How many of you nurse(d) or plan to nurse your twins

It seems like lately I've been reading from many who are trying to wean or did wean their twins around the one-year mark. I'd love to hear from those of you who nursed or plan to nurse until 2ish. I have always intended to nurse until 18 months at least, but, now that we have a really bad cow's milk allergy, I am leaning towards nursing until about age 2. I don't see myself continuing past 2 (but...). I know things may change over the next year, but that is currently my plan!

So, how "weird" is it to nurse twins until 2?? How many of us are there here?

(I am IN NO WAY slighting anyone who is weaning at one year. I think that any mama who nurses or pumps for her twins for ANY period of time is a hero, plain and simple!)

 

It's not as if suddenly one day they seem so much older than they were the day before. That's what people don't understand. Yeah, your kneejerk reaction based upon a lifetime of immersion in social norms tells you that nursing a child old enough to ask for it (or whatever guideline you've been given) is "too old". But when it's your child (who nursed yesterday and seemed so much happier for it) who wants to nurse today, then what? Next thing you know, they're 3 and it's the only way they'll nap anymore and you begin to wonder why you used to think nursing a 3YO was weird. And, of course, the WHO supports you even if others don't.

 

i'd love to nurse my girls until they're 2, although i'm not sure how that'll look - it'll probably be some combination of nursing & drinking regular milk for them as i'll be going back to work in september when they're 14 months old.

 

I'd consider it if I didn't have meds I need to go back on for my MS. I'm seeing the MS specialist today to talk about when I need to go back on them; I'm hoping to BF for at *least* 9 months. If not for the meds, I'd probably try to do it till at least 12-18 months and/or just see how it goes.

 

I love nursing! I loved nursing my toddlers until almost 26 months! :wub: I didn't have a set goal when I started, but knew I wanted to nurse long. I unofficially thought that perhaps at 1.5 years old it would be enough, but it wasn't.. for me or them.
Oh, and it doesn't 'look' funny. WE nursed at home most of the time. No one really knew we were still breastfeeding unless they were visiting (not that we were hiding the fact).
I agree with Debid!

 

We will be celebrating our 1st bday in just 16 days....I hope to get to at least 2 and would really like to get all the way through next winter with them. That would be 27-28 months. Who knows....I might just make it. I was one of "Those People" years ago that thought oh, when they ask for it they are too old. or OK they are 1 put them on cows milk....oh boy I am sorry to every mom I ever said that to or thought that of! my how we learn.

I too think that any mom twin or not that breastfeeds / pumps for ANYTIME is a hero!


Good job Mommas!

 

We nurse twice a day and will continue with that as long as they want to...I hope. The only possible issue is that I may need to take a couple of week-long trips this spring and pumping no longer works for me, so my supply may go to heck before they're done.

Ditto pp about there being no obvious reason to stop when they a) get teeth, b) can drink other stuff, c) can walk over to you when they're hungry or d) can ask for milk with words or signs. They still enjoy it and need the antibodies, and I'm totally addicted to the oxytocin Way better than a cocktail for unwinding at the end of a long day at work...

 

My girlies turn 3 on Monday and I weaned them finally about 6-8 weeks ago. They were down to nursing once a day or less at that point. Yesterday one of the girlies asked for Mama milk and I laughed and told her it was all gone and waiting for the new baby (I'm due in May).

I nursed them about a year longer than I had my other children, and don't regret it at all. But even the 22-23 months that I nursed my others (they weaned themselves), was great! I would say keep going until you and kiddos are ready to stop. It's great for fixing owies, and keeping the special bond going.

I would just remember that it does make some people uncomfortable. So we did have conversations about how we only nursed when we were at home, or by ourselves, etc.

 

My boy recently weaned himself - at about 13 months. That was much earlier than I had planned on. My girl is still nursing 2 or 3 times a day and I plan on continuing this for the forseeable future - maybe 18 months, maybe 2 years. And I'm still pumping occasionally so my boy can get a little bit of my milk still.

 

Ditto the great responses from the pps!

The WHO recommends nursing until at least age 2. The AAP recommends nursing for at least the first year, and after that, as long as mom and baby (babies!) want to. Here is some great info about the benefits of extended nursing.

We're still going strong. It is so important to the babies, and I think it's been especially helpful to them in getting through the intense separation anxiety the second year brings. It's a great way to hit reset when they have meltdowns, warm up after playing out in the cold, calm down before sleep (lately my kids get hyper when they get tired, so nursing is a REALLY good transition for them). I love the snuggle time. And the awesome thing about nursing toddlers is that they can actually THANK YOU for it!!! Some days, it really feels like a payoff for all the grueling, grueling days and nights of nursing and pumping for two newborns/young infants, where the only reward was stopping the crying: now, they ask to nurse, sometimes they spontaneously thank me, they say "Yummy!"... There's all this feedback, and you really feel appreciated.

