weaning

[doublebk]

I am going to agree with all of the moms above me. You dont have to wean. My 2 youngest are 18 months apart and I nursed the older one until she was 15 months. My youngest is now almost 3 and is still nursing strong. You would have to put the baby on formula until 1 year, so why do that? Why not give him breastmilk for a couple more months? You can get pregnant while nursing even without a period.

[Fairycat]

On the other side carefully weigh how important nursing is for you both. I have seen a few disappointed Mommies who stopped BFing early to get pregnant and then it took longer then they thought it would to get pregnant, almost all of them regretted weaning just to try for another. One of the Mom's decided when she got preggo with #2 (2 years after #1) not to try the same thing this time and she is now pregnant with #3 while nursing, #2 is 9 months old. Good luck to you!

[3rockstars]

Originally Posted by zoelife thanks! i am just worried that i will not end up getting my period back and then having too much spacing in between our kids...DS doesn seem over extatic about BFing...he does, but he isnt a total boob baby...i still enjoy it okay, but i am about ready to be done i think..maybe around 9 monthsish

no problem. whenever you are ready the weaning forum is pretty good with advice. i'll warn you though, you may find you aren't ready when you thought. i kept thinking my girls would be so grown up by 18 months and not needing to nurse. my youngest is 2 and she's still a baby to me, and if she would nurse, i would love to have that snuggle time. but she insists she's done. but it was a wonderful relationship while it lasted. good luck to you in whatever you decide for your son and yourself. i bet he's just the BEST right now. 6 months is such a fun age. all the discovery that happens in the second half of their first year is crazy! i remember my girls being little like that and i miss it! don't take a second of it for granted!

[sahmofthree]

I agree with the other moms as well. For me personally, I understand wanting your children close in age, but I wouldn't wean just for that reason unless you are unhappy with nursing. It's such a precious and important time in your son's life, that if nursing is going okay I would at least wait until he is a year old. You may end up regretting it later on if you do, and in the grand scheme of things I don't think a few months will make a difference in your children's relationships (assuming that's why you'd like them to be close in age). My son was exclusively breastfed until he was 9 months old as well, and my cycles came back when he was 8 months old. He's now 19 months old and still nursing a few times a day. I'm so proud of myself for making it this long, and it's such a good feeling to know I'm giving him the very best nutrition I can. On the other hand, for my first son I exclusively pumped breastmilk for 6 months, then stopped as I ended up getting mastitis and it was just too painful, then my milk supply had diminished too much at that point. My cycles didn't come back until he was one year old though. For my 2nd son, I pumped for the first four months, then stopped, but my cycles didn't come back until he was 9 months old. So even if you stop nursing right now, there's no guarantee your cycles will come back immediately and you may have quit nursing for nothing.

Have you started your son on solids? There's a good chance that once your son starts eating solids and is less dependent on your milk supply, your cycles may start up again anyways and you won't need to stop nursing him to get pregnant. You could have the best of both worlds, I would just wait a couple more months to see. Good luck either way!

[GEM Cloth]

I forgot to add that I BFed my DD#1 until I was five months pregnant with DD#2. DD#2 was 24 months and the time and I only stopped because I was really, really ready (plus I was having some strange feelings in the pit of my abdomen). But weaning before one year just to get pregnant, I honestly would not put the health of my child at stake in an effort to create another.

[CEVmommy]

I don't think you have to wean to get your cycle back. If you want it to come back sooner though, the first thing I would try is just night-weaning. Then try adding more solids. You don't have to wean completely for sure, but decreasing your nursing like this would probably help. It happens naturally as your baby gets older anyway.

[1blessedmama]

I would keep nursing too. I've gotten pregnant twice while nursing (and nursed thrugh both pregnancies), and there are ways to try to get your cycles jump started if they're not happening for you.