant & BFing Moms: How are you doing this week? Any issues with supply, pain, aversion? Questions for other moms? It's hard to find a good position between BH, hip pain, etc. Hanging in there.


Non-BFing question of the week: What's one thing you feel you do really well as a parent, and what's one thing you feel you could improve on? I'm good at giving her a routine she can rely on, which seems to help her a lot. But I'm not a patient person by nature so I'll probably always have room for improvement there.