amitymamaThe Attachment Parenting Community

Crunchymomma · 01-06-2007, 11:05 PM

Hi there, I am Tara (24), wife to Kristopher, mama to Trinity Jade (22mo).
I was a breastfeeding counselor with my local health dept and I am a huge
advocate. I am currently 14 weeks pregnant and Trinity is still nursing
like a champ! I have all but weaned her b/c the pain is just unbearable.
She is so sweet and I lover so much and I am dealing with a lot guilt
right now. I have completely night weaned her (which has been a blessing
b/c now she sleeps through the night when she used to wake 3-5x to nurse).
She's down to nursing once a day, at nap time. I thought after the first
trimester the pain would subside, even if only a little it would be
bearable. I couldn't cut my daughter off altogether, it just seemed
cruel. But everyday she asks me 4-7x a day for milk and she's so
sweet,"Mip pease?" Then she becomes very emotional when I tell her that
we have to wait, or that we're already done for today. She is not
responding so great and I'm just feeling like a big ole meany, but man my
boobs hurt! Any experience with any of this for you ladies?

herc · 01-06-2007, 11:38 PM

I was very very sore until 16-20 weeks, then it got a little bit better. Then my milk started to dry up. My kiddo was a bit older and weaned as the milk dried up
I hope things get better for ya mama-- nursing while pg is so hard!
heather

Crunchymomma · 01-18-2007, 11:34 PM

She's been night weaned now for a good three weeks and everytime she wakes during the night (2-3 times) she asks for milk. Does this mean she wasn't ready to night wean? She is cutting teeth, so I'm feeling like, really guilty right now. I'm just afraid that if I go back to nursing her at night, she won't night wean again before July (when the new baby comes) and I simply cannot nurse two kiddos at night.

elven_love · 01-22-2007, 05:54 PM

I nursed my two-year-old throughout my pregnancy. At first, it did hurt - a lot! I tried weaning him altogether, but he is very emotionally attached to nursing. He associates it with love and comfort, and I had a very hard time convincing him to accept cuddling alternatives. In the end, I decided to breastfeed him even though it hurt. I just cut it down to about 3 times a day; once when he first woke up, once at naptime, and once at night. My breasts eventually acclimated, and so did my baby. Now that my daughter has been born, I nurse the two of them, often simultaneously, without pain.
Your breasts will stop hurting if you continue to do what you're doing. It's basically the same thing I did: continue to nurse, but do so less often. The important thing, in my opinion, is that your daughter gets the comfort and reassurance she needs without you pushing yourself so hard that you begin to resent what you're going through.

A side effect of all this is that my son now associates his sister's presence with him being allowed to nurse more, and when they nurse together, they pat one another and cuddle. There's absolutely no sibling rivalry. Not only that, but nursing the two of them makes me so happy...holding both my babies at once is so beautiful!

Jen

Crunchymomma · 01-22-2007, 08:33 PM

Aww, how stinking sweet! Thank you, that is so helpful to me. I need to hear positive outcomes. I have only been nursing on one side (cause I always lay on the same side to nurse her) and I believe one of my breasts has dried up LOL