So grateful we are still breastfeeding at 15 months

[BabiesEverywhere]

What a week.

Wednesday night DD woke up at 11pm and started throwing up every 15 minutes.

My DH rang NHS direct and I comforted DD who clung to me even whilst throwing up, we both were coated in sick. She was so unhappy and we were so concerned about her. Our daughter has never been ill before, except a sniffly nose for a couple of days when she was a year old.

We were advised to take her to the CHildren's A&E department just to be on the safe side. As she had fallen earlier and bite her tongue but she had not hit her head.

She ended up throwing up every 15 minutes between 11pm and 2am poor baby

We spent 3 hours in A&E on Wednesday night between 11pm and 2:30am, they wanted to keep her in but I refused (she wouldn't of settled on her own, she would of just screamed and been upset all night, I could not leave her) and they were only going to watch her, hence I did that at home ourselves

Interesting their suggestion was water with those nasty tasting salt mixes in them but as we are breastfeeding, breastmilk is much better for her and she doesn't need the salts as look as she can hold on to the breastmilk...I am so pleased we are still nursing

Thursday morning she was cranky, unwell but holding down breastmilk. We have been told to limit solids and stick to clear fluids/breastmilk

She is still ill today (Saturday) but much better. We are slowly trying to introduce solids (as she has been on breast milk and water for a couple of days)

She doesn't ask for food anymore and ignores most of the offered food.

She constantly wants to be attached to a breast, I know it is for comfort but it is a bit like having a newborn again. I can't do anything without holding and nursing her. If I stand her up for a moment whilst I stand up or something she wails.

I am so pleased that we have various baby slings to carry her in.

I am so pleased that we are still breastfeeding, I think it would have been even worst if I couldn't get any nutrients into her and the comfort she gets is invaluable.

I am also pleased we EC as her diarrhea has gone straight into the toilet and for that I am eternally grateful. She had enough control to ask for the toilet and we spent a lot of time waiting whilst the poo flowed out of her.

She pointed to her bits and said `Oh Dear' in such a quiet way?.poor love.

Horrible as this illness has been, it shows me that attached parenting definately works for us.

So we have been house bound for a while and will be home for a few days yet.
I just need more sleep and my healthy baby back.

Oh, poor girl

Really hope she's better soon. She sounds adorable and very patient - almost worse when they're resigned to being ill and just put up with it, isn't it?

It is not like my confident friendly daddy's girl to cling to me. I just wish I could be sick for her

I hope your dd gets better soon BabiesEverywhere. My ds has had a couple of bugs like this (not quite as bad by the sounds of it) and I often wonder how on earth I would deal with it if we weren't still breastfeeding. What I was the most grateful for was the fact that we could co-sleep and feed all night which let me get some rest to help me deal with the clinginess during the day.

Oh, I know that feeling too - I want to have tonsillitis for DS1 - he's another patient, resigned to it child when he's ill

Expressed some breastmilk for him to have in a cup though - he likes it a lot - "more than normal milk"!

We did co-sleep between 0 and 6 months, when she went into her own room

But we are napping together in our bed during the day with her nursing and it gives me chance to rest as well.

Wow, expressing milk for your son is so sweet. How old is he ? They do say that breastmilk is a good 'cure' for many bugs.

He's 3.7 - my 22mo DS2's still bfing though. Only express for him if he's ill - feels like I'm helping, iykwim? He has recurrent tonsillitis (3 times in 4m ) and was throwing up, so thought it would be a gentle way to get fluid into him, because he was even refusing water at one point.

How much did he drink hunker? I am guessing that it's such good stuff that he doesn't have to swig gallons of it for it to help him.

Oh your poor wee girl. I really hope she feels better soon - and that you can get a bit of rest.

We recently went on our first holiday after having ds1 (8mo) and he was v ill, refused food, high temp, wheezy breathing. Had to take him to A&E, and all was fine in the end, but if we hadnt been breastfeeding i dont know how we would have coped. It gives him so much comfort, and i know he is receiving the best nutrition i could give him. Home made medicine!xx

hoping your dd is feeling better soon babieseverywhere, what a shame for her, its so horrible when they are poorly

Yes, Giving breast milk to a child is such an act of love not just mere milk

Sorry to hear your DS1 is so ill, don't they remove tonsils these days ? I had mine out as a child after the first attack.

Wow, at the nursing 22 month old DS2. May I be cheeky and ask if you intended nursing so long and do you have a cut of point ?

My breastfeeding goal was 12 months and now I am not sure what we are going to do, so I take it day by day and see how things go.

Thanks pastilla

QUOTE i know he is receiving the best nutrition i could give him UNQUOTE
Yes, I so agree. My mother keeps saying are you sure you shouldn't be giving those (nasty tasting) salts in her water. As if I could get her to drink that kind of thing without brute force. My mum is concerned that breastmilk is no longer filled with the right nutrients etc and that a salt packet would be better

I've been given those sachets for ds before BabiesEverywhere. I didn't use them, I would rather his tummy was filled with breastmilk. They came in handy when dh and I had d&v last month.

