For some reason this has been on my mind recently. Before I had Louisa, and maybe still when she was littler, expected that I would probably nurse her for about 2 years. I guess I based this on how long my mom nursed my brother and me: 22 months for him and 26 for me. We both self-weaned. I also didn't expect to be tandem nursing. I wasn't really opposed to it, but I figured that since I expected to nurse for around 2 years and wanted my babies 3 years apart, there would be no overlap. So here I am expecting my second baby this month, and still nursing my 3 1/2 year-old, and it's got me wondering how other moms' nursing experiences compare with what they expected, especially moms who are nursing older toddlers/preschoolers.

I assumed one year.

DD weaned at 29 months, and ds is 21 months and still going strong.

I thought I would nurse for at least a year. DS was pretty easily weaned at 3 years, after I tandem nursed for 3 months and DD is still nursing at almost 3 and 1/2 years. She is mostly night weaned. I'm not sure if I will let her keep going or wean her at some point. Still thinking about that.

I expected, when Erik was born, to nurse him for 12 months, then maybe just at bedtime until he was done.

hahahahaha. :) He nursed until the day before he turned 4, and often. Anders, now 26 months, nurses 8-12 times in most 24 hour periods, with no indication of slowing down. And I wouldn't change it for a thing. I started getting worried that Anders would self-wean "too early", because he has never been as intense as Erik. Thankfully, it didn't happen.

i thought six months and then i learned that i had to give formula if i did not nurse for one year... at the time one of my friends i had made in childbirth class was formula feeding and i hated the smell! so i thought okay i will hang in there and do a year! ended up nursing julie til she was 23 months old and i was 4 months pregnant with john. nursed john til he was 3 years and a few months- and a year and a half with his sister jami who also weaned into her third year. i loved it!

I planned for a year. :) Now I plan for three.

I thought I would try to go for a year, anything else would be excessive. hahaha! DD is still nursing sporadically at 29 months.

I thought I would nurse until she was done. I figured 2-3 years. But I didn't expect nursing through pregnancy to be so difficult for me and I weaned her before baby #2 was born, so she was 20 months. The second child I planned for the best as well. . . and nursed her through my entire pregnancy but weaned her shortly after baby #3 was born, she was 25 months. This time I hope to stick it out.

My experience is pretty close to waterlily's. I expected to nurse until around 2, but Miriam was very attached and I was so scared that I would be in the hospital with PTL again and that she would be miserable without me. So we night weaned (she must have been ready, b/c it happened in 2 nights with no crying) and she basically just stopped asking. Let me tell you, it was sad to stop hearing "murse, mama?" I was 6 months pregnant and Miriam was about 17 months old. Noah is 14 months now and is still nursing often. I'm not tempted to wean him in the least. I *love* nursing him (although I have gone through phases of wanting to be done).

Jeni

I hoped to get to 15 months. the longest I have nursed before this was for 6 weeks....

Isabella will be 2 in 1 week.
still nursing!:cuc:

With my first it was almost 12 months, with my second it was 18 months, with my 3rd it was only 5 months :(. So when I had my last I was determined to make it to 2yrs. He is now 3yrs and 7 1/2 months and still going. However, he only nurses at naptime on the weekends and in the evening before bed. I definitely have very little milk these days. The right side has more than the left, but not much. He usually nurses both sides for about 5 minutes then has a sippy cup of water. Sometimes all he wants to do is hold them, :lol: He calls them "mountains". :hahaha:

With my first I didn't even try. I was "told" it would be too hard and I trusted the person that told me this and believed them. I regretted almost immediately, tried to nurse, then was told again by the same person that I didn't have enough milk for my big baby. I gave up.

With DS2, I wanted to do it for a year. He went on a nursing strike at 10 months which I assumed was self weaning and that was the end of that.

Now, with DS3, I would like to go to at least 18 months. He just turned one and is going strong. I can't imagine weaning him now.

