the old lemon juice trick - does it work?

[chubbachupp]

I posted recently about my 21 month old ds being obsessed by boob. He has a 2 - 5 minute feed about 20-30 times a day. This has gone up a lot recently as for over a year, in order to avoid this frequent feeding, I went out twice a day to distract him but I've recently moved to a new city and don't know many people and, quite frankly, I decided I'd had enough of feeling like I had to go out all the time so decided to spend more time at home, hence the frequent feeding.

Whenever I get overwhelmed or frustrated I moan to dh (for some support) but invariably get the response "just wean him". I tell him (as always) that it doesn't seem like an easy task and I feel like I just can't do it on my own and then (a bit pathetically) I just don't think I can do it, I'm going to have to let him self wean when he's ready. There must be a reason for this. He usually responds with: well that's because you don't try hard enough. This usually makes me very upset and I regret broaching the subject with him in the first place.

However, I DO feel that bf this amount makes me feel depressed and fatigued A LOT OF THE TIME, which makes me so apathetic to the stress of trying to change things.

My dh has recommended to try lemon juice to help dissuade ds off boob. Has anyone got any experience of this? does it work? do you think it's cruel?

One of the reasons I'm inclined to give this a go is that my in-laws are coming to stay for a few days soon and I'm not looking forward to the constant top-pulling every 5 minutes. I just know they will think it very odd and I will feel embarassed....

sorry so long, wanted to give a bit of background!

and sorry this is a negative post about breastfeeding, I am very pro-breastfeeding but I feel like i am in an extreme situation.

thanks

:( :( So after a lovely, loving bf relationship, your DH wants to end it with your ds thinking breastmilk tastes horrible?! And that this won't upset him?

Your doubts are perfectly justified!

If you search nursing manners on mumsnet there are some great ideas for teaching toddlers to learn how to be considerate and patient, if the constant requests and top pulling are getting you down.

Toddlers can learn, they really can.

Do you think he has been unsettled by the move too? You could plan some activities at home, my DD is only a couple of months older than your DS and she enjoys scribbling with crayons, sticking cut out shapes onto paper with glue etc. You don't have to go out.

Is there a breastfeeding group nearby where you can meet other mums that are BF toddlers? I started going to a LLL group and it's nice just to sit in a room with other mums and not have to feel like you're doing something weird or abnormal.

Never heard of the lemon juice thing so can't really advise on that, sorry.

I'm not sure if he is unsettled by the move because he's been like this for nearly a year, always wanting loads if we are in, so i go out. Although he's just started a bit of a pulling/pushing phase which is another reason i've stopped going to all these new playgroups as i was paranoid about getting a reputation!

we do loads of stuff at home, i've bought loads of things to do recently but yet, we can be having a lovely time and he can seem totally engrossed in what he's doing an then suddenly, his face drops and he comes over and wants boob.

that's a good idea about the breastfeeding group, i will investigate. i need to find mums who are experiencing the same thing as i think i've been feeling a bit insecure and lost my confidence a bit with the move away from my old friends.

i will check out the nursing manners link properly too, although he's not talking yet, he's very good at 'no' but 'yes' doesn't happen much, and i wonder if the aggressive phase is due to his frustration at not being able to communicate....