Are you still breastfeeding your child?

Are you still breastfeeding your child?

My son is now 21 months and he is my first-born child. Other moms would say that they would love their kids to breastfeed as much as they want to for two years or more.

I remember when he was born, I had difficulty with breastfeeding because it was my first time. My nipples were in pain. I have to use the breast pump machine to stimulate milk. My milk wasn’t enough which I only produced less than 10 ml. The nurse needed to prepare formula milk to complement his needs. Sleepless nights, indeed. It was painful and tiring. The midwife suggested that we need to rent the breast pump machine. My husband rented the Medela breast pump which is a good quality brand and expensive.

I stayed in the hospital for 10 days and my milk has improved. I just needed to do unlimited latch for my son. Upon arrival at home, I need to pump and I was able to pump around 50 ml to 100 ml. My breasts were so full my t-shirt got soaked. I need to put towel under my shirt.

My breastfeeding journey was great and he started biting my nipples that made me cry many times. In November 2019, my son was about 9 months old and we found out I was pregnant with the second child. 

I have to tell you that in his early months, my son hates the pacifier and bottle-feeding milk so he was entirely dependent on my boobs.

At 10 months, we started giving him fresh milk in a cup while breastfeeding to make him fall asleep. But I was in pain already since my milk supply is getting low. At 11 months, I have no choice but to let him stop breastfeeding and he is into fresh milk already. 

At 12 months, on his birthday, I felt so guilty because he got sick that I was tempted to breastfeed him. My husband said no. He even threw up that night. I was 3 months pregnant that time.

My son and I were sleeping in the same bed until I was on my last trimester at 7 months. He was very clingy and getting heavy that he wanted to sleep more in my neck and arms. Then he started to sleep in the same bed with his father. He also started getting independent from me that made me feel more guilty and missed him.

I always let him involve with my pregnancy. I let him kiss my tummy that his sister is coming.

At 15 months, we changed his cup to practice holding a cup of milk. He loves to orange juice in a big glass. He also knows how to drink water from a bottle.

It’s really nice to see that he drinks like a big boy now as he prefers to drink a plastic cup or a glass while holding it by one hand. Yes, he drinks like a pro. Good thing we never buy several bottle-feeding milk.

Good thing with my daughter, I have no problem breastfeeding her as I have several milk right after she was born. She knew where my boobs were and suck right away. It was really a surprise as I really had trouble with my son, at first.

I am four months postpartum right now with my daughter and she also hates pacifiers. So no pacifiers for her as well. It’s good not to be dependent with it. I don’t know how long I can breastfeed my daughter but she is also starting to bite my nipples now. The pain is tolerable but I’ll just scream in pain. Unlike with the first that I really had to cry.

Are you still breastfeeding? How old is your baby? When did he/she stop? Or any plans to stop at what age?