# Teaching Toddler to Nurse



## wendygrace (Oct 16, 2003)

Does anyone know if its possible to teach a two year old who's never nursed how to nurse? My two year old was in the hospital for 6 months and on feeding tube until he was 16 months old. I just had my dd about 8 months ago and he's started to show interest in nursing but doesn't really "get it". He just puts his lips near my breast and makes sucking like noises but isn't really sucking either. Anyway, I figured if anyone would know if it was possible, they would be here.


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## MamaAllNatural (Mar 10, 2004)

It probably is not possible to teach him. Maybe the baby could? :LOL There's no harm in letting him try though and he'll probably even get a little bit. You could also hand express some into a cup for him whenever you want. That way he can still get some mamas milk and reap the nutritional benefits as well. HTH


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## LittleLegos (May 10, 2004)

I really don't know, but I would think it's worth a good try. You could explain how it works: tongue down, covering teeth, big wide mouth. You could have him practice with your finger for "suck training."

Help for reluctant nursers usually includes offering to nurse while the baby is in the the active sleep (eyes moving) or taking a bath together (awake).

Good luck to you!


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## doctorjen (May 29, 2003)

Yes, it may be possible! I belong to an e-mail list for professionals interested in breastfeeding called Lactnet and have read several stories of toddlers learning to nurse there. One woman adopted a baby who was tube fed, and got her first bottlefeeding and then nursing with a supplementer. I think she was younger than your baby, maybe around a year, but still way older than many people think it's possible to learn to nurse. Another member had an adopted daughter who learned to nurse at an older age, too, I think 3? Lactnet membership is limited to professionals, but the archives are open to the public. You could search there for help on going about teaching an older baby to nurse. Here is the link:
http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/scripts/wa.exe?A0=lactnet
Karleen Gribble on Lactnet has an interest in teaching older toddlers to nurse, searching for posts by her may give you some ideas.
Also, Darilynn Starr, who is the mom of the first baby I mentioned has a website mostly about adoptive nursing, but she has experience with older babies and tips on teaching them to nurse. Her site is http://fourfriends.com/abrw/
She also posts on Lactnet, so you could look for posts from her as well.
Good luck!


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## MamaAllNatural (Mar 10, 2004)

Wow, that's really cool drjenn!


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## wendygrace (Oct 16, 2003)

Thank you so much! Other boards would have asked me why I would even want to go through the trouble. None of that here!


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