Mawbroon, half an ounce or so about three times, maybe? He asked for it, which he hasn't since the last time he was ill - never does when he's well. Which, now I think about it, is very interesting! He was bfed till he was almost 17mo - he stopped when I was pg with DS2.

BE, I still bfeed for many reasons, but the main ones are I strongly believe it's a good thing for children to have breastmilk and DS2 loves it. I work full time (compressed hours, so only 4 days a week), so it's a nice way to "connect" at the start and end of each day, plus he sometimes asks if we're home when he has a nap.

I never intended to feed this long - but that's not because I had a cut-off point, more because I went "well, we'll take it a day at a time" - and we're both still happy about it, I know it's good for him, he tells me it tastes as good as apples, which, if you knew DS2, you'd know was high praise! He says "apple" randomly when he's feeling happy - he loves them so much!

Have you seen the reasons to bfeed a toddler list on Kellymom?

I know how you feel. We all had awful flu last week and were ill for over a week, really very ill and I was so pleased I was still bf ds2 (10 months) as he fed constantly day and night. Luckily we're also co-sleeping so that made it so much easier. He still feeds 3-4 times a night normally but whilst he was ill he fed most of the night.

2 of mine ended up on anti-biotics as well as they developed secondary infections Ds1 was allergic to his (2nd lot he's allergic to now) and they made him worse until we got a new lot prescribed.

Oh right, not huge quantities then. I was always rubbish at expressing and I doubt if I could muster anything much these days!

I love feeding my ds and it's getting funnier and funnier as he gets older. He was 2 last month and we have fantastic conversations when we feed. He did baby signing and he would sign to me whilst feeding while I talked about what he was signing but now he's pretty much dropped the signing and he pops on and off to talk to me. I also love it when he wants me to feed his teddies. Wasn't so sure about having to feed a digger though

Oh i cant wait to be feeding my ds when he's older, although at the same time i miss the intense feeding relationship we had when he was little. I loved the phase he had at about 5-8 months of blowing huge raspberries on me in the middle of feeding - he would do it then look up at me and giggle!! Now he is into contorting himself in weird positions whilst feeding. Aaahh its just brill!

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Doodledootoo,
The hospital never mentioned letting me stay and I did say that she wouldn?t settle without me, hence we would be better off at home. But I never directly asked, I just assumed it was like the neonatal unit at the other hospital where you can?t stay. (Luckily DD roomed with me on the main ward and went down with me to neonatal every 12 hours for tests and injections)
ECing is allowing a child to use a potty/toilet from a young age sometimes birth. See Link

pooter, Aww, it sounds like you have a wonderful nursing relationship with your DS. May it long continue.

mawbroon, we do very limited signs, unsurprisingly ?milk? was the first one she signed to me at 5 months old and still signs whilst nursing. It is cute isn?t it and I am so in awe of you feeding an 2 year old

JodieG1, I hope DS1 and DS2 are fully recovered from their secondary infections. It sounded like the whole family was ill, what a nightmare.

hunkermunker,
Thank you for sharing that with us. The apples thing is so cute
Yes, I have read the extended feeding Kellymom article, which outlined (amongst other things) the ongoing health benefits, which clinched us continuing until now.

My mum had been quite strong on the ?breastfeeding is good to a point, beyond which the mother is doing it for selfish reasons' attitude and had commented when I nursed DD at her first birthday party at MY house !!!

In my real life, with the exception of my friend with a 7 month baby no one nurses past 4 or maybe 6 months, so it is nice to talk to mothers who do, especially one?s who are winging it with no overall plan like us.

I recently read an article which concluded that the true weaning age of mammals is around the time that the animal lose their first set of molars and hence the ability to latch on. This would suggest the natural weaning ages for humans would be closer to 6/7 years rather than the more usual 6 months. Isn't that amazing.

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Oh god BE I'm so sorry your dd isn't well

I will try and call tonight but my voice is still shaky and I am still coughing.

When my dd was hospitalised (no choice, she needed to go on a drip) I was allowed to stay with her both nights she was in.

It was still horrible though and best avoided if possible

Shows how good your BM is if it is the only thing she can keep down

bugger, muppet name!

Tis TigerFeet xx

Babieseverywhere, your story reminds me of when dd2 became very ill aged 17 months with a severe diarrhea/vomiting virus, febrile convulsion and sky high temperature. She was admitted to hospital for three nights and I stayed with her for all of that time, bfing on demand. One or two of the nurses told me not to bf, but fortuantely I had the doctors on my 'side' who told me to carry on bfing. She was dehydrated and needed a drip.

Because I was bfing, she only needed saline in the drip and no nasty potassium that is often given to dehydrated patients, and is a very strong drug which can damage the veins so I was very glad she didn't need the potassium. The saline drip itself was unavoidable, and I am very grateful she had it; and the fact that I was still bfing her.

She had a constant stream of dirty nappies, thirty or so a day, and it was awful being in hospital with her in a cot and me on a narrow bed. As soon as we got home, I co slept with her making bfing and nappy changing far easier.

It took her more then a month to recover completely.

forgot to say, hope your dd gets well soon