Pediatrician wants me to wean my one year old faster

jennyelf · May 2013

LO had their 1 year appointment yesterday. He's at 35th percentile for weight (down from 40th at 9 months). He loves solids, and generally eats well at meals, takes whole milk at daycare, and I mentioned that I was still nursing 3-4 times a day. Dr asked me when I was planning to stop and I said that I was planning to go down to just 2 over the next few months and stop completely by 2 years if we hadn't stopped earlier.

She responded that she'd like to see an earlier stop date. That breast milk was interfering with LO's eating and that if I don't stop earlier then LO might not want to stop and it'll be harder to wean. Also made a comment of how I might be nursing more for me than for LO (like you can nurse an unwilling toddler, they have TEETH!).

Dr was pro breast feeding when LO was under 1, but doesn't seem that on board with breast feeding post 1 year. Any one else run into doctors like this?

austenfan919 · May 2013

Your dr's comments don't even make sense...your LO might not want to stop if you go too long, but you are nursing for you and not because your LO wants to?

DD nursed until 15 months (and I would have gone at least to 2 years if she had wanted), and my doc never commented on it. The AAP recommends at least a year and then as long as mom and baby want. The WHO recommends 2 years. So your doc's concerns are not the general medical consensus. Please don't let the doc talk you out of doing what is best for you and your LO in this case.

brideinsummer04 · May 2013

I am very surprised and sorry to hear that. My pedi's office gives hand outs at every well baby visit and at his 15 month appt it says breastfeeding is still encouraged. What does your pedi think your LO should be drinking? Human milk for human babies makes the most sense to me. As long as you're offering solids before nursing so LO doesn't fill up on milk and not want to eat I think you should continue. My son is tenth percentile down from 25th but I think it's just bc of being more active and a picky eater with solids. If I were you I would print out some literature on the benefits of extended breastfeeding and bring it to your pedi along with what PP said about what the A.A.P. and W.H.O. recommend. The longer you bf the longer your LO gets better immunity to fight illness, I don't get why your pedi wouldn't support bfing. I would be very upset if my pedi told me what yours did and a pedi is supposed to be a ling lasting relationship so I would definitely discuss how you feel with them.

jennyelf · May 2013

Grr, now I'm looking at the CDC charts and WHO charts. On the WHO charts, LO is at 50th %tile at 12months and was at 50th %tile at 9 months as well, meaning no drop. Since WHO is a better chart for BF babies, my LO is doing just fine!

Contemplating switching pediatricians anyway (this isn't the only thing we haven't liked about her).

TJ1979 · May 2013

Um, what? For some reason this made me really angry. I agree with everything PP's said.

tokenhoser · May 2013

My pedi can want a pony, but I'm not getting her one.

Honestly, she's full of crap. I'd either ignore her or replace her.

Ken&Anna · May 2013

jennyelf:
Grr, now I'm looking at the CDC charts and WHO charts. On the WHO charts, LO is at 50th %tile at 12months and was at 50th %tile at 9 months as well, meaning no drop. Since WHO is a better chart for BF babies, my LO is doing just fine!
Contemplating switching pediatricians anyway (this isn't the only thing we haven't liked about her).

I would definitely find a new pediatrician who is supportive of extended BF and who follows the correct chart for BF babies. If you don't want to wean, don't wean!

jlpev · May 2013

I'm shocked that your lo is already drinking whole milk. We were always told to wait till 12 months with DS.

snicksnack · May 2013

Only thing my doc told me with DD, because she was small 3 percent on WHO chart and I was working, that if I was only nursing morning and night and not pumping while away to make sure she had at least 8 to 12 ounces of whole milk because she may not get that much nursing even if she was sucking it would all depend on how my supply did with decreased feedings.

jennyelf · May 2013

jlpev:
I'm shocked that your lo is already drinking whole milk. We were always told to wait till 12 months with DS.

LO is already 12 months. We didn't start replacing breast milk with whole milk until LO was 12 months old and it's only been 1 of the 3 feedings he gets at daycare. I still have a freezer stash so LO is getting 6oz of breast milk and around 4oz of whole milk at daycare. We did give him some whole in a sippy to see if he liked it and would drink it a week before he turned 12 months so we could figure out our daycare transition plan (if needed). Turns out he liked it, so at Lunch he gets a sippy of whole milk and breakfast and snack he gets a sippy of breast milk.

KrisM86 · May 2013

I'm sorry you're dealing with this attitude from your pediatrician! I see zero reason for you to hurry up and wean. If your LO is eating solids well and drinking milk, nursing is clearly not interfering with anything. If my pediatrician gave me this advice, I'd really consider finding a new one.

mexicolombiana · May 2013

tokenhoser:
My pedi can want a pony, but I'm not getting her one.
Honestly, she's full of crap. I'd either ignore her or replace her.

lol this.

litzo27 · May 2013

Oh good god. Another pedi (I think it's fair to say we see a post like this at least once a month). As others have said that advice does not make sense. Not from the nutritional stand-point, nor from the development one (for you, not him? M-kay).

For what it's worth my pedi for DS1 had a slightly less drastic position - he just thought BM has zero nutritional value after 1 year. Since I liked him a lot for medical issues I simply ignored his BM-stance. If you like your doctor in terms of the medical stuff I say just ignore her. My pedi for DS2 says "good job!" when I tell her I'm nursing him at 20 months (switched because of moving).

boogerbearoriginal · May 2013

Your Pedi is wrong, plain and simple. And if you've had other issues perhaps it's time to switch.

It makes me simultaneously angry and sad for parents when medical professionals give out such patently false information. Like PPs said, she's saying things against what the general medical consensus recommends. Nevermind that it's nonsense.

Plus, breastmilk is very calorie-dense compared to a lot of solids, and has a TON of nutrients especially vitamins and minerals. Why any Dr would recommend eliminating it is truly mind boggling. Oh here's this perfect, nutrient rich food, let's get rid of that and see if we can force a toddler to eat more broccoli. SMH.

tokenhoser · May 2013

It does make me sad that a doctor is giving out such bad advice.

I see a family doctor for my pregnancy, and DS sees her for check ups. It was his 2 year check up last week and my big pregnant self was nursing him (mostly to keep him from destroying the exam room) while talking to her, and the only things she had to say were supportive. She is worried about our health and as long as DS is healthy and so am I, my extended nursing is a parenting decision she's in no place to give advice on.

SummerOH · May 2013

Agree with PPs. It's sad that a pedi is giving out such bad advice, but unfortunately it's not the first time I've seen it. I've seen pedis push cereal in bottles, food at 3 months, CIO sleep training at 8 weeks, etc.

I would find a new pedi. If she's that out of date on BFing growth charts, what else is she out of date on??

Angela814 · May 2013

I'm in the "look for a new pedi" boat. Yours is wrong, plain and simple.

Pediatrician wants me to wean my one year old faster

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