Hellobee Boards

It's quite common for young toddlers to come to nursing at around the 12-15 month mark, they've often gone through that distracted phase and it's like they realise how much milk they've missed out on! It can also be tied into all the development (walking, talking etc) and newfound independence and nursing is their way of coping with that.

@DesertDreams88: Yes, my LO has gotten much more attached to nursing as time goes by. It came and went in phases of her being super pushy about nursing once we got home from work and other times more easily distractable. I agree with other posters that it was probably tied to other milestones she was going through. She turned 2 a month ago and we're still nursing and she finally seems to be losing interest in nursing during the day (thank goodness!).

Yes, DD acted like that around 13-14 months. I was weaning so she was nursing on a schedule. When she asked at other times by signing or by yanking on me I would tell her no and give her a cup of whole milk or a snack (depending on what time it was). If she cried I just stayed firm. I had to wean to go back on fertility treatments and I was ready to be done. She's been fully weaned for 2.5 months and had no issues adjusting to life without nursing. Sometimes she does stick her hand down my shirt when she's upset. I definitely discourage that and just cuddle her instead.

DS went through a phase of shirt-pulling and boob-grabbing around that time. He'd do it when I'd pick him up from daycare even! He may have been teething, can't remember, but part of it was separation anxiety and comfort nursing, as I'd just come back from a 2 week business trip - first time overnight without him! It lasted a month or two, but by the time we weaned at 18 months for various reasons he had no issues going cold turkey. A few times in the month following if we were snuggling in bed on a weekend morning he'd leaned over, pushing my tank top down and latched on. I was pregnant so ouch! Part of why we weaned. So you may be able to get pregnant nursing a couple of times a day. I did, but everyone's different!

While I certainly support those who opt to nurse longer than a year part of the reason I weaned the week of my DDs first birthday was to avoid this phase that would make weaning more difficult (like it did for my sister)