In a few days, my daughter will be 34 months old already but she still hasn't stopped nursing! Since birth, she has been fully breastfed unlike my 5 year old daughter who was formula-fed when she was a baby due to a complicated pregnancy with her. I'll skip that part of the story since this about my younger daughter who still hasn't stopped nursing and how I survived nursing her exclusively.
I had 2 C-Sections already and my older daughter was born in the Philippines while my younger daughter was born here in California. In the Philippines, they didn't support breastfeeding much and my older daughter was immediately fed formula milk. She stayed in the nursery until it was time for us to go home. For my younger daughter, it was different. She was roomed in and they didn't give her bottled formula when she was born.
For the first few days, I didn't produce milk. My daughter just kept nursing but no milk came out. I was about to give up breastfeeding since my nipple hurts already due to the constant nursing. The nurses advised me to be more patient because sometimes, milk will only be produced after a few days and my daughter is getting the colostrum so she's good. True to her word, my breastmilk started to come out (and it was a LOT) when we got home.
My daughter nursed every 1 to 1 1/2 hours. I tried mixed-feeding her but she didn't like the bottle or the formula. Since I am a stay-at-home mom, I exclusively nursed her and she only drank breastmilk until she turned 1. She nursed in the house, at the mall, at McDonald's, on the bus, while at Church, and a lot more places! I used a blanket to cover her up but even though, I was a bit worried that other people are bothered by my daughter nursing in public but I can't help it. When she cried, my first instinct was to nurse her.
There were many obstacles during my 1st year of nursing. Thrice my milk ducts got clogged and IT HURTS A LOT. It took days and sometimes more than a week before my breast became unclogged and one time, I got a fever because of it. I made my daughter nurse on the clogged breast more so that it can help and put a warm compress too but still, it lasted for days. There were also times when my nipples bleed a little because of constant nursing. Good thing the Lanolin cream worked. I do not discourage nursing or breastfeeding. Even though I experienced all these while breastfeeding, I kept thinking my daughter gets the best nutrition she needs and it's very rewarding.
I tried to introduce her to cow's milk when she turned 1 so I can stop nursing already but still, she wouldn't drink it. She still nursed a lot. I tried pumping out breastmilk so she can get used to a bottle or a sippy cup but nothing came out and it hurts.
When she turned 2, she already knows the rule that she can only nurse at home. She still doesn't like cow's milk but she drinks about half a cup everyday. I still produce breastmilk but the amount has lessened already. My hubby and mom told me that she's already big and that I should stop nursing her already. They suggested putting chilli pepper on my breast so she would stop (my hubby's mom did this to stop them from nursing) but I can't bring myself to do it. I want to stop nursing her already but for me, she still isn't ready emotionally.
Right now, she's 33 months old and she will be 3 years old in 2 months. She's almost 2 years overdue on my previous plan to exclusively breastfeed her (since I planned only until she turned 1). She still nurses before she sleeps and about 3 to 4 times the whole morning and afternoon. She calms down when she nurses. It also soothes her specially when she gets upset. I think she's almost done nursing and I am hoping she will be fully weaned on her 3rd birthday. :)
How long did you or are you planning to nurse your baby? How did you wean your baby from breastfeeding?
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