For you Mamas out there, past and present, how long did you breastfeed (for more than one child, or if more than one answer applies, you can check more than one box). If you didn't nurse, there's some options for you too.

I had a different story with all three of my children.

With my oldest I nursed about 6 months, then had to stop, because he just wasn't gaining enough weight, and I coudln't seem to get my milk supply up. I will note that everyone in my family was against my nursing, and actually went so far as to sabotage my efforts by going out and buying formula to ffed him instead of using the expressed milk I left. I was very young at the time, and very frustrated. I'll also say that this is when my migraines started, depression, and this is the child with Asperger's. So he was doing things differently from other babies, but I didn't know that at the time, because had never had one!

My daughter came 6 years later, and I was much better prepared, both psychologically and in knowledge. I was actually working as a surgical tech, and had the full support of my hospital and fellow nurses behind me. When the docs that deal with this stuff say "You are doing the best thing" it is much easier to ignore your mother who is saying she'll never get enough vitamins that way {roll eyes}. I nursed for a full year this time, right up until we started full solid foods, and I continued to express for about 3 months to use for mixing in cereal. She was also the most natural nurser - latched on immediately in the hospital.

My last baby was a nightmare all the way around. I started heavy bleeding at 36 weeks, and they went ahead and delivered him. His lungs were not ready, so he had to be taken to the NICU. On top of that I was suffering from severe eclampsia, and could not get up from the bed, literally they had me even using bedpans if I needed to go potty. I managed to beg my OB to let me go see my baby before he strapped me down, he gave me 5 minutes, and I had to go in the wheelchair. It was 2 days before I got to see him again. I tried to use the breastpump to express milk, but I got nothing, not even colostrum. And i was hit with horrible post-partum depression (I had actually suffered from depression all during the pregnancy), but it got a lot worse with the baby in NICU, and I couldn't nurse, and it was a horrible loop effect.

The eclampsia did not go away with the delivery like it should do (it apparently happens to like .1% of women - go figure). And I had to be pu ton medication for that because I was in danger of renal failure. At one point in time my renal capacity was down to 46%. I still tried to nurse, but the medications made both me and him horribly sick, so after 3 months we decided it was best to switch him to formula (they are a lot better these days). It broek my heart, though, because I can't have any more babies, and I had really wanted to nurse him. I loved spending that time with my daughter, and I felt guilt for missing out on it with him.

But I spoiled him horribly in other ways, and he's disgustingly healthy with way too much energy! So I guess everything turned out OK anyway.

It's funny, all 3 of my children are like carbon copies of each other as far as build and health go. And I didn't have a similar nursing situation with any of them!

Oh Michelle! You certainly haven't had an easy time of it! How nice to hear that all of your children are thriving now, and how about you? Are your kidneys back to normal? You have a dazzling smile- it's hard to imagine you with PPD. I hope that all is sunshine and roses for you from here on out!

After about 6 months post-partum, the Eclampsia finally started going away. My blood pressure came down, swelling in my body came down, and the ketones count in my urine went way down. Kidneys are fine now, but the nephrologist said I couldn't have any more babies, or risk total renal failure. Hubby got a vasectomy to be certain, then I wound up needing a hysterectomy a year later anyway. So it would take immacualte conception for this couple, LOL!

I still suffer from depression. I've been being treated for it ever since Seth was born, even spent some time in a hospital. They called it PPD, because it got so much worse after the baby, but my psychiatrist said it was all clinical depression, that just worsened during that time period. If it had been true PPD - it should have gone away after time (or at least that's what I understood). I currently receive counseling and medication for depression and borderline bi-polar. The doc calls it Bi-polar 4, it's where I dont' get the extreme manic highs, but swing back and forth between normal days and crushing depression. It's gotten better over the past few years.

I have been nursing my one year old (first birthday 11/13!!!)for this past year and am really getting tired. I don't mind it today and tomorrow, but the thought of the tomorrow beyond that is really daunting to me. I have so much that I want to do before I get pregnant again, and I'm getting ready to have another baby. But, these things I want to do require that I am not nursing (severe tooth work - 4 root canals plus some other stuff; removal of several moles in various parts of my body; and a breast reduction - I am very large up top and I understand that I should still be able to nurse the next baby even after the surgery). Sooooo, I am wondering if anybody has any suggestions on the best way to introduce the weaning process. She currently nurses about 4 times a day - before her morning nap, before her afternoon nap, before dinner, and before bed). I know how to eliminate the dinner feeding fine, but I am stuck on the sleeping feedings. She MUST nurse to go to sleep - how do I break this without scarring her forever???!!! Any advice would be greatly appreciated! THANKS!

