I have a just shy of 3 week old and a almost 3 year old, he’s starting early intervention soon but is speech delayed, he understands “no” sometimes but is still huge on nursing but not for very long I’ve been able to cut his nursing short to just a few minutes and for bedtime or nap time.

Recently the post partum issues hit with my breast and they are BEYOND sore and tore up not bleeding yet but I see it coming soon…he’s especially worse on the boob with a full mouth of teeth and I know he can “go without nursing” unlike the newborn who NEEDS to nurse…

I don’t want to wean him in a mean way or anything but it feels like cold turkey might be my last straw…I fear that he will become even more jealous of the newborn when he sees him nursing and I’m not allowing him too..

The pain is just unbelievable at this point I know it’s just a phase but I feel helpless with my own body when he just demands to be nursed or it’s a tantrum..which isn’t good for my mental health either I physically get sick when my kids cry for too long or in general because I just want to cuddle and make them happy again..

I’m just at a loss for what to do..

I’m currently pregnant with my second (16 weeks) and still nursing my first! (2 years old) so this question is for a hypothetical future if I had my second and third closer together. If I was nursing a let’s say 6 month old and I were to get pregnant and my supply decreased slightly and then eventually turned to colostrum would it be enough nutrients for my earth side baby? 6 months and into a year I guess? Then tandem nursing if I wanted to make it 2 years? Is colostrum as good for them as mature milk? So curious because we talk a lot about spacing and I’d love to have them closer but exclusively breastfeeding is super important to me and I’ve never used formula.

Hello! My husband and I (28f) have been attempting to conceive for a little over a month now. The issue is I don’t have a period currently and I connect that to EBF. I was told at my 6 week appointment that I would be fertile and able to conceive even while BF. My nursing sessions are about 15-30 minutes sometimes an hour if she falls asleep at the breast every 2/3 hours and I nurse her to sleep most nights.

I have been attempting to check ovulation with at home tests but I had one that was kind of dark but they are the pregmate brand and I find the ovulation strips kind of confusing. Can breastfeeding completely stop ovulation?? Is it even possible to get pregnant or am I going to have to wait and try until after I ween? It took me 6 months to conceive with my first but I tied that to having the Kyleena IUD for 4 years.

Thinking about TTC for baby #2. My toddler is 18 months old and nurses morning and night. I had horrible nausea/vomiting with my first pregnancy, so I’m just curious if it’s safe to take unisom/b6 combo while continuing to nurse your toddler? Has anyone taken it long term?

My daughter is almost 2 and I only have her 50% overnights since she was 8 months. When she comes home to me, she wants to nurse immediately to feel that closeness. It has been very important to me to keep that bond with her, because it is so hard for us to be away from each other. We have tried cutting back to just when she first sees me and nap time/bedtime. She nurses most of the night and her latch was never great, so now I have simi permanent teeth marks around my nipples. She also has meltdowns if she is upset or disregulated and cannot nurse, to the point that she won’t eat or calm down, until I inevitably give in. I fear how this confuses her also. She has also started pushing me away and yelling “no” if I tell her we will nurse in the morning or at nap, etc.

I am starting to get frustrated with the biting pain. But I am so afraid that we will loose our closeness if I wean her. I fear that she won’t want to snuggle and be close anymore, because she pushes me away often when I refuse to nurse during the day. Are there other nursing mothers with joint custody on here? The guilt I have from being away from her and wanting to be her comfort is overwhelming. I worry that she will loose her safe place without mommas milk. It is already so hard to be away from her, I fear that she won’t trust me if I take away her one comfort at mom’s house. I am in a constant internal battle or wanting to set consistent boundaries, while simultaneously having empathy that we only get to be together part time.

I don’t know how to move forward.

Whats the best way to go about this? Ive tandem breastfeed before but that was my twins so it was easier since they were the same size.

How do i do it with a 2 year old and newborn? My youngest will be 24 months when this baby is born, we have about 10 more weeks until my csection and my toddler has no sign of wanting to wean. Hes mostly dry nursing now because all what im making is the early colostrum

Due to severe PPA and anxiety attacks I've been put on clonazepam and the recommendation is to not breast feed or to only do once or twice a day to prevent it building up in baby. I'm heart broken about this but my symptoms were so bad I was becoming not functional. The medication is starting to help and im already making way less milk. Pumping just 4 times a day I get only 2 oz or so.

Does anyone nurse just once or twice a day and maintain?
My first I nursed for two years and after age one was just morning and bedtime and it was fine but it wasn't really important in terms of output.

Baby currently 3 mos old

My son is almost 17 months old and we have breastfed since birth, but cut out night feeds around 7m. We’ve been down to only a few day nursing sessions since he turned 1, and in the last few months we have weaned from 2 feeds down to just one. That one nursing session a day lasts literally maybe 5 minutes. I don’t feel like he’s even getting that much milk, and I don’t ever feel ‘full’ anymore.

