Talk to me about weaning...

agytay

I am ready to wean LO, and for the past 2 weeks, I have been doing the don't-offer-don't-say-no method. It does not appear to be working and he still nurses 5 times a day at 1 year (about every 3 to 4 hours). Any tips? Everything I read said to try to avoid going cold turkey. Do you end up replacing a nursing session with something else (e.g., food, WCM, etc.)?

Many thanks!

JCrew&Kittens

I have replaced sessions with cow's milk warm in a bottle, since my daughter doesn't like it from a cup. I started giving a couple ounces then nursing after. Then just stopped the nursing part for a session. We are down to breastfeeding three times a day.. good luck! Also, for what it's worth, it took my baby a while to get used to longer stretches. She probably dropped a session a month the last few months, know what I mean?

TiffanyBerry

I, and many others I know who did extended breastfeeding, found that there was a spurt of nursing in the 12-14month(ish) time frame.  AFAIK, for most kids, especially so young, don't-offer-don't-refuse isn't going to get them weaned in a few weeks, but over a much longer time period.  (But it can go faster when they're older.)

FWIW, my 22mo old nurses at least 5 times a day!  I think, at 12mo, she was still nursing ~8 times a day.

pepomntpat

I'm not really weaning at this point...though I guess after LO starts solids that starts the process. I am doing a combo of don't offer/don't refuse and distraction. I offer at the times I still want to nurse and I don't refuse other times, unless I don't want to nurse. Then I distract DD with something-either a snack or a toy or a cuddle depending on why she wants to nurse.

choppinbroccoli22

I started needing to try to lessen BF at around 1 yr of age when it was excrutiatingly painful to nurse and I bled. In order to heal, I had to space out the feedings more. I also wasn't responding to a pump anymore. Thankfully, she was just about 1 yr old so I started giving her a little cow's milk in between. But I never warmed any of her bottles up since she was born, so she took it right out of the fridge. She accepted it...most of the time. Sometimes she would come off the bottle screaming and bob for boobies. That's when I would just pick the scab off, and clench my teeth...  But eventually it was the beginning of the weaning process and she led the way from there.

 

dangerkitty102

I went that route also, wouldn't offer, wouldn't say no, but I would also try to give him WCM in a sippy straw cup first and see if he'd take that instead. 

For a month, forget it - no way he would take it. I should probably also note that he ONLY nursed, he wouldn't take a bottle either. When I wasn't around, he would take WCM in a sippy cup just fine. But when I was there, he wanted to nurse.

Between one year and 14 months I had a couple of business trips that lasted 3-4 days each. I thought after the first one that might be it (since he would have not nursed that entire time), but when I got back the first thing he watned to do was nurse.

Second trip, I got back, he made some subtle signs of wanting to nurse (but wasn't too demanding), I offered the sippy instead and he took it just fine. That was it! So we weaned at 14 months.

I think the gentle method is best, but it might take a while before they're ready. Just keep gently encouraging WCM instead of nursing. 

wonkatalia

DD self weaned so I had to go cold turkey.  It sucked but I just gave her WCM and weaned myself using the pump.  After about a week of stretching out sessions, I got some cabbage leaves.  Wore those babies for a whole weekend and I haven't had a problem since!  I don't know how they work, but they definitely do!