If you’re a mom experiencing nursing challenges during your pregnancy, remember that you’re in good company with plenty of other moms. With a variety of tools and responses to draw from, these challenges will only make your relationship with your child stronger.
One approach is to take the pressure off you by creating an environment in which your toddler’s support system is more varied and diverse. When nursing was easy, it may have been the most natural thing in the world to turn to it often for nutrition, emotional balance, and sleep assistance. If you’re pregnant and have begun to experience nursing problems, you may be looking for some alternatives.
Invite Others to Help You Parent
This is a perfect time in your life to build your support network and include others in providing the nurturing and companionship that your toddler needs. Do you usually meet your toddler’s wake-up with a nursing session? Experiment with having your partner go in to greet him. You may be able to bypass a nursing session, and your child and partner will benefit from having new ways to bond. More solutions like this will only help you when you are tandem nursing.
Pregnancy nursing solutions do not all have to come from you. Are there times during the day when you get a lot of requests for nursing? Invite grandma over, schedule a playdate, or offer another fun activity. You may find that distraction and stimulation nourish your child just as effectively as a nursing session.
Nursing Nutrition
A well-fed child will feel more balanced and resilient. In addition to providing tasty meals, think buffet. Have a constant supply of healthy snacks easily accessible throughout the day. If your child has multiple ways of reaching out to meet her own needs, she may not turn directly to you as frequently. For a mom nursing during pregnancy, focusing on meeting your child’s nutrition needs in varied and fun ways will also help you nourish your growing baby as you share wholesome meals.
Expand Your Sleep Solutions
If you usually nurse your toddler to sleep but are feeling great reluctance to do so, try going back to some of the comforting, soothing techniques you used when your child was younger. She may drift into sleep just as easily and peacefully during a car, stroller, or carrier ride.
Another common nursing challenge during pregnancy is the child who wakes during the night and uses nursing to settle again. Try placing your nipple just one inch further away than you usually would. Some toddlers are soothed enough by the proximity and scent of the nipple to drift back to sleep without latching on.
When you make your toddler’s support system more varied and diverse, you’re laying a good foundation for your whole family before the arrival of the new baby. Because nursing challenges during pregnancy prompt you to make changes that will benefit the whole family once the new baby arrives, they may be one of your greatest gifts.
 |
