I’ve decided once again to wean TheBaby (age 21 months) down to about 3 times a day and cut the nighttime feedings down to a reasonable amount. I decided this last week when we went in for BigMan’s well-child visit and TheBaby decided he wanted to nurse. Right then. And when I politely quietly declined his advances and told him we would when we got back in a holding room he flipped out. I mean flipped out. Screaming “I WANNA NURSE, MAMA!!!! Over and over and over. I was tired, frustrated, a tad bit embarrassed and determined he was not going to get his way while throwing that massive of a fit. Not to mention while sitting in the waiting room.
So, last night, all through the night, I turned him down repeatedly. We didn’t get a whole lot of sleep. Finally about 5am he said quietly, “I need water, Mama.” That I could do. I got up and got him water. And you would think one time of giving in and nursing would not be that big of a deal, but what this kid wants he gets. Or we hear about it. Loudly and repeatedly. And eventually when I give in here and there we end up nursing around the clock nonstop. So, I stayed strong.
Today I’ve stuck to my guns. We’ve nursed twice so far. First thing this morning and at naptime. But after bathtime he began asking again. I talked to him about it. We talked about how we are only going to nurse a few times a day. To which my not-yet-2-year-old asked, “Why?” I told him that it was just time to nurse less. And I told him again what times of the day we would be nursing. We talked about it at length. Then we moved onto other things to talk about. Then I asked him a bit later, “What are you going to do today, buddy?” And he answered with a big grin, “NURSE!”
I’m not sure who’s winning this battle.
