My daughter is 11 1/2 months (she will turn one on March 28). I was just wondering how often she should be nursing at this point. I want to continue nursing until I or she decides to stop.
Hi H., I'm a mom of five breastfed little ones, and I'd have to say there are no hard and fast rules as to how oftne Rayne should be nursing. Is her weight gain and general health ok? Are the two of you healthy and happy?
I'd say nurse as long as you like. This time is so finite. Enjoy it.
A., mom of five from 15 years old -newborn
First off congratulations for making it this far! I nursed my son until he weaned himself a week ago. He is 16 months. I think at around a yr or so they really don't need it as far as their diet ir keeping them full but for more of a comfort thing. So I just let Seth nurse whenever he wanted to. Usually he only wanted to nurse at sleep times. Good Luck!
H.,
Each child is an individual and there is no "pat" answer to your question. SOme babies are down to four or less nursings a day by one year, and others still nurse more frequently. My own two children were very different in their nursing patterns by a year. One nursed 4 times a day (morning, nap, evening and bedtime) and the other nursed for a minute many times a day (every time she fell down, bumped her head, had her feelings hurt....)
You will know when your child is ready to wean, because you will find yourself asking her, instead of her asking....
And, if you decide you are ready to waen before she is, you can distract her with other foods or activities.
Good luck and let me know if you want any more information,
L. G
IBCLC
Congratulations on breastfeeding your daughter for so long!!! No doubt, you both have gotten tremendous benefits from this special relationship! My daughter is 20 months old now and I nursed her for 14 months. At 11 months, she was nursing 4 times a day... once when she woke up, once before morning and afternoon naps and once at bedtime. At a year, I dropped her morning nap feeding, thinking I was ready to wean her. She did not have a problem at all. The next week, she dropped her afternoon nap feeding by herself. Then I felt like I wasn't ready to stop nursing her! So, I just decided to let her nurse as long as she wanted. She eventually wouldn't nurse at bedtime, either, and hung onto the morning feeding for 6 weeks or so before she dropped that one. She like whole milk just fine and never had any problems.
Best of luck!
J.
You can either feed on demand (whenever she wats it), or at this age all three of my children would only nurse before nap and badtime. Every child is different, so just try to read her cues and your own body to decide how often is best for the both if you.
H., when my daughter was that age I was only nursing when she went down for a nap and went to bed. Baby food or broken up food for meals. Two weeks after her 1 year birthday she was totally weened, and drinking whole milk froma sippy.
I hope yours takes it as easy as mine did.
B. G
Hi H., It really depends on how long you want to breastfeed because the longer you do it, the longer it will take to wean. I am still feeding my 16 month old and he let me know when he wants to eat by pulling on my shirt. I a trying to wean but he is not ready. I planned on feeding him a year but it is too convenient to stop now.
I hope this helps.
K. S
www.kristies.fourpointmoms.com
As much as she likes would be the best. Babies often go through growth spurts, as you can see with their clothing and only they can know how much milk they need and how much milk you have. Each child has different nutritional needs depending on how active they are so there isn't a way to say how much she should be nursing. If she is teething she might be nursing more often as it helps with the pain. Hope that helps :)
I nursed my son for 14 months (until he became disinterested). After he turned a year old, and was able to drink whole milk, nursing dropped down to once in the morning and once at night. Before his first birthday, he nursed about 3 times a day.
Hi! I am only seven months into my breastfeeding journey so I am personally not much help. But I wanted to let you know about a group of like-minded Alabama moms that have come together to start this new forum that you might be intrested in. You can find it at http://www.alabama-moms.com/index.php?referrerid=7 There are LLL leaders as well as many experienced nursing mamas that could answer any question you have. We also have other topics like babywearing, health and healing, and cloth diapering to name just a few. There is also a coffee table forum if you just want to chat! From what I have read you sound like you would fit right in. Please check it out!
~A.
I nursed my sons for 6 months and 9 months but my daughter was a total different story. She has a lot of ear infections and nursed until 14 months old. Thankfully she went straigth to a cup! this is just what worked for me!
I kept nursing mine well passed a year old but they were also eating regular food. I only nursed mine in the morning, noon and bedtime, unless they were sick. It is good to keep that option open. I wished I had continued until they were two because if they get sick they will atleast nurse because of the comfort, and then you know they are getting good nutrition. I know some parents that nursed exclusively until the child was a year old. I think they feed their children every four hours until they started eating.
I am still nursing my 15 month old son and he shows very little interest in stopping (although I would like to some days). I nurse him in the morning before we get started with the day, at nap time, bedtime and sometimes just when he wants to...So 3 or 4 times a day. J.
