okay, breastfeeders....what's the current advice?

[grasswire]

Here's the situation. Mom has a 21-month old now; still breastfeeding him several times a day and three months pregnant. The toddler hasn't had a bottle for 9 months now.

Mom kinda wants to wean the toddler but it's hard to do that when there's no bottle to offer as a substitute.

Is she setting herself up for trouble by not getting this toddler weaned? I sure hate to think of him feeling rejected by abruptly being denied the breast while baby sibling gets it.

What are pediatricians saying about weaning a kid who gets no bottle to turn to?

Anyone know?

[mainegreen]

1. Why can't you introduce sippy cups?

:shrug:

[spinbaby]

2. 21 months is plenty old for a sippy cup

As long as the toddler has a sippy cup and plenty of food he likes, there's no reason to hurry weaning. Pretty soon mom's milk will go anyway and he won't particularly like the taste of colostrum. He'll probably give it up on his own without pushing.

[billyoc]

3. Two words:

Olive Garden.

[Maine-ah]

4. well, try a regular cup.

my daughter is 22 months, weaned at 13 months. She uses sippies, but prefers regular cups.

:shrug:

[Taverner]

5. Baby's mouth needs to meet mother's breast

If that doesn't work, try showing said baby Georgia O'Keefe paintings :P

[knowbody0]

6. she is getting double zapped

pregnant and nursing. it will take a toll on her.

i recommend talking him out of the boob project. big brother stuff. get a really kool sippy cup he'll be jazzed about.

[grasswire]

7. he's been drinking out of a regular cup for months already.

So the sippy cup isn't going to work. The big brother stuff might be a good ploy. But she is half-hearted about it all. She alternately tells him no when he wants to nurse and then allows it. I believe she's going to run into trouble.

I am an extended family member and care for the toddler about 30 hours a week.

[mopinko]

8. maybe baby should take a little trip

can you take him for a few days? make it easy for mom while you make a big deal about drinking from a cup.
tired moms are always in a vicious cycle.

[oregonjen]

9. How about slowly knocking out each nursing session?

My son was two when he stopped. At that point, I was only nursing twice a day. I got rid of the morning session and then we both knocked out the night one. He stopped and never wanted to nurse again.

Although, tandem nursing is not all that unusual. I went to a Le Leche League meeting and met many nursing mothers with many different experiences. What about going to their website for advice?

[grasswire]

11. well, I did read that the milk changes taste...

....when the mom is pregnant and the hormones start her preparing for a newborn's needs, and some toddlers apparently lose interest then.

[oregonjen]

13. Link to La Leche League regarding tandem nursing

http://www.llli.org/NB/NBtandem.html

Google "tandem nursing" and your relative will have some good resources to refer to.

[FedUpWithIt All]

10. Some people continue to breast feed the toddler AND the infant.

They just have to be very careful with rotation. If that is not an appealing option than i would think it is a great time to tell the toddler that he/she is the big brother and start to wean him/her to a cup. A big-kid bed change also helps with this transition.

:hi:

[grasswire]

12. yeah, that's going to be another transition

Toddler co-sleeps with mom. Dad works day and night, and rarely sleeps in the big bed. The crib is never used. A big boy bed with cool bedding will be a good remedy, probably.