My son still wants to nurse all the time...what do you think I should do?

Question

My son just turned 1. We started weaning him off the breast and onto soy milk because I thought he was ready. Now he seems to constantly want to nurse. He is always pulling on my shirt. I do not mind nursing him and will continue to do so until he wants to stop. My question is, should I continue to use the soy milk as I have, or should I stop and just nurse him? I'm curious as to what other nursing mothers do at this age. Typically I nurse him twice a day now. Mornings after he wakes up (usually for about 2 hours because I fall back asleep) and then once during the afternoon. I stopped nursing at night because he still wasn't sleeping through the night. Now he is, so I may start nursing him again at night too. Any advice would be great. Thanks.

Answer 1

keep on nursing him he is a mommas boy

Answer 2

I think it could be up to him.  I'd continue to give him the soy milk if he likes it.  It will make the later transition easier, and will help him develop a taste for milk that isn't from mommy.  plus it diversifies his diet!

Good luck!

Answer 3

skip the night nursing, because it may backfire, and he'll begin again not to sleep through the night. But let him nurse as often as he desires (but not more than 5-10 min. every 2-3 hours) and continue giving him the soy milk. He should become used to getting nutrition through other means other than you at this age, esp. since you already started.

Answer 4

he is NOT ready to be weaned and you are right to keep nursing until he is ready. Please do some research on the ill effects of soy milk...you can find info at mercola.com ....soy is very dangerous. Your milk is all he needs!

If you want an amazing support group for breastfeeding mothers who EXTEND nursing until their child is ready please join our yahoo group Milk_drunk , you will love it! hope to see you there!

Answer 5

Lots of babies nurse well past one, but the soy milk makes me curious.

Perhaps he has a taste preference? Breast milk naturally has sugars and nutrients in it, and plain soy milk might be just a little too different for him to switch right over too. I don't know if you're following a vegan diet so I don't really know what else to say, though there are other things you could try feeding him. . .

Answer 6

If it's possible, please continue to nurse your son.  I know it's not easy but it's nature's best food for him.  I had to wait for 5 years until my body stopped producing milk.to finally got some sleep but my daughtger is healthy and also smart and that's enough reward for me.  

Answer 7

Its better to nursing him/ her all the time so that the have a good growing and more healthy that kept away all the sickness.

Answer 8

don't worry too much about it.  he can nurse till 3 if you want.

Answer 9

have you thought about pumping and using a sippy cup instead.  that way you can provide him with wonderful nutrition yet still help him along in his development

Answer 10

not that i'm a mother or know anything about nursing...but i do know babies need all the (good) fat they can get which what breast milk is loaded with (you know that whole thing about myolin sheaths and stuff like that), not to mention breastmilk is the means by which babies get immunity (antibodies in milk) and i recently read a blurb about breastfed babies and vitamin D deficiency (which i'm more inclined to believe is because the mothers are D-deficient already themselves). and there is always the thing about phytohormones (from soy milk) influence on development. so, i'd stick to mother's own...it' really is the best--otherwise we would evolve something better...personally, when i get to do all that mom stuff, i'd probably nurse until a little after the child starts teething--that just seems the logical time to start weening...

Answer 11

i would stick to brestmilk if you wish to continue to brestfeed. the more you breastfeed the more milk you produce which will be great as your baby grows because he will need the extra. introducing soy milk into the mix is not a great idea because it will decrease your milk supply if you do decide to keep giving soy milk then always pump out as much breast milk you can into a baby bottle and put it in the fridge where it can be kept for 24 hours. and after the formula next feed offer baby your breast and feed after that offer the bottle of breast milk and then pump again and continue this. by pumping breast milk you will increase and keep your milk supply up. as for weight a formula fed baby is heavier as a breastfed baby. when they are breastfed it digests a whole lot easier and exits more frequently.

Answer 12

stick to your 2x a day nursing schedule.Give him a sippy of the soy milk the other times. I have basically not offered/ not refused for the last 2.5 years. I did notice that around 12-15 months old my son wanted to nurse every time he got thirsty. I started offering him a cup of juice or milk if I knew he was not sleepy and wanted to nurse. After a while he started drinking his sippy instead of wanting to nurse so much. Nuby sippy cups are the ones that breastfed babies seem to like the best.

my son was over 2 years old before he started to mostly sleep through the night. He used to climb into my bed to nurse in the middle of the night, now he just climbs in for a snuggle. At 33 months old he still nurses a little...sometimes as little as 5 minutes per session. I am hoping to wean him by his 3rd birthday in November.

Answer 13

1 year old is pretty young to be still nursing.  Many moms around the world nurse until the child is 3 and older.  Indeed the WHO (World Health Organization) recommends nursing to the age of 2 "and thereafter as mutually agreeable to both mother and child".  He is not ready to wean and why wean him to something inferior?  You've already given him a great gift, and he is not nursing that much, so if he gets comfort from it, why not.  We spend enough time in our children's lives telling them they can't have things that are bad for them, why stop him having something that's actually good for him??