Extended Breastfeeding

[Anonymous]

hello moms. I recently gave birth on September 1st to a newborn baby girl. I also have a 16 month toddler daughter along with a 9 yr old son.

I’m my toddler has not weaned from nursing and now I find myself tandem nursing. Any advice around this ? It is appropriate to wean the toddler off to a bottle. Any advice would be appreciated

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: hello moms. I recently gave birth on September 1st to a newborn baby girl. I also have a 16 month toddler daughter along with a 9 yr old son.

I’m my toddler has not weaned from nursing and now I find myself tandem nursing. Any advice around this ? It is appropriate to wean the toddler off to a bottle. Any advice would be appreciated

You can do it if you want or stop if you dont. This is NOT the forum for pro-breastfeeding so if you want advice on continuing try a breastfeeding group on FB.

[Anonymous]

Do you want to wean your toddler? Or is it easier right now to tandem nurse? Do whatever works for you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: hello moms. I recently gave birth on September 1st to a newborn baby girl. I also have a 16 month toddler daughter along with a 9 yr old son.

I’m my toddler has not weaned from nursing and now I find myself tandem nursing. Any advice around this ? It is appropriate to wean the toddler off to a bottle. Any advice would be appreciated

You can do it if you want or stop if you dont. This is NOT the forum for pro-breastfeeding so if you want advice on continuing try a breastfeeding group on FB.

+1

I wouldn’t wean before 24 months based on what’s “appropriate” but rather what works for you and fits with your lifestyle.

[Anonymous]

I BFed both my kids until they were 3, but they are 5 years apart, so I was I not nursing while pregnant or tandem nursing. I think you should do what is easiest for you right now. I suspect it might be really hard to wean your toddler when she can see you nursing the baby. Maybe if you have help during the day and can try not to nurse around her?

Your toddler is old enough to wean to a cup of course but a bottle might be easier for her depending on how much she likes to nurse.

I don't think there's a right answer, just what works best for all 3 of you. Best wishes!

[Anonymous]

You can totally wean toddler to a bottle if that’sa helpful step. I did this for nighttime feeds for a while. Just check with your dentist that your child doesn’t have an open bite or teeth issues a bottle would exacerbate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I BFed both my kids until they were 3, but they are 5 years!

Thanks this is very encouraging. Ideally I wanted to nurse for 3 years for each child.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: hello moms. I recently gave birth on September 1st to a newborn baby girl. I also have a 16 month toddler daughter along with a 9 yr old son.

I’m my toddler has not weaned from nursing and now I find myself tandem nursing. Any advice around this ? It is appropriate to wean the toddler off to a bottle. Any advice would be appreciated

Are you happy with doing it? Is baby getting enough? If so, it's fine to keep doing it.

[Anonymous]

I chose to nurse until almost 4 for both of my children. After 3 they only nursed at morning and night and if upset. We weaned for kindergarten and all was well. It can be overwhelming to tandem feed but it was worth it for me.

[Anonymous]

It's your call, but if your infant isn't getting enough, you need to prioritize that. Toddler is old enough I wouldn't do a bottle, it's bad for the teeth.

[Anonymous]

I breastfed all 3 kids to about 12 months. I think oldest was maybe 13 months. 16 months will be an easy transition to bottle in evenings (or as needed) and, of course, more solids, which are essential for nourishment. I would never have been able to handle two at once. My kids were all about 2 years apart.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's your call, but if your infant isn't getting enough, you need to prioritize that. Toddler is old enough I wouldn't do a bottle, it's bad for the teeth.

This. The infant is the priority when breastfeeding

[Anonymous]

I wouldn't wean to a bottle - at your toddler age , she shouldn't be using bottles. Typically parents are trying to get their toddlers away from bottles at her age. (Mine stopped using any bottle at 12 months as is recommended:
https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/no-bottles.html#:~:text=But%20by%2012%20months%20of,cup%20rather%20than%20a%20bottle.)

As to whether to wean from nursing that's up to you. If you want to, wean her. If not, it's fine for her to nurse as long as the baby is getting enough. 16 months isn't "extended breastfeeding" when the recommendation is 2 years but if it's not working for you then wean!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn't wean to a bottle - at your toddler age , she shouldn't be using bottles. Typically parents are trying to get their toddlers away from bottles at her age. (Mine stopped using any bottle at 12 months as is recommended:
https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/no-bottles.html#:~:text=But%20by%2012%20months%20of,cup%20rather%20than%20a%20bottle.)

As to whether to wean from nursing that's up to you. If you want to, wean her. If not, it's fine for her to nurse as long as the baby is getting enough. 16 months isn't "extended breastfeeding" when the recommendation is 2 years but if it's not working for you then wean!

P.S. I'm still nursing my 3 year old a little bit so no pressure from me to wean . Just to do what is right for you.

[Anonymous]

It’s encouraging to find other moms on this forum also nursing into the child’s 2nd and 3rd year. Again I’m not at all making any judgments here. Fomula is just as good I think. But breastfeeding has always worked for my newborn and toddler. How do moms on here manage nursing the toddler when out in public ? I tend to pack bottles in the diaper bag after my now toddler turned 1 year old. Now bottles for the toddler in public and nursing the newborn in public with a privacy cover I always keep in the diaper bag.