How long did you breastfeed?

[Raspberry Bubbles]

17 months with DS who is still b/fing last thing at night and first thing in the morning ~ I'm pregnant with number two and so I think my supply is lessening and it's just a sleep/comfort thing for him.

 

[Minniemouse07]

Dd nursed until 3.5yo and ds nursed until 2.5yo, both weaned on their own.

I returned to work when dd was 3mo and then again when ds was 5mo and pumped for both kids until their first birthdays.

They are now 10yo and 5yo.

 

[crystaldawn]

DS#1- 10 months, didn't really have a "plan" when I started. I was young, worked, went to college etc and he just didn't ask much at that point so we quit.

DD#2- 15 months. Planned a year, and honestly didn't think much of nursing past it. But I was pretty strict about my diet when I nursed her so it was a relief to be done.

DD #3 will be 3 in October and she shows no signs of wanting to wean. The "plan" with her was til she was two, but I was pregnant with #4 and she was still nursing, many said she would wean during my pregnancy but didn't. I delivered when she was 22 mos and I enjoyed some 1:1 time with her.

DS #4. He is almost 1, interestingly he is much like my oldest, doesn't ask much to nurse but still loves to nurse when he's sleepy... or needs comfort. No plan here... I just hope the big sister weans before him lol.

If someone would have told me 10 yrs or even 5 years ago that I'd be tandem nursing I'd have thought they were crazy. Just sort of happened for us.

 

[mom2princesss]

I nursed my oldest for 13 months. #2 I fought with for 9 weeks and gave her a bottle and we were both much happier. #3 I nursed for 12 weeks and weaned her before returning to work. I learned the first time that I did not want to spend a year nursing, pumping and working full time.

 

[amoggio816]

I nursed my daughter until the day after she turned 2. Her Birthday was a Friday, I nursed her in the morning before her birthday party on Saturday, and didn't nurse her again. She occasionally asks for it, but only because a friend of mine is nursing her newborn.
I also got pregnant with twins a month after (didn't even know!) and I started producing milk about March, I lost the twins at the end of January, 2 days before 12 weeks. So my daughter wanted some at that time and i refused it because I couldn't handle it. lol.

 

[Fantasyland Mom]

#1--16 months. For a few of those months, she got a formula bottle because my supply dropped after I was given a shot and THEN told not to nurse for 48 hours. I had milk in the freezer then, but could never get enough supply for that one extra feeding after that. I was at home with her nursing only at the breast for 9 months, then pumped from 9-12 months while I finished school, then only nursed her at the breast from 12-16 months when she self weaned.

#2--A few days past 2 years, and then she self weaned. I was so happy to make it to the World Health Organization's recommended age! I hadn't intended for that to be our goal, but every day was a blessing!

#3--Just turned a year old last week, and he's still nursing. I am hoping to make it as long as I did with his sister, but just as with her, each day past a year is an extra-special gift. A year was my firm goal, and everything else is just a bonus!

 

[deuceswild10]

13 months and my babies weaned a few weeks ago. I miss it. They're doing great though, and were ready to move on.

 

[mommy2_3]

With my first i did for 10 days. he was tongue tied and i didnt know about clipping.

With my 2nd a month and a half. she was a big baby with a huge appite. she was 10lbs 2oz at birth and she nursed ALL the time! it was really tiring.

With my 3rd about 2 months. then i went to have some teeth pulled and she was given a bottle. never went back to the breast.

With my 4th he is 14 weeks today and we are still nursing! not going to give myself a set date as to when i will stop cause i know if i stop before that then i will just disappoint myself. so we are just taking it day by day! but i am so happy to made it this far!

 

[knitster]

With my first i did for 10 days. he was tongue tied and i didnt know about clipping.

With my 2nd a month and a half. she was a big baby with a huge appite. she was 10lbs 2oz at birth and she nursed ALL the time! it was really tiring.

With my 3rd about 2 months. then i went to have some teeth pulled and she was given a bottle. never went back to the breast.

With my 4th he is 14 weeks today and we are still nursing! not going to give myself a set date as to when i will stop cause i know if i stop before that then i will just disappoint myself. so we are just taking it day by day! but i am so happy to made it this far!

My youngest was tongue tied, too and we had an absolutely horrible time nursing for the first 4 months or so. If it weren't for a wonderful lactation consultant, prescription meds to keep my supply up, and a supplemental nurser system to keep my baby from starving, we never would've made it. And I had to do all that even after having my midwife clip his tongue! Dealing with all of that made me hate breastfeeding for a long time. I can't even fathom trying to nurse him w/o his tongue being clipped.

My middle was 10lbs 4oz too and ended up being a petite little thing - only 17lbs at a year old!

 

[Meshell2002]

I tried to vote twice but the poll wouldn't let me

DS ---7 weeks.....until we realized he was severely under his birth weight and I had no supply...found out later I had thyroid disease....which will mess up bfing if not under control.