So I'm planning to just let them keep nursing as long as they're interested. It is so great for all of us.

 

Andrew and Catherine pretty much lost interest and weaned themselves after their 1st bday, but Elizabeth is still nursing 3x a day at 19 months.

 

I nursed my girls 27 months. After about 18 mos it was 3 times a day, and then twice and by the end only first thing in the morning. They weaned themselves. It was never a problem because they were not nursing at times of day that we were socializing, so although my family knew about it, no one else did, so I got no flack and had no problems. Toddlers don't nurse as often, or for as long at a session, as infants do.

 

My girls are down to 1 nursing session but as long as I dont have any more medical issues with bf'ing then I will let them wean themselves.

 

Nursed mine for 2 yrs 8 mths. It is not weird, it is wonderful.

 

I nursed my older son until he was 23 months and I would like to nurse the girls until around the same time, but I have had severe cracks and blisters that have still not healed... so we will see. I plan to night wean around a year and see if I heal then. I really love nursing and hope things turn around for us so we can continue.

 

My boys are almost 18 months old (wow!) and Jacob still nurses 1-3 times per day. Jackson self-weaned at 13-14 months. The cow's milk alternative we use in this highly allergic household is vanilla almond milk with olive oil mixed in-- they LOVE it! I do not pump and have not done so for a very long time (9 months or more).

Jacob calls mommy's milk "Good". He says "good, please! good! good!". It's very cute.

 

These are my last babies, and they can nurse as long as they want (well, maybe not until kindergarten...)

 

I planned on bfing until 6 months, that is when I went back to work and I do not get breaks at work so I didn't think pumping would work out. But I said I would give it a shot, and it worked out!!! So then I pumped at work until 15 months and just couldn't stand pumping anymore so I weaned down to twice a day at that point. I would have continued bfing until they self weaned had it not been for a vacation dh and I went on when they were just shy of 2 yrs.

I really think bfing is one of those things that you will never regret, so keep on going as long as you are all happy doing so!!!!

 

I had planned on nursing until they were one, but their first birthday came and went awhile ago. We are now nursing just before bed and that's it. (although I have a screaming instead of napping child upstairs - I kinda am thinking about seeing what would happen if I nursed her, but I'm not here all naps anymore, so I don't really want to open up a can of worms). I love it that they will lie with me and be calm for a little bit; I love being able to kiss their heads; and as much as it is annoying, my DH taught them to zerbert (sp?) and they'll stop nursing to zerbert my tummy, and then go back to nursing, it is great.

Do what you are comfortable with!

 

My daughter self weaned just before her second birthday and I'm hoping that the boys will nurse until then also.

 

We still nurse once a day (just before bedtime) at 31 months. I so was not ready to stop at 1 year and neither were the girls. It had just started to get easier again after the distractable months and the idea of weaning literally made me cry each time I thought about it. So we didn't. It never was part of the plan to 'extended nurse', but then I never really had a plan, just to get through the first few days, 6 months, one year ...

Sometime between 18 months and 2 years I felt ready. But the girls didn't. So we continued. I figured it would be good to get them through their first winter in day care. Which was last winter and um ... we're still going. Then I said two years, but it really wasn't the right time, there were too many changes going on in their lives. I'd kind of planned to stop in November (2 1/2 years) but that didn't happen either. Now I'm dithering about either sometime during the next month before my parents arrive to stay for a couple of weeks (and silently raise their eyebrows). Or waiting til after this winter too. Or just waiting til they self wean. But I suspect that'll be never!

Gradually we've cut out the night nursing, nap nursings and morning nursing (I can't really say 'we' as it's been me that's stopping them - I'm sure they'd still be nursing all day and night if they could - they even asked their childminder yesterday "do you do num nums?").

I guess, for extended nursers, often the next pregnancy begins the weaning process. But DH and I are still arguing that one, so these guys get lucky.
lisa

 

I am still nursing my twins who are 20 months old, with absolutely no hint of weaning in sight. I'd like them to wean themselves. I have a couple IRL friends who nursed their twins to 2+. It makes me so happy & proud to be able to do this for them.

 

Like you (original pp), I am now planning on bf'ing longer due to a bad cow's milk allergy. I had planned on through this winter (they'd be about 18 mos) but now I'm pretty committed to at least 2, at least for my dd with the milk allergy. We met with a nutritionist last week and I told her I was planning on bf'ing until 18 mos then reevaluating...she then kept bringing up Neocate Jr... I asked why I would need to do that if I was bf'ing and she said she meant for when I stopped. She then said if I was going to bf til 2 then I wouldn't need to consider any formula... so my decision was made! I spent the first 6 months trying to get off the formula supplements, I don't really want to start formula again at 18 months!

Mine are now nursing 4 x's/day and usually once at night (although they BOTH slept thru the night last night, which rarely happens!!). I hope to keep up this schedule for a while and then gradually get them to 3 x's/day, keeping that up for as long as I can.