I've been nursing for 4 years consecutively. I nursed my oldest daughter until she was almost 3 and a half. She weaned just before my youngest was born. I'm now nursing my 2 year old and 8 month old. I can't even remember life pre-breastmilk!

Lisa,

Wow! You are my hero! I nursed my first until 18 months, when she was down to one feeding and pretty much done. My second is not 19 months and still nursing frequently and round the clock. I am sometimes very ambivalent about it. #2 is much more spirited than #1, and is already trying to make all the decisions about when, where, which side, and even where I sit! ("Other couch.. other couch). I am trying to enforce SOME boundaries, while still allowing her to nurse pretty much on cue. How did you deal with this aspect of "control."

Nicki

I'm still trying to figure that out. It doesn't get any easier with each subsequent child because they're all so different. Since I'm a tandem nursing mom though, I do tend to let each child have "their" side. I do this so my younger one can get foremilk and hindmilk in one nursing session since my older nursling likes to drain the breast and keep on going. I have multiple letdowns each time so I do not worry that the younger one doesn't get enough. He's a chunky little guy so again, no worries. My older nursling has learned the taste difference in the foremilk and hindmilk. She likes the foremilk more than the hind milk and if she notices that "her" side has the hindmilk she will occassionaly ask for the other side. If her brother has ate recently I will let her but if he is due for a nursing session I just simply tell her it's Evan's turn on that side. Sometimes we have a meltdown, sometimes we don't, it just depends on her moods I guess.

She's two now so if I notice that she wants to nurse and I don't (sounds bad doesn't it? but sometimes I can nurse non-stop for 2+ hours if they both go at it), I hide the pillow that we nurse with. She then has to "find" it to nurse. It's never hidden anywhere she can't find it and sometimes we do a "blue's clues" kind of thing for it, just long enough for me to have a few minutes of a break.

Now, around the 2 year mark both my girls decided that they would rather nurse than eat food. This could be because with both of them that's around the time that my milk came back in after being pregnant or it could just be a two- year old being picky, I don't know. I do make them eat food first if they haven't eaten very well that day. I'm not mean about it, but by 2 they know that if they don't eat they will feel hunger pangs.

Wow, I'm sorry. I've become wordy and strayed way off topic. I still haven't answered your question. By 20 month old, my oldest daughter was only nursing for comfort since I was pregnant and had no milk. I had to limit her to "ten" because it became increasingly painful in my third trimester. I taught her that she could nurse, as long as she wanted, until I said she could have "ten". She was learning to count at that time so it was sort of like a game to her. I would say, "Ok, Samara, it's time for ten" and she would smile to let me know she understood, sometimes though, she didn't want to end the nursing session, but I had to make her since it was painful for me. I would count to ten and she would delatch (or if she refused, I'd just delatch her). She's stubborn to this day so I was surprised that it did work most times. I felt guilty but sometimes you just have to do, what you've got to do.

With Selene, my youngest daughter, it's a totally different story. She's more interested in playing with her sister and brother. If she nurses longer than just a few minutes and I need her to let go, all I have to do is say "Ok Selene" or "time to let go" and that's that.

You just have to find something that works. You'll learn that from your child.

Now, also about your dd wanting to sit on the other couch, what I did, was I had two designated nursing spots in the living room. I would only nurse in those two spots because (1) as I got bigger and bigger during my pregnancy, they were the only places I was comfortable sitting more than a couple of minutes and (2) as my daughters got taller it was just easier to nurse them somewhere their legs weren't bunched up. I just told them, "we can nurse here on the couch or over on the recliner" and let them choose which. I found that if I mentioned two choices that I wouldn't mind, they were usually happy, especially if I made it seem like it was their idea to begin with ("GREAT idea Samara, it's so comfy over there!").

Again, I'm very sorry this is so wordy! Breastfeeding is something very dear to my heart.