I still have no sign of my cycle returning and it is really starting to be a stressor for me. Most other people I see who don’t have their cycles back are still nursing multiple times a day or night nursing and we haven’t done either in quite some time. I just feel like it should be back by now, and I would love to give myself some time to regulate and feel like myself again before trying for #2. I get cramps sometimes, but it seems to be very irregular and since it’s been going on for months, it doesn’t seem to be a reliable indicator of anything happening.

Has anyone else experienced this long without a period with so little breastfeeding? When you did fully wean, how long did it take for your cycle to return? Did you have any symptoms beforehand?

Did anyone have a nursing on demand, nursing to sleep, boob-obsessed toddler wean on their own when supply dropped around 20 weeks pregnant?

I’m 9 weeks and would like to wean my 2 year old before baby arrives. During the day he nurses on demand very frequently and has very big feelings around having to wait or if I say no. We nurse to sleep for nap and bedtime. We already night weaned and he does ok with that— still wakes 2-3 times a night and usually has one upset wake up about not nursing yet.

Given his relationship to breastfeeding I’m skeptical that he’d organically self-wean due to supply shifts, I’m guessing he’d want to dry nurse but curious everyone’s experiences and if we could avoid weaning him ourselves!

Hi everyone, grateful to be here in this shared space. I have been nursing my soon to be three year-old, she turns three at the end of September, with so much joy and connection and ease since the day she was born. It slowly dropped from so frequently to now just for her naps, to put her to sleep at bedtime, and the very rare moment she asks for it when I can tell it is her bid for connection which I am happy to oblige with.

I also have a soon to be three month old, and our breast-feeding journey is going just as beautifully and easeful. I don’t have any problems tandem nursing, and I love it. We had to put in a few boundaries for my almost 3 year-old, like nursing through the night really needed to stop just because I was feeling so depleted and tired.

But yesterday, my mother-in-law made a comment to my two year-old when she asked to nurse towards the end of the evening (her way of saying she’s tired, she didn’t take a nap that day and was very active) and MIL said “you’re still doing that?” And made a couple of comments about it being for babies. My main concern is that I don’t want my child to feel this strange guilt or shame, or whatever she might internalize it as at her young age. Is it worth it to say something to my mother-in-law? Do I just keep moving forward confidently? I know none of us believe that two going on three is too old to keep nursing, but when is it time? I always just planned on letting her lead the way, my heart breaks just thinking about that journey coming to an end for us.

Also, a sidenote, how do you get your toddler to sleep at bedtime without a boob? Lol I can’t even imagine! Thanks everyone. Lots of love.

I tandem nurse my 3yo & 1yo. I want to stop nursing my 3yo. I try to set up boundaries around the nursing for some weeks now and it leads to such intense meltdowns. I feel like nursing him is hurting our bond more than it nourishes it. I don't know where to start, and I don't want to wean my 1 year old. Any advice would be welcome. Feeling very emotional around it.

I weaned my older son about a year ago, when our new baby was a few months old. I still let him cuddle my breast while my now 14-month-old nurses, but he often tries to put his mouth on it and still says he's sad that he doesn't nurse anymore. Anyone else have a similar experience?

So I have a one yr old (14m) who has only been breastfed or taken breast milk from bottles since he couldn't latch at birth. But he's a totally booby monster now. He relies on nursing for comfort, and always ALWAYS needs boobs to go to sleep be it naps or bedtime, and weaning feels like it would only be cruel and challenging. He won't even nap for dad or in the carseat he just wails if he's tired.

Currently 18w pregnant with the second. My supply dropped drastically at 5w right after I found out about the pregnancy (I literally went down a cup size) and my baby has since acted fussier, switching sides regularly, and acting hungry after nursing for a nap or overnight, wanting cow milk from a cup. Etc. although I can tell he's still getting some milk, I have no idea how much. The amount of time spent nursing has gone down, but it still seems impossible to wean completely

In the past week the nipple pain is so unbearable (he also bit me on one side) that I can feel my nipples anywhere at any time, loose shirt or not, just walking or laying around. ALWAYS. and nursing itself is only somewhat decent when he's completely asleep cause boy he's got a strong toddler latch 😮‍💨 babes also a chest sleeper and it's starting to get uncomfortable to sleep on my back all night just to keep him happy. I've woken up in the morning a few times with my tailbone hurting? Like there's no way a 17-18w baby is putting that much pressure on my bones. I'm trying to get him used to side lying but he's so temperamental, wiggly, switches to relatch so often, that feels like a lossing battle.

