How long did you nurse? and did you ever just get tired of it ?

Question

I know it sounds kind of mean that i am getting tired of it but i am, i hate to wear the nursing bra's even though they make it easy. I want to contiue for my son, but is there anyone out there that understands how i feel and knows what to do about it? ps. my son is teething which is kinda hurting

My son is 5 months old and i work full time so i have to pump for him. plus he will not have any formula

He absoultley hate formula he would rather drink juice or have ceral or other baby foods

Answer 1

I nursed my girls exclusively until they were 1 year old and able to drink whole milk. After that they nursed just for comfort while going to sleep, so no more than 3 times per day, 2 naps and bedtime, and those sessions were relatively short. By 14 months they were down to just the nursing at night and I took that away at age 15 months because I didn't want then pulling on my shirt in public, though none of them every did. My son is 14-1/2 months and I will be weaning him soon. I had to force him to give up his 2 naptime nursings, but gave him a routine with more rocking and singing. He is nursing for a shorter time each night, so he will probably give it up within a few weeks.
I hated being tied down with my schedule of having to work going out around nursing, or trying to find a place to nurse while we were out. But I wasn't bothered nursing in public, so it wasn't a big deal with my 2 singletons. I don't mind my nursing bras, but mine are really comfortable, they are better than my non-nursing bras were. In fact I kept wearing mine after I weaned my kids, but then I didn't get whopper breasts when I was nursing, so my nursing bras still fit if I hooked them at the highest hook, so I could keep wearing mine. If you don't like nursing bras because you think they are frumpy, get a bra that hooks in the front with a single clasp. One of my sisters did that because she couldn't find nursing bras in her large band size, at least at an affordable price.
My oldest daughter would find it funny to bite me, but I broke her quick by pressing her own lower lip against her sharp new teeth. My twins didn't bite me so much. My son has on occasion when he was getting a molar ready to come in and I didn't know it so he was grinding, more than front teeth biting like my oldest had. But he is the first of my baby's to get molars before weaning and he has one now and it scrapes my areola a bit when he nurses sometimes.
If his teeth are hurting you, unlatch him and then make him latch again trying to change positions so that his teeth aren't pressing against the areola.
But if he is getting teeth, then he should be eating some foods and not being as reliant on your milk. If you just can't take nursing him anymore, and he is still under 12 months old, a great formula for breastfed babies is Nestle's Good Start with DHA and ARA ( I think those are the protiens). My twins had to be supplemented and that is what they took. It is sweeter than say Similac, so breastfed babies take it better and those 2 protiens are the key ones found in breastmilk.
Good luck.
Edit: My oldest and youngest nursed exclusively to age 1. My twins nursed mostly, but had to have 2 oz of formula after their breastfeeding session 4 times per day to keep their weight up the first 6 months and then I went to 4oz at breakfast and bedtime. Since they took bottles and formula, I could leave them in childwatch while I went to Bible study once a week leaving an 8oz bottle with them.

Answer 2

Sure sometimes nursing sucks, particularly when the baby is teething. Even just the changes to the baby's saliva when teething can make nipples more sensitive.

However with proper attention to the latch, and careful modification of biting behaviour you shouldn't have discomfort for long, if at all.

And sometimes it seems like breastfeeding (and/or pumping) is all you do. However trust me mixing formula and bottle feeding isn't any easier. Formula is a pain in the butt to make. At least for me I only used it for some abandoned bunnies and they only fed 2-4 times a day. But sheesh.

I also had a time when the breastfeeding was bugging me but then I realised that WASN'T what was actually bothering me. It was the fact that my husband was doing absolutely nothing and never bothering to be awake when we were. I know he has to work when he has to work, but when you get home at midnight you don't have to stay up until 5 or 6 in the morning and then sleep until a half an hour before you have to leave for work again.

So you might want to look at the rest of your life and see if other things are overwhelming you and annoyance at breastfeeding is a symptom rather than the real problem.

BTW I am still nursing my 14 month old, and I am three months pregnant so I understand about sensitive nipples. Right now I am fighting like mad to keep my supply up because the drop is effecting him badly, his poop is hard and bothering him, and he has started spitting up again. Also he is just miserable all the time.

Answer 3

My nursing toddler is about 27 months. He's a very active boy, so his desire/need for breastfeeding dwindled down not long after he began running. So, his amount of breastfeeding was down to waking ups, before sleepings and an extra before dinner. Only time I needed to nurse him in public was if he was missing a nap! And truthfully, as he got bigger, I personally tried avoiding it because I didn't want to deal with others, not to avoid offending. But if NIP was necessary, it was done (without a blanket as that is why nursing tops were made). Now adays he's down to 2-3 times a day and only asks for the extra milk when he did something wrong, I told him so and he got upset and when he gets hurt. The problem nowadays, is that I am pregnant and have yet to find a maternity nursing top. I chose to stop giving him milk when he was misbehaving (helping him find his own way to cope since new baby is coming), but try my hardest to always (even in public, with all skin showing, since i don't have nursing shirts) give when he is physically hurt (though he has always preferred just being held and kissed to nursing, though sometimes asks).

Answer 4

I completely understand how you feel! My son is 18 months old now and I only breastfed until he was 3 months old. I could not produce enough for his feedings so he would just constantly want to nurse. I felt like that all I did was breastfeed! I didn't make it to the teething part, but I still think even if I had been able to continue to feed, I would have stopped at around 6 months when teething and solid foods started. Be proud that you've been able to do it this long, especially while working! I also agree with you about the nursing bras...they are horrible and did not offer any support for me! It is your decision to either stop or keep breastfeeding and it all depends on what's right for you. My son was on formula from 3-12 months and is perfectly healthy.

