I have a 2.5yo who would not nurse, i felt very guilty about it-i wanted her to have the benefits of breastmilk, and i still do. i have a nursing 7wk old now, should i try to nurse my 2.5 yo too? or should i pump and give her milk? or just try to let it go?
EB588
Favorite Answer
If your two year old doesn't want to nurse, I wouldn't push the issue. If she does, tandem nursing is great. If you want to pump, that is up to you. Just make sure your milk supply is high enough to feed the two of them, with the newborn taking highest priority.
?
Ít's not easy but billions of women do it. If you can get some help for the first 2 weeks or so, I would strongly advise it. MIL? Hubby? Mom? Anyone. Assuming your 14 month old is still napping twice a day? That will help. My daughter was just over two when my second was born in June. She has one nap a day, about 1.5-2 hours. I used the time I was nursing baby to read to her. I also learned how to BF while walking around the house, wiping bums, pouring milk, etc. LOL, it is a learned skill. The first few weeks are the hardest, but it gets easier.
Anonymous
If your toddler shows interest in nursing there is no harm in letting her, but the chances of a 2.5 year old figuring out how to latch are pretty small. It is actually difficult to get milk out of a breast.
However there is nothing wrong with her using you as a pacifier if you want. She would get almost all of the nutritional and immunological benefits of breastmilk if you pumped it for her.
casper
If she acts interested, or asks to nurse, you could let her try it. But after a couple of seconds she will probably decide she doesn't like it.
Personally I think it would be a little weird to nurse a 2.5 year old (that has never nursed).
Anonymous
I wouldn't try to nurse her since she is already 2 1/2, but I don't think it would hurt anything to try to give it to her in cup. Just be prepared for her to not like it. I had a newborn and a 17 month old at the same time and the 17 month old wanted to drink the baby's bottle and gagged when she did.