Done Nursing My 13 Month Old and Need Some Advice

I would go back to nursing her. There are MANY things that can be done to stop biting, pulling the nipple, etc - - but it is usually started around 9 months. Good thing is that it is never too late!!

The main thing is to be CONSISTENT and PATIENT. You must ALWAYS do the same thing and to do it without yelling or anger towards the child.

1st infraction (biting or pulling away with nipple in mouth): say "Stop. No biting/pulling" and take her off and set her down for 5 minutes. If she still wants to nurse after that, allow her to.

2nd infraction: say "Stop. No biting/pulling" and take her off and set her down for 10 minutes. If she still wants to nurse after that, allow her to.

3rd infraction: say "Mommy said no biting/pulling. No more nursing" then set her down and walk away, do not nurse again for at least 2 hours.

Since you are starting this so late, I would talk to her BEFORE nursing, telling her she cannot bite or pull off of Mommy's breasts or she will not be allowed to nurse.

Edited: Nursing her to sleep is alright too... someone mentioned it was bad for the teeth - but that is not true. Formula in a bottle to bed is problematic because it pools in their mouth and sits there. When a baby suckles the breast, the milk immediately gets swallowed, so doesn't pool around and stay in the mouth.

Oooh, lots of changes in a short time for both of you. I nursed both of mine but we tapered off real gradually.

You say she seems like she wants to nurse....you could try it again, if you are willing, but set real firm boundaries with the biting and pulling off business. for instance if she bites, you say firmly "No biting, that hurts Mommy!" or something like that, and then immediately take her off. You can try again in a few minutes.

for the pulling off, you can hold her head while she is nursing and as soon as she starts to pull away, keep her head close and then break the suction yourself with your finger. Again, you could try again a bit later if you like.

Nursing her even this little bit might help a little with the engorgement. You can also take tylenol for the pain.

I seem to remember hearing that putting a cabbage leaf in your bra helps the engorgement issue also, but I never did it. Expressing in the shower might be more comfortable.

Also contact La Leche League. you can attend a meeting , phone a leader (even if you are not a member) or visit their website, www.llli.org .

Good luck to you and your little one!

K. Z.

First of all congrats on being able to nurse that long, i could only nurse both of my girls for a very short time ( wasn't able to produce enough milk) i wish i could have. Second if it hurts that bad go see your dr. When i stopped nursing both my girls i got masttitus (not sure if thats how you spell it, it feels like a huge lump in the breast) but it was very very painful. I also tried to express milk and was only nursing 1 or 2 times a day at that point. I also had a yeast infection of the breast. If it feels like the pain is traveling around to your back and You try the cabbage leaf trick or ice packs and that doesn't work go see your dr. They gave me a prescription to take and it felt better within the first couple of days. Hope this helps and good luck.

If you tried what have been suggested already and she still refuses to stop biting, I would just give her whole milk in a sippy cup in the morning to replace that morning feeding. She shouldn't be nursed to sleep at this age anymore though. . . . BAD for her teeth. . . . Good luck!!