Answer 5

Your not awful for feeling the way you do. You don't have to give up your own individual needs just because your a Mom. I breastfed both of my boys until they lost interest (Thankfully at 10 months for both of them) but for me breastfeeding was a matter of convenience over mixing formula and washing bottles. As for the teething when a baby is actively eating they won't be able to bite as the tongue is in the way. If they are biting you then they have probably had enough. A Quick way to break that habit is to sharply push them away at first bite and declare their meal over. They will learn not to bite the errr you know that feeds them. Still if it's more an urge to have your body completely back that's okay too. Any time you give the baby with breastmilk is good and noone ever suffered from eating formula. Both of my boys loved solid foods once they got them so it was pretty easy to get them down to 3 breastfeedings a day by six months and only the morning feeding by 9-10 months. At ten months both of them lost interest in Mom and never looked back. If you only do the morning feeding you can put on any bra you want for the day and baby will still get that nutrition at least once a day. Also he will be the hungriest then and the least likely to bite you. Depending on his age you can give him formula for other feedings or just switch him to solids and juice. Up to a Year he will need formula and juice to make sure he gets enough fluids as he shouldn't have milk. There is a next step formula for 9 - 24 months with DHA and ARA in it which might be good for him if he's old enough. As long as you love your son and yourself there is no reason for feeling guilt, period.

Answer 6

I nursed 4 children. The first one I weaned at 5 months and the second I weaned at 3 months. Both times were out of necessity rather than being tired of it. I was working and going to school and I had them back in the day when pumping just wasn't the norm. With my 3rd (and I thought she would likely be my last) I had graduated college and was choosing to be a stay-at-home mom so I continued to nurse her until she self-weaned at 11 months. Then...we had a little surprise, born when her siblings were 18, 15, and 12. I loved breast feeding and I was working at home, so I nursed her until she self-weaned at 14 months. There were times when I just felt like a cow and the biting stage nearly did me in, but I didn't really want to stop when I thought about it for awhile. I would have nursed my youngest 2 longer if they had wanted to. Especially with my youngest, I knew how quickly this little one would grow and how soon this special time of nursing would end, that is what kept me going when I felt like I didn't want to do it anymore. It was always a short-lived emotion and I got over it.

Answer 7

I have a five month old I'm nursing. I hate nursing bras too! I hate wearing them 24-7! I hate that I can't leave her for more than a couple hours unless I want to pump. (I hate pumping) I hate worrying that my supply will go down if she refuses to eat for a few hours. I hate it when she clamps down and turns her head to look at something else. I hate that she's hungry when I'm hungry. I have to cut my food into pieces and eat half of it with my right hand and half with my left. But most of the time I love nursing her, despite all the stuff about it I don't like. If I get down about it, I just distract myself and usually later in the day I don't feel as bad. Last night I felt defiant against gravity and didn't wear my bra to bed. I put something satiny on just to feel sexy and not weighted down by "breastfeeding." I also just keep telling myself it's for my daughter, it's been hard work to come this far and we only have 1 month min, 7 months max left (my personal goal for breast feeding is to wean sometime between 6 months and 1 year depending on circumstance, this part is entirely up to you). Fortunately my daughter is still in the early stages of teething. I'm not looking forward to that... Aaahh what we mothers sacrifice for our kids (and it's only just begun...) I also try to get some exercise each day to try to keep my spirits up. It sounds like you get out and away for a while each week, which I find does help a little. I also talk every day to family members who have breastfed for support. If you're already pumping at work, you could just pump for him all the time, but my experience was that pumping didn't eliminate the need for the support and access my nursing bras provide and it sounds like there are other ways to get through teething.

If you feel more than just tired of bfeeding, talk to your doctor.

Answer 8

How old is your son? Maybe you could find a way to set some limits so that both of you can get your needs met? After all, nursing is a relationship between two people.

We practice child-lead weaning. I've been breastfeeding almost non-stop for 8 years now. My oldest nursed until he was 3.5 years. He tandem nursed with baby #2 for 16 months. She weaned when she was around 22 months, just about a month before my third was born. My youngest is 4 yrs. and almost 4 mos old and still nursing, but is beginning to skip days now. (So out of the past 8 years, there's maybe a month that I wasn't nursing!)

Check out http://www.kellymom.com and you can probably find some good advice about the teeth. If he's latched right and his head is well supported, they shouldn't bother you too much.

Answer 9

i stopped nursing when my daughter was 10 months old. she bit me all the time and it made me tense up so bad i couldnt relax and i ended up losing my milk. she would not take formula either or anything in a bottle for that matter. but when i didnt have any milk left she didnt have a choice! for about a week she got nursed once or twice a day and the rest of the time i gave her the bottle. she was so mad but after a couple hours of being hungry she gave in and took it! and dont feel guilty. you nursed for 5 months thats great! theres nothing wrong with formula, he will be just as healthy!

Answer 10

I nursed my two older boys until they were 9 and 10 months old. I am still nursing my 4 month old. I quit when they started using their chompers on me - so I can feel your pain LOL.

I don't ever remember getting tired of it (until this time). I have had a baby attached to my boob for like 4 years now!!!! - so to speak.

I'm sooo ready for a night, or MANY nights out without having to worry about pumping or not drinking so that I can still nurse.
So, yes, I can totally relate. My only suggestion is to go and see a movie once a week and maybe go out to dinner another night. Both only take a couple of hours (so you don't need to worry about engorgement) and it is WELL worth it!!