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Crunchy Coach Blog
Eat to Live
Go Green
Crunchy Parenting
Healthy Home
Happy Mind
Fit and Beautiful
Natural Healing
Article Index
About
Contact
Five Ways To Maintain Your Sanity While Nursing Your Toddler
Nursing your toddler can be one of your biggest parenting adventures if you're a new crunchy mom.I should know. I am one.
I got used to the idea of nursing toddlers when I began to attend La Leche League meetings while I was still pregnant. Not only did I learn some good reasons for continuing to nurse into toddlerhood, but also I saw several mothers there who were nursing one-, two-, and even three-year-olds.
It looked so easy. So natural.
And I wanted to give my baby all the health and emotional benefits of taking from the breast as long as I could. Although I hoped he would wean before the age of five (don't laugh--some crunchy moms nurse kids until they self-wean at six or seven years of age!), I was looking forward to nursing him until he was at least two years old.
Challenges of breastfeeding a toddler
Little did I know that breastfeeding a toddler could be as challenging as
breastfeeding an infant. The
challenges you face while nursing your
toddler might be similar to those you encountered in the early months,
or they may be entirely different.Some of the difficulties you might face during the toddler years are:
- plugged ducts/mastitis;
- much more frequent nursing than expected, leading to
- time constraints;
- playful (but still painful) biting; and
- lack of support for extended breastfeeding from people you know.
Ways to overcome challenges in nursing your toddler
However, time and experience have proven to me that every challenge can be overcome with the right attitude and creative techniques. Here are five ideas that will help you persist in nursing your toddler without losing your sanity.
1. Don't let your toddler get away with hurting you physically. If she bites, take her off with a firm word every time. Let her cry about it for a few minutes. It won't hurt her. If he enjoys picking at the other nipple or an overgrown mole, put something else in his hand he can fiddle with. Your child will soon learn not to "mess with Mommy."
2. Use the time in the nursing chair to listen to online radio programs or audio books. It's the perfect way to get intellectual, emotional, or spiritual food when your toddler is in a phase where she likes to knock books out of your hand.
3. Ease up on your expectations of yourself. A toddler between the ages of eighteen and twenty-four months will often nurse with surprising frequency. My own son nursed almost as frequently as a newborn during this stage, and I thought I'd never get the house clean or write another article again!
Had I relaxed and chosen to make mothering my priority, I would have experienced a lot more joy and a lot less frustration during that period.
4. Practice the old "don't ask, don't tell" strategy. Most people will assume a toddler is finished breastfeeding. Unless you choose to continue nursing in public, they won't know otherwise unless you tell them.
If someone asks you directly, tell the person, "She still asks to nurse once in a while" and then change the subject. If they persist, tell them your pediatrician is all for the extended breastfeeding and if they would like more information, you would be happy to give them the doctor's phone number.
5. Find time for yourself. Schedule at least three times every week when you can take a long bath, sit outside and read by yourself, or meet a girlfriend for lunch. You will emerge from the time feeling refreshed and with more energy to continue on with your most important job of mothering.
May I coach you? Child-led weaning is the most natural, gentlest way to ease your toddler into independence. Face the various challenges of nursing your toddler with love and a sense of humor, and you and your child will both reap the physical and emotional benefits, now and in the future.
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Think breastfeeding is a complicated affair? It can be, but the e-book Breastfeeding Simply
helps new mothers find bliss in nourishing their babies at the breast.
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