For my first I thought 1 year. He is 3 now and still going. My younger son, now 18 months...well, I have no deadline in mind! ;)

Well I wasn't going to nurse at all, but in my 8th month of pregnancy I had a heart to heart with a very good friend, and she convinced me to read about breastfeeding. So once I decided to nurse , I wasn't quitting & originally planned to do so for one year. I found out I was pregnant with Makenna when Bailee was 13 mos. and since she was still a baby I just couldn't quit nursing her. I ended up nursing her and Makenna for 13 mos. Bailee weaned at 3, and Makenna continued. I got pregnant and miscarried, then I got pregnant again, with Sully. I nursed Makenna & Sully together until March of this year and Makenna was 3.75 years old when she weaned. Sully , is still nursing and I am planning on nursing him until he is at least 3, but since he's my last I probably won't push weaning.

I expected a year, but DS is almost 18 months and still going.

I had "planned" on for about 2 yrs. But my dd is turning 3 in Aug, and I don't think she is gonna wean anytime soon. I am leaving it up to her since she is our last baby.

I had only planned to bf until 1 year. Then it was 18 months, now it's 2. LOL so who knows really!!?? :P

i planned with my first to nurse for a year. he self weaned at age three. with my second, i was open to let him nurse as long as he wanted; he self weaned at age two. with this next one, same thing goes: she can nurse until she's done :D :heart:

With my son I was planning a year.....a year came and I thought, No way! he is still too little for me to wean him! So I said okay 2 years and then I'm done! Then May came and we had his second birthday and I thought okay maybe I'll nurse a tad longer, but 2 weeks after his birthday I found out I was pregnant and about 3 weeks later I couldn't feed him anymore, it just hurt too darn much! so I weaned him at around 26 months and he did really good. I think it took him about a week to get him off the nap time feeding and 5 days for night time.

Jake was going to be nursed for his first year only. When that time came I thought , "he's still a baby!" So I said when he's two.

Fast forward he's now 25 months and going strong. Then I thought maybe potty train him then wean him but I haven't started the potty training because he doesn't seem to want to do that.

So then I thought , " Ok , I'll wean him first then potty train him" But he doesn't want to be weaned either.

Next time I'll just ask him what time he'd like to potty train and wean.:hiya:

Before ds came, I was super mainstream & thought "maybe 3 months." He nursed for 2.5 years. I haven't even put out a number about when dd will wean. Whenever she cares to, I guess. She's now 2.

I was so clueless. My reasoning was that I would try to nurse, if it went smoothly I'd stick with it. If it was tough, I'd do formula.

Well, it didn't go easily, and we stuck it out through thrush, multiple bouts of mastitis, over-supply and biting.... and we're still nirsing at 2.5 years!!!!!

with ds i expected about 6 weeks :bag:

(he ended up weaning himself when i was preggie with roo, picking up again after she was born, and self-weaning for good at just over 5 yrs old :lol

with roo, i knew i would nurse for at least 2 years barring something extreme. she is 3.5+ now and still very happily getting "milkies" :D

I didn't expect to nurse at all. I was one of those young girls who was grossed out by breastfeeding. But I ended up doing it for 5 years ...

Before I had kids..I thought about 6 months. I did not know anyone IRL who breast fed babies...at least not in front of me.

DD #1...nursed until 2.5 years...then I gently weaned her when I has about 5 months pregnant..it was toooo painful for me when pregnant. dd #2...well..she can nurse until collge~lol!. We worked **** hard at keeping our nursing relationship and it is not something I am going to encourage to end. (we are not planning more kids either)

I was not breastfed.

With my first ds, I didn't even try. Thought I wouldn't be able to, it would be too hard, it would hurt, I'd be embarassed, etc. Dh went along with whatever I wanted, and we lived with my MIL who forumula fed all of hers 100%, so she said nothing. I wish now my sister would've kicked my butt and tried to make me try (we were pg. at the same time, she nursed both her kids til 2 years).

