Shu-Yin's Sanctuary: Breastfeeding with Khye

Tuesday, July 28, 2015

Breastfeeding with Khye - Part 6 (2 yrs 10 mths)

The last update on this topic with Khye was almost 10 mths ago when Khye was 2yo.
Today, Khye is almost 3yo.

When I found out I was pregnant with Vern, I was still breastfeeding Khye. I was uncertain on whether should I stop breastfeeding him, or to continue and later on do tandem nursing.

But one thing I do know is that I wanted to wean Khye off nursing before sleep, especially at night.
And I also wanted to Khye to be less addicted to my boobs.
He was really, really addicted to my boobs and would ask for 'nen-nen' the moment he saw me stepped into the house. Yes, he was that addicted.

And so what did I do?
I bought a lemon, and squeezed some lemon juice on my boobs when he next asked for 'nen-nen'.
I told him 'nen-nen spoiled'. He didn't really understood then.
So when I lifted up my shirt and he tried it, he made a face as it was sour.
He didn't like it, and then he started to cry.

The next time he asked for it, I repeated the same thing. Squeezed some lemon juice on my boobs. Then I told him 'spoiled'. He didn't try it to suckle the second time after hearing the word 'spoiled' though, but just cried.
And that was how Khye learned the word 'spoiled=sour nen-nen'.

It was easy to day no to him during the day, but was a little bit harder at night when Khye woke up for his middle-of-the-night feed. But I offered him water instead and he took it.
It only took us 2 days for him to get less addicted to "nen-nen"
So I considered the weaning process was a success, because he was no longer addicted to "nen-nen"

But after a few weeks when I was sure Khye was no longer addicted to it, I relented and offered him "nen-nen" whenever he was cranky, mostly to sooth and calm him down.

And slowly, I continued to breastfeed Khye whenever he asked for it (but also making sure he was not asking for it ALL the time!).
So it was mostly once a day, or sometimes two days once. He mostly suckles for comfort, and not to fill his tummy.

So How Was Breastfeeding While Pregnant?

I heard people say that breastfeeding during pregnancy may cause miscarriage or preterm labour, so I was initially a little bit concerned about that.
I consulted my gynae and he said it was ok as long as mine is not a high risk pregnancy and to stop if I ever feel uncomfortable about it.

I was feeling great because I managed to wean Khye off his addiction, and yet at the same time still provide him with some comfort nursing.

Throughout the pregnancy, some people say my milk changes but Khye was still suckling it without any complains. He was happily suckling it up to the day of my labour.

But there are certain times when I think Khye does only dry-nursing, and also certain parts of my pregnancy where I had tenderness on my nipples and such, so it was a little bit uncomfortable when Khye latches on. But nothing I couldn't deal with. I told Khye to be gentle and he seemed to understand, so we continued.

So How Is Breastfeeding After I Gave Birth to Vern?

I had bad engorgement on Day 3 and 4 after giving birth to Vern. where my breasts were full and engorged but yet nothing much when I tried to pump it out.
Vern was so tiny and couldn't drain the milk before falling asleep again. And marmet (hand express) didn't seem to work too.

So I requested hubby to bring Khye to the hospital to suckle and help me clear it off.
And you know what? Khye didn't want to suckle, saying "nen-nen not nice"!
I guess it is now full of colostrum and not the milk he was used to, so it was a different taste and he didn't like it.
So no choice, I need to clear the engorgement myself. ;(

But after a few days and the colostrum turned back into milk, Khye was happily suckling again.
Khye asks for nen-nen when he wakes up every morning.
And so both of us has some bonding time before he wakes up and prepare for school.

So How Is Tandem Breastfeeding?

And so every morning, it was tandem breastfeeding session for my 2 kids, Khye and Vern.
It was a precious moment actually, a moment I do treasure.

And lastly, a random photo of my Little Sunshine at 35mo :)