DD---13 mos.....she was a happy snuggly girl I think if I had been at home then and not working, we would have probably gone longer.

 

[tinker&belle]

Older DD-nursed until 7 months. She started getting some formula around 5months though and gave up wanting to nurse at all once she realized she could feed herself, walk on her knees and not have to stop moving to eat holding her own bottle.

Younger DD- Had a birth defect that made nursing impossible, but she received breastmilk exclusively in a bottle the first 3 months and then some for another month or so until my milk ran out.

 

[SmallWorld71]

I nursed DS12 until around 14 months, but we had cut down to just the night time feeding a couple months prior. He was an easy going baby and was fine with weaning. He also probably would have been fine with continuing, but I personally had no interest in nursing a toddler.

DD8 self-weaned around 10/11 months. She just used a sippy cup as she had never used bottles. She was a very active and inquisitive baby who just didn't want to stay still anymore so I didn't push it.

I will add that the support at the hospitals was fabulous. (Both Boston hospitals) The nurses were so good with helping. DS12 was delivered emergency c-section and the milk took several days to come in and they were great at helping me stick with it while also keeping DS12 healthy. With DD8, the milk came in right away and she latched on right away, so no help was really needed. I also had plenty of family support including my mom who had nursed all her kids.

 

[DannysMom]

Another preemie mom. DS1 was born at 26 1/2 weeks. After 3+ months in the NICU & pumping exclusively, DS came home & was never able to successfully BF directly. I had a great supply so continued to exclusively pump. Because of some pretty severe feeding issues (DS would vomit even smooth babyfood purees even at 2 years old) I continued to pump until 2 weeks shy of 2 years, at which time DS weaned from the bottle entirely. (He only ever took breastmilk in his bottle, anything else, if he drank it at all, had to be in a cup.)

The twins were born at 30w 5d. Again I started by exclusively pumping. DD came home after 5 weeks, & in retrospect I should have focused on getting her to BF directly as soon as she came home. In reality still having a baby in the NICU, it was all I could do to continue to pump to provide milk for both babies. DS2 came home at 9 weeks old (4 weeks longer in NICU than his sister) by the time he got home DD had a pretty big bottle preference, so she kept her bottle. DS2 had a higher suck need than his sister & transitioned to BF directly at 4-5 months old, so 2-3 months adjusted age.

I continued to pump for DD 2 or 3 times a day until 20 months (after their 2nd winter) DS2 is still nursing at 2 years old, at nap & bed times.

 

[Dustykins]

Just under two years with my son, almost 2 1/2 with my daughter.

 

[satorifound]

Different lengths of time with each child. The first child I had difficulties and ended up pumping and bottle feeding for three months before she was switched to formula. The second child was heck to start out but it did get easier and we went to 19 months. The third child didn't want food and she breastfed until 3 when I told her she was a big girl now and mommy couldn't take it anymore (I was tandem nursing her and my 4th at this point). My last child breastfed for 19 months.

 

[amylynne01]

DD1 nursed for about 2 days lol but never had a good latch, and I didn't know what resources were available for us.

DD2 nursed until 4 months, but I had to switch her then to formula because she was not gaining AT ALL. Looking back, I'm fairly certain it was a supply issue that I didn't recognize, and we realized she is lactose intolerant, so any dairy I had was inhibiting her ability to absorb nutrients from my breast milk. I felt guilty for nursing so long since she was so skinny, and I felt guilty for not nursing long enough. I couldn't win with either decision at the time. Now I'm fine with how things went, but at the time, my hormones were a crazy mess, and it sucked.

If we have a third, I will BF again and probably supplement with formula. DH really wants to be involved in feeding, so I can compromise.

 

[bumbershoot]

A very very long time.

Let's put it this way...I myself was nursed until I was 4 (mom had to start working and weaned me the second time...and then I started getting sick), and my half-sister (different mom) was weaned kicking and screaming at 5.

My son beat both of us.

 

[mirage0306]

I nursed for a long time. I nursed my first for 3.5 years, and that included during my entire pregnancy with #2 (not the most fun I've ever had, LOL) and six months of tandem nursing. I also nursed my second child for about 3.5 years.

 

[SnipsNSnails]

I nursed my oldest until 19 months - I weaned because he would wake up still 3-4 times a night wanting to nurse. Sleeping improved much after that.

I weaned my youngest in May at just over 26 months. I'm not sure what the problem was but it became very painful to nurse and it was excruciating so I figured he was over 2 so it was time anyway. Even over 2 months later he will occasionally ask and I just tell him it's all gone. He has handled it pretty well.

 

[mamatobbg]

My first son weaned at 27 months (I was 14 weeks pregnant at the time.)

My second son weaned at about 30-31 months (I was about 32 weeks pregnant at that time.)

My daughter is 17 months and still going strong. She is my last baby and since my boys cut way back during my pregnancies, I have a feeling she'll nurse even longer than her brothers. I plan to let her self wean.