By the time we had our second ds, I had a MUCH better support system for nursing (friends who talked to me a LOT about it, found MDC, etc.), and I figured I'd do it for a year, but that's it. Then a year hit, and wow, he was still a baby! So I figured 2 years, tops, after that NO WAY. Well, then 2 years hit. Hmm, still very tiny little guy. So then I said, no more than 3 years, after that it's just weird, right?! Hmm, guess not. Ds is now 3 years, 3 months old, and still has "mama snacks" almost every night (maybe 1-2 nights a week he'll fall asleep before he can get to them,lol), and probably 3-4 days a week early in the AM when I'm still practically asleep.

Honestly, I am 50/50 at this point in wanting to keep going much longer. Some times I can't take it, and I wish he were done. I'm amazed that he's still nursing. I hope he'll stop on his own in the next couple of months. I feel mean saying that, but it's true.

With ds, I was single and clueless, but after talking to grandma (breastfed 6 kids to a year a piece) I decided to give it a try as long as I could, I was thinking maybe a year at least. I had to start working when he was 4 months, didn't pump enough, so he got about 5 months worth.

With dd, I was married and still had a pretty good support system, so I wanted to go no less than a year with her. Unfortunately, she vomited every single time she nursed :( and I honestly thought she was allergic to my milk.... after 3 weeks of that, I had to put her on formula (soy was all she could take). I wish I could go back and do it all over again, nursing until they were done, but I take comfort in the fact that they both got the colostrum, and had a little experience with it. If we ever have another, I'm going as long as s/he wants to!

Dh and I were both formula fed, but both our moms did everything they could to help me nurse my babies :heart:

ETA I just noticed this was in the Toddler bfing place - I saw it in "New posts" and thought it was the market board - sorry if I shouldn't have posted here :o

update ds is 29 months and still going strong.

2 years. But I nursed DS to 32 months.

I didnt. I mean, I just never really thought about 'how long'. I didnt really know anyone who had bf. I guess I just figured I would go until I didnt. :shrug:

I do know though that as little as two years ago I DID NOT think anything about tandom. I didnt even know it existed AT ALL. it worries me now since I have low supply. if I cant make enough milk for one, what will I do with two?

I figured a year. Lindsey night weaned at 6 months and completely weaned at 11.5 months though - I was 20 weeks pregnant with Josh and I think my milk had gone though since she wasn't much into nursing anyway. As soon as we found out she'd drink vanilla soy milk, she had no use for breastfeeding.

With Josh, I figured I'd start 'gentle' weaning around 18 months with the goal of being done by 2. He night weaned at 18 months and completely weaned at 2 years 7 months..pushed by me. I was beyond my comfort zone with that boy, he was obsessive (checking out other women to see if he could convince them to nurse him, sobbing hysterically and telling his Daddy life would be good if he could just get Mommy to take off her bra, etc) - and I was 37 weeks pregnant with zero desire to tandem nurse.

Leila is almost 19 months and nursing around the clock.. I've got no desire for her to wean anytime soon.. she's my last baby :)

I always thought that a child was too old to breastfeed when they could ask for it--ha ha!! That thought quickly went out the window when I realized how much they could still need it even as a toddler.

With ds, I was so excited the day that he finally indicated that he wanted to nurse! Now it does sometimes get a bit excessive-LOL!, but I'm in no hurry for him to wean--he can nurse as long as he wants.

My number in my head was 3 years. DS self-weaned just before he turned 2.

Wow, it feels so long ago!

My family was supportive of me, my mom nursed my brother and I untill we were 2 as well. Friends thought I was a bit nuts tho...lol. I was 18 when I got preg, so no friends for support.

Oops, wrong forum!! Sorry!

One year with Jake. He'll be 3 in two weeks....no sign of letting up.
With Elijah I have no expectations. Hope at least 2 years.

I went into breastfeeding with the intentions of having my dd self wean. Then, when she was born a bit premature, she wouldn't breastfeed at all. It took 6 months of pumping and lots of work, but, she finally latched at 6 months old. She is almost 2.5 and still going strong. So, hopefully she will continue.