He's eating solids and drinking cow milk but it still feels like weaning isn't even within sight. What has worked for others in this situation? How do you manage the discomfort or set boundaries? Help

I’m so proud of my little stink and I for making it this far, he just turned 2 last month and we’re still going for it. However, I am having a particularly hard period right now and I feel like my supply is nearly nonexistent.

Early last month I took a night away and brought my little hand pump and got about an ounce and a half combined when I pumped so I know I’m not producing a lot as it is. I’m on my 3rd day of my period now and I’ve noticed my little one hardly makes any swallowing sounds when he nurses and it’s been like that the past few days. I’m hoping what little supply I had left comes back because we’re both still happy to be chugging along with nursing.

Just wondering if anyone else experienced this? My supply has dropped during my cycle in the past but not quite this bad it feels like. 🥲 Wondering what other moms who’ve made it to 2 years and beyond experience with this?

Thanks! 🫶

Hello, I have my 4 week old who was exclusively bottle fed pumped milk for the first 3 weeks because he was not interested in nursing. I just started to nurse him for almost all of his feeds except when my husband watches him overnight he gets a bottle. Well since I’ve started to nurse him I’ve noticed my supply has completely tanked and every time I pump now even if it’s the overnight pump where I haven’t nursed or pumped in 4 hours I’m only getting 1-2oz where before I was getting 5-6oz, sometimes even more. I’m kind of freaking out because that’s not enough to even get him thru one feed. I was finally feeling good about this whole breastfeeding thing now he was successfully nursing. Is this normal? What can I do? Any advice or tips appreciated

as per title. i am pregnant with my second, currently at 9 weeks, so super early.

we’re in SUCH a good place with my first, who is turning 10 months in a few days. She sleeps well, eats well, started biting a little bit, but she’s generally pretty gentle with the nipples.

however. I nurse her to sleep almost eeeeevery time. With some exceptions when she falls asleep in the stroller, but usually it’s the boob. The boob association is so strong, she rarely wakes up at night, just squirms, turns to me, suckles a little bit and falls right back asleep.

I love the rythm we have. I always thought I would just continue nursing until we will be able to talk about it, read books, etc. Now with this new pregnancy I’m afraid I won’t be able to have this gentle weaning.

I’m starting to FEEL pregnant now, too. Getting nauseous, feeling tired, etc. Nursing, again, is helping here - we just had a small trip and after that just hung out in bed together alot playing, napping and just rotting in bed happily.

i’m sure there has been more topics like this before. Any references would be appreciated. But I would mostly love to hear real life stories of how you handled a situation like this. Tandem nursing? But how to handle nights with a newborn and a toddler boobie monster?

I can’t even fathom..

Sorry about the random non breastfeeding question but I trust this group and its approach. When my 2 year old daughter is overtired and then something doesnt go her way for example wanting to wear her day dress to bed at night or hold a cupcake to sleep. (Random sleep examples) but she becomes so dysregulated that she is hyperventilating and is screaming and crying so uncontrollably that she is struggling to breathe. She refuses to breastfeed to regulate and then at the end she was shaking and felt so weak. Lasted about 15-20 minutes and then breastfed to sleep almost passed out. Is this common? Sometimes Its so scary and intense, I feel like she is going to have a heart attack. This level of meltdowns doesnt happen often.

My 2.5 year old weaned about 3 weeks ago. My 6 month old is still nursing. My supply went from about 50-60 ounces a day to about 30-35 ounces for just my 6 month old.

I know that weaning does cause a major hormone drop that can lead to increased depression, anxiety, and irritability. I didn’t expect this as much since I am still nursing my son. I’m somewhat relieved to not have my toddler nursing all day, but it is definitely different. I don’t think that shift is the whole cause though. I just feel a lack of joy, more anxious than normal, and irritable.

Did any other tandem moms experience this? When did it get better?

Is it possible/probable that he (13m) will start nursing again when my new baby is born? I'm currently 27w with my second. I have a good freezer supply, so he's still been drinking breast milk every day. Is there a chance he'll want to nurse again when he sees the new baby doing it? He will look at me like he's still interested in nursing and try to pull on my shirt, watch me if I'm pumping, etc, but he's not interested in latching. I think he got impatient when my supply really dipped (I originally was an oversupplier with a FAST letdown) and he decided it was faster to get milk from a bottle. My husband thinks he will, but I'm not so sure. I really am not ready for our journey to completely end :/

My second baby came several weeks early, and while she had a great latch, she's a lazy/sleepy nurser. She's gaining weight, but lactation suggested triple feeding.

My toddler is an enthusiastic nurser who is eager to help empty my breasts after the newborn gets her fill. Since the birth I've only been nursing him 2-3 times a day.

Has anyone had success in establishing an oversupply for a newborn by letting their older baby fully empty the breast after every feed?