Comfort nursing (me again)

[@llli*lasbi.modeu]

I apologize for being so repetitive but this situation makes me feel so sad!

DD3, 10mo does not nurse for comfort, I feel so rejected. She only nurses well before naps/ nighttime and once she's done, she just unlatches. I still offer (feels like forcing) several times a day but she just latches for literally, a few seconds. She is so distracted (I started a thread about this and there's nothing I can do to make it change) She is my happiest baby and she is growing, it's not about nutrition I worry, it's that she's my last baby and I was expecting to nurse for a long time :'(

So, my question is: Is she going to change? Is she going to start comfort nursing as she gets older? I really doubt this but I guess I want to hear good news, if there are any. She only nurses 6 times a day/ night (4 times at night feedings)

Thanks a lot in advance!

[@llli*krysbe]

Well, IMO, what your telling me is good news! She doesn't feel the need to comfort nurse because she is very confident in knowing that you will be there for her. Some toddlers do what my LLL leader calls 'drive-by' nursing as they get older which is more of just checking to make sure you're still there and everything is still ok. On the flip side, the night nursings sound like a lot of comfort nursing as well as to make up the calories. Something that helped DD take the breast better during the day was to make her room (where I nursed her) as dark and quiet as possible. I would turn the noise machine to rain, close the curtains and turn off the lights. It helped a lot at reducing distractions which made her more willing to nurse. Also, try a nursing necklace or something of that nature. DD has a paci and she has to have it while nursing. She holds it and pulls at the strap for it as a fidget toy. I don't know if it will work for you, but it can't hurt, either.

[@llli*lasbi.modeu]

Thanks for your reply!

Dark, quiet room is not possible at my house, DD3 is my third and there's no way I could do that as a routine. I already sit the other two to watch TV at nap time.

Drive-by would be great, that's what my other DDs did after 12 months, I loved it. This is totally different, she doesn't do that, she just doesn't seem to be interested I would like to know if it's possible that she would do the drive-by or comfort nurse later in her life or if she is self-weaning faster than my other 2.

I know no one knows but if someone went through this and ended up nursing for over 2 years, I'd love to hear it. I already had someone here telling me they were still nursing strong but I would like more :P

[@llli*mommy2lilah]

I can't remember what Trixie was like at 10 months, but I remember being worried about it the same as you are. She just wasn't so intense about nursing as a younger baby like Lilah was. But now - at 19+ months - she wants to nurse constantly! And it's not that she wants to hang out nursing all the time, just that she asks to nurse a lot more than she was. She may nurse for seconds or a minute only, but she's definitely nursing more times during the day right now that she was 6 or 8 months ago.

[@llli*lasbi.modeu]

I can't remember what Trixie was like at 10 months, but I remember being worried about it the same as you are. She just wasn't so intense about nursing as a younger baby like Lilah was. But now - at 19+ months - she wants to nurse constantly! And it's not that she wants to hang out nursing all the time, just that she asks to nurse a lot more than she was. She may nurse for seconds or a minute only, but she's definitely nursing more times during the day right now that she was 6 or 8 months ago.

This is what I wanted to hear! I know it's all about them but I enjoy nursing so much! I still miss the comfort nursing my other girls did :'(

[@llli*oakdryad5]

elena goes in phases. i responded to your other post. the thing with us is that i did have access to quiet dark rooms and that did help a bit. more it was patience on my part. when she was in her not-interested phase it would be hard, but then sure enough teething would hit, or illness, and it would pick up again. i would worry about going on trips--fear that her distraction and change of routine would cause her to wean. that never happened. after she hit 2 i started planning way more trips (out of state, plane trips, etc) since i just have learned to go with it more or less. at her age now i have to accept that she will wean at some point and i can't force it! but i understand when she was little like yours it just gave me anxiety. stick with what you're doing and try to enjoy the night cuddles. hopefully around/past a year she will come around more. mine had separation anxiety too around that time and nursing really increased!

[@llli*joe.s.mom]

No promises - some babies just don't comfort nurse, and never do. But 10 months tend to be a big independence phase for babies, when even moms of avid nursers wonder if they are even interested anymore! Around a year, those same babies are nursing 500 million times a day, and clinging to mom like baby monkeys. Rinse repeat. Babies tend to go through push away phases and then clingy phases, all the way until adulthood, I hear!