Nursing and Older Kids?

Question

Wondering how moms of older children explained nursing to them? I'm a scheduled induction this Saturday and my two older sons are 6 and 8. While nursing is beautiful and natural and 100% normal I can see my almost 3rd grader being confused and grossed out by it. Do you cover ? Do you explain in full detail? Do you just do it and explain as you go and let older kids watch?  I'm not sure how my kids will react and I want to introduce it to them in a way that doesn't totally gross them out every time the baby is hungry. Any helpful tips of what worked for you ? Thanks!

Answer

My 7 year old stepdaughter watched me nurse my daughter all the time. I didn't cover. I just explained its how she eats. She asked why not just do formula and I explained this is how baby's have ate for 1000s of years and if the mommy can and wants this is a way to do to. It's what they're actually for. And she was like okay. Haha and never mentioned it. My almost 3 year old saw my friend nursing yesterday and was just looking and goes baby eat? And i said yup baby eat and she goes okay. And moved on haha.

Answer

My baby is due next week and I have talked to both of my kids about it for a few months. I wanted them to be prepared and they both are actually really okay with the idea.  They may think it's unusual at first when he gets here but I don't think they will be uncomfortable bc I've made it a point to talk to them about it. My daughter is nine and my son is 6.

Answer

My mom did it in front of me and my younger brother {he was 6ish at the time}. She didn't cover but it was never weird--to me it was almost fascinating in a way. And she just explained that's how the baby ate and we never thought anything else of it.

Personally, I think you should do it in front of your kids. As a girl, I felt a lot more confident about breast feeding my own baby because I had seen my mom do it and I knew she would be able to help me. My fiancé's mom never breastfed her kids and he'd never been around anyone else who had--so that made him really hesitant towards the idea of me doing it. I truly believe that if he had seen the success like I had as a kid, he would've been all for it from the get-go.

Answer

My oldest son is 11 and at first he was so "grossed out" when I would feed my LO but after explaining it to him and having multiple discussions about it he came around. I think the fact that I did it with no cover whether he was in the room or not helped to normalize it for him. I am all for breastfeeding whenever and wherever my baby is hungry and I rarely feel the need to cover. I want my son knowing at a young age that it is normal and natural so maybe he won't grow up to be one of these adults who are super offended by a woman feeding her child in public. Society has sexualized a woman's breasts to the point where it's not ok to use them for their one intended purpose. I think by showing my son that it is not only ok but completely natural I am helping him become a more mature adult in the future. Everyone has their opinion though, this is just mine.

Answer

I have a 8 year old and a 4(almost 5) year old.  Both have been explained to that the baby will be nursed. My 8 year old was very accepting at the age of 4 that I was breastfeeding. She seems very ok with it now as well.  I personal think it is what you make it.  If you are nervous to do it they will feel that vibe and most likely mirror it. If your confident in it they will be more receptive to feel good too.

Answer

My niece was told that women nurse their babies just like animals do and that's why women are made the way they are so they can feed the baby and give the baby what they need (she told me this when I was nursing my son) She took the news well. Though I covered she still insisted on peeking on my son while he was feeding. I thought it was a neat way to approach the subject for a child.

Answer

We took our 4yr daughter to a sibling class they touched the subject there and called it mommys milk. My son is almost two weeks and everytime she hears him cry she is the one telling me to give him my nipple so he can have mommys milk because he's hungry.  The only issue she is having is that she wants to help feed him with a bottle so I explained I will pump milk later on so she can help. Kids are very understanding and have clean minds so as long as it's explained to them ahead of time they will be fine.

Answer

Just say baby is eating. That was enough explanation for . mine

Nursing and Older Kids?

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