Breastfeeding My Toddler

As its national breastfeeding week I thought I'd write an update on how H and I are getting on.

H is now 17 months and I'm still breastfeeding him. For the most part I love breastfeeding, I love the closeness and being able to comfort my son however there are times when it isn't all sweetness and light. H has taken to clambering over me, nursing for 15 seconds a side then switching and then switching again until finally settling down or hopping off. From what I've read this is "normal" but on a bad day it does make me lean towards weaning him.

H feeds first and last thing with another substantial feed either before his morning or afternoon nap and then a few sips throughout the day. He isn't brilliant at eating solids but in the past 2 weeks his drinking has increased ten fold. I know he'll get there with his eating, as with most things I'm just following his lead. He is also following the all important line in his red book so the HV is more than happy with him.

My feelings regarding weaning are ever changing and I've tried to read as much as I can to give myself a good idea of what's best for H and me. Ideally I would like him to self wean but at the same time I would prefer to have some idea of when that would be. For me I'm hoping for two years at the latest but I've read it can take months more than this, sometimes even years. I want to (mostly) enjoy breastfeeding and I worry after 2 years it will become more of a chore and an obstacle for future babies. Yes I know you can BF during pregnancy but is it for me?! 

I've chosen 2 years because (fingers crossed) all H's teeth will be through by then and when he's teething he feeds constantly. I love that I can feed H through teething and offer him comfort through nursing. It helps take a lot of the stress away from the situation.

I like the idea of gentle weaning and I'm thinking of implementing this at around 18 months which is when I want to stop night feeds. H still wakes up at least twice for a feed in the night and because we co-sleep the easiest thing is to feed him back to sleep.

The best thing about gentle weaning is that it takes H's emotional needs into account and minimises any distress. Guiding him to wean as opposed to forcing him. 

All this being said I am still very sure of my choice for extended breastfeeding - the massive amounts of benefits don't suddenly become void once a baby reaches 6 months and I think emotion-wise they actually increase. If H is overwhelmed in a situation he often has a quick 15 second feed and then he's off. I also don't worry about him depending on me, he's very sociable and I've read that extended breastfed babies (that's a mouthful!) are often more independent as they are more secure. 

As with all my BF posts this one is a bit of a jumble which nicely echoes my internal thoughts! Every decision I make I second guess and in the end I do just go with what makes H happiest (within reason). In an ideal world H will self wean in the next few months but we'll see and hopefully I'll be able to gradually wean him if not... I'll keep you posted!