Linda wrote:
Ages ago I had decided to nurse DD until she was 2 (or thereabouts). She's
2 in January and still loves it. We've cut back a lot - my suggestion not
hers and she often asks to nurse, at which I just delay it for as long as
possible, (how about after the bath, let's have a cuddle first etc etc).
I'm pregnant with Number 2, due late March early April some time. I've read
enough articles and posts, and knowing DD that I'm pretty sure even if I
managed to wean her when she's 2, when the baby comes along a few months
later she'll want to start up again. So I was thinking instead I'll just
keep on the way I am, but keep slowly winding it back, and maybe phase it
out after the baby arrives and the novelty has worn off - does that sound
like a plan?
The problem is that I'm really feeling sometimes that I've just had enough -
and it hurts quite often - I guess because of the pregnancy and although I
plan on just powering on I do worry that I won't have the same commitment to
feeding number 2 as I'll just be so sick of it - or will I feel different as
it will be a brand new little one?
If I plan on taking that one to 2 years it will be just over 4 years of non
stop nursing - I love it in principle, but feel like in practise I've had
enough.
Any thoughts?

I've never nursed while pregnant myself, but I've heard that a lot of
women can develop an aversion to nursing while pregnant - it seems to be
evolution's way of trying to get you to concentrate on nourishing one
child at a time. (In fact, your body should be quite capable of
nourishing one child inside you and one outside you simultaneously, but
we evolved in times when available food was often a lot less than now,
and so this is how your body's programmed.) So I suspect the problem
may be not so much the length of time you've been nursing for as the
fact that you're pregnant now.

Seems to me your options are either 1. wind things down during the
pregnancy and then decide when the baby arrives whether or not you're
prepared to go tandem at that time (and there are always intermediate
steps then, like letting her have a taste if she wants it without going
back to full-time nursing), or 2. keep nursing all through. I can't see
that you've got anything to lose by trying the first option and it
sounds as though it may be easier on you, but that's a decision only you
can make, so if you feel on thinking about it that you don't really want
to wean no. 1 now after all then ignore me. ;-)


All the best,

Sarah
--
http://www.goodenoughmummy.typepad.com

"That which can be destroyed by the truth, should be" - P. C. Hodgell