Why Do You Nurse A Toddler???

My son is two years old, and we continue to nurse. He nurses frequently throughout the day, even though he eats a varied solid diet. He sleeps in our bed and nurses at times during the night. I do not feel at all inconvenienced by his frequent nursing, and I actually dread the time when he'll wean himself. I find that nursing him at this age helps him when he's having typical toddler behaviors, and it helps him to relax and comforts him after a crying spell or tantrum. When he was 17 months old, he required a visit to the ER. After the stitches were completed, the plastic surgeon observed me nursing him and commented "Why that's great. That's just what he needs right now." It was great to hear after our ordeal. I feel the advantages of nursing a toddler are wonderful. I strongly encourage mothers to nurse well past the first year.

Donna

I felt compelled to write about the experience I am having nursing my 21 month old Clayton. I nursed my daughter, who is now four, till she was 11 months old, and I wish it had lasted longer. What a valuable tool nursing would have been during her great frusration of being two and three. Nursing Clayton has been extra special as of late. I have had to go back to work full time because of a lay off at my husband's workplace. When I come home Clayton will come to me with arms open wide and lots of kisses. Next, often before I can even set my keys down, it's "nanas" on the couch. It gives us such a time to reconnect and both of us time to calm down from our hectic days. It's like he is saying, "It's alright mommy, I understand that neither of us really like this situation right now, but I still need you and love you!"

He was still nursing during the day before I went back to work, but has had no trouble without it when he is with Dad or Auntie according to them. He does nurse to go to sleep, so naps have been a little non-existent, but he will nurse to go to sleep at night. Other than that I think he nurses two or three times during the night (I am not sure because I pretty much sleep through them). He does sleep on his twin size bed that is wedged between our queen and the wall which makes it easier to nurse in the night.

I have no plans to wean him before he shows signs that he is ready, especially when we have this situation that limits our time together.

Jaimie Puffer, Amelia and Clayton's mom

Why do I still nurse my Toddler? Well I do it because she still wants it and I love nursing her. My daughter is 25 months old and nurses at least 1 to 2 times a night and at least 6 or more times during the day. I have a hard time keeping track cause I don’t see the point in counting. She will wean when she is ready and I love giving myself to her.

I should probably start from the beginning, when my husband and I met I was pregnant with a teenage pregnancy and the father didn’t want to have anything to do with me after he found out I was pregnant. Ansel (my husband) and I hit it off and ended up moving in together and getting engaged. I had the baby and decided to give it up for a number of reasons mainly I thought that I wasn’t ready for motherhood.

Next came the wedding and about one year later we had our precious Jazmine. When I was pregnant I wasn’t sure what to do about breastfeeding or not but my husband strongly encouraged me to breastfeed. I probably would have never done it if it were not for him. When Jazmine was born they navy hospital did not let me latch her on for about one hour. Then we did. I love it the first time she sucked; it was such a wonderful feeling. For the first few weeks we had some problems. I got severely engorged and got mastitis. But with lots of help from my husband and support, I got throughout it. I after that had mastitis several times over a six-month period but got in touch with La Leche League and got support and info on how to deal with it.

Now I am happy to say that I am a member of Attachment Parenting International and a big supporter of La Leche League. I love nursing my little Jazmine and still nursing her has made parenting much easier because of the hormone released. I love nursing her and she loves nursing. I plan on letting her wean and maybe Tandem nursing (but my husband is not sure about this one). I recommend to anyone to let your child nurse way beyond a year, it helps toddlers cope with real life and bond with you. My baby Jazmine will always be my baby and I hope nursing her this long will help her to nurse her own children.

Kathy O.
Northern CA.

P.S. I don’t have much support on my side of the family. Just my husband's parents. Everyone on my side is mad at me for continuing to nurse.

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The image of nursing toddler is copyright 1997 Lori Thompson Photography.

Nursing a Toddler
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