Saturday, November 11, 2017

Nursing a Toddler

When I was pregnant with Che knew I would do whatever it took to breastfeed. I never had a goal. I guess I had kind of heard about going until you both were ready to wean. I now have a nursing 2 year old.

As with the whole journey every week, every day seems different. I'm not sure if I've forgotten how it was to nurse a newborn but this little guy kicks my butt. It seems like some days were constantly nursing.

I do it because he's developing, going through new experiences and emotions. I feel like I can offer him a resting place when he is overwhelmed and his little mind is frazzled. I love the thought of boosting his immune system and giving him nutrients. I also plan to use it as a tool if he is feeling left out after his baby brothet arrives.

Nursing during pregnancy has been painful. Nursing aversion is so interesting to me. I'm usually okay nursing him throughout the day, but bedtime and nighttime makes me irritated.

This past week I needed to gain some control because I've been feeling overwhelmed that all Che wants is me. I've cut out nursing while he's watching TV. During random times I've uped my distraction game. I'm 8 months pregnant and like many things I've read, my supply is slowing. He'll tell me their empty pretty quickly. I use that as an excuse and make him wait until bedtime.

It's such a strange transition because I don't want to cut him off before the baby comes. One night while he was nursing I felt sad that I had denied him throughout the day and don't want this to end yet.