[Rayel81]

HELP!

I am very proud of having nursed my son to 22 months, he's never ever had a drop of formula. We do not co-sleep and he does not nurse at night, but during the day he would love it if he did nothing other than have boob in his mouth! We're trying to conceive #2 and for me, I don't want to tandem nurse, so I feel it's time to stop nursing him- problem is, he doesn't agree.

He will come and sit on my lap and yank at my shirt, if I don't comply immediately, he throws a tantrum! There is no way to distract him once he's decided he wants to nurse, he's as stubborn as stubborn can be. I've read all the stuff online about ' don't sit in a certain chair if you nurse there, distract him, etc.' but since we've EBF, I don't think there's anywhere in my house I can ever sit that he doesn't associate with nursing.

I know that I still have a good supply, but he is also nursing for comfort. I've tried to give him a bottle and snuggle him so he has the sensation of suckling (I dont' care if my almost 2 year old drinks from a bottle, if it can help wean him I'm all for it), but it doesn't work. He'll insist on holding the bottle, then proceed to lift my shirt!

I don't want to be strict and leave him to cry, but I don't know if tough love is my only option with this child. Advice? Please help!

[kyekye]

My sister in law is trying to get her baby off. She got some stuff that you put on your nipple that tastes bad when they suck and it seems to really be working. I am not sure what its called but I am sure you can find it somewhere on the internet.

[Rayel81]

Originally Posted by kyekye

My sister in law is trying to get her baby off. She got some stuff that you put on your nipple that tastes bad when they suck and it seems to really be working. I am not sure what its called but I am sure you can find it somewhere on the internet.

That's hilarious that you mention that! I was discussing this with my mom and she told me that my aunt used to put pepper on her nipples so her kids wouldn't want it anymore! I guess she wasn't so far off after all .

[polarbearmama]

I would love to see what advice others can give on this exact issue! My daugther is also 22 months old and would nurse ALL day long if I allowed her. I do try to distract her, but she is just as you described your son....very resistant and terrible tantrums if I don't nurse.

Let me know if you find something that works!

[scct_123]

I have a suggestion that might help move you in the direction you want to go, but isn't a full solution (yet!). My daughter is 17 months and is still nursing. My goal was to BF until 12 months and then slowly wean off, well, SLOW is the key word there... we're still SLOWLY weaning.

One thing that has helped our process in reducing the number of times she breastfeeds each day (now only twice - once before nap and once before bed) is to choose ONE place where you breastfeed and that's it. So for us, it's in her bed (she has a mattress on the floor). So when she asks for "milk!" I say okay, but remember, only in bed. So then we go to her room and nurse there. It only took about two days for her to come up to me, say, "Milk!" and turn and run for her room (or she says, "Bed! Bed!").

Finding one spot might be a good first step as you mentioned pretty much every place in your house is a breastfeeding spot. Perhaps making just one spot a breastfeeding spot will help. Then after that is established, you can start redirecting or staying away from that area. I hope this helps!

[DistantSun]

At least I'm not the only one with this problem. My daughter will be 2 in Nov, and I really don't know what to do to get her to stop breastfeeding. She will wake up anywhere from 3 to 6 times at night to feed, and if I am not working, she wants to eat constantly. The problem is that I know it's really only for comfort, not for food. She eats solids with little problem, even though she is extremely picky and tends to eat a little then switch to something else. I think I'm going to try the adding something nasty tasting to the nipples thing because I just don't know what else to do. She will scream like I'm torturing her if I don't offer the boob and it is starting to get ridiculous. I really thought she would wean herself eventually, but I think because I'm the one who works and my hubby is the one who stays home that she is just trying to connect to me... Which actually makes me feel kind of bad, but what am I supposed to do?

[scct_123]

Distant sun I could have written your post except we're only at eighteen months. We only nurse in bed, but it feels like there is no end in sight. I wouldn't mind continuing longer if I knew my daughter would wean herself eventually, but it doesn't seem like that is going to happen so it seems like it will only get harder the longer we wait! Anyone else have any advice?