Weaning

stacee55j

So I'd really like to wean now that my son is 1 but I'm just not sure where to start. Up until now we've been nursing 6 times a day he doesn't do bottles. The doctor said he needs 16 oz of milk now so how do I cut back consumption and nursing sessions for a cup? Has anyone that EBF started the process? What did you do or plan to do? How's it going so far. Sample schedules? I tried to first cut out his mid afternoon "snack" nursing but he's not happy about it. I tried giving him a cup of milk which he'll drink but he still wants to nurse. I don't even know if I should be offering him any milk at all at that time since he only needs 16oz of milk. And I know it's interfering with his solids at dinner cause he's hardly interested. Please help!

lp0

Weaning took about a month for us. I planned to stop on his 1st birthday but my supply had gone down and he started to get frustrated while nursing so we stopped the week before. I started by cutting out the feedings during the day, one by one. I transitioned him onto a bottle even though I should have probably gone to a sippy cup. I felt like it made weaning from me much easier on him. Then I eliminated the night time feeding and lastly the morning one. Once he was completely off the boob I started introducing the sippy cup during the day and he gets the bottle in the morning and at night. That's where we are now. I think slowly stopping like that was best for me too because it helped with engorgement. I still got it a little but it was minimal.

sarenu1

I only breastfed mornings and evenings (daycare during the day).  But what I did at night was limit the amount of time to breastfeed and then I offered a bottle.

I would start by cutting out the daytime feedings by either offering a sippy cup or a bottle.

For the night time feeding, I had my husband offer her a bottle.  It was really hard for me to feed her a bottle at night.  It was a fight to get her to take the bottle, but after a 1-2 weeks, she just takes the bottle now.

Mornings are still a little hard, because she wants to cuddle with me and feed.  But I just offer a bottle and then give her cheerios/crackers until she gets to daycare.

 

js13524

With my son, I started cutting out nursing sessions on his first birthday. Starting with the ones during daylight hours and then ending with the one right before bed. We dropped one every few days and never had any problems. I started a few months ago with my daughter. She seems more attached to breastfeeding than my son was. We've cut out a feeding only once a week. Two days ago, we cut out the naptime nursing and all that is left is the nurse right before bed. She didn't drink much from a sippy cup either, but has gradually taken more and more as she nurses less and less. Same with solids. She eats a lot more now that she doesn't nurse too often. Each time we've stopped a nursing session, she is fussy around that time for a couple days. That's why I've only dropped one a week. Just take it slow and start with the less important feedings and work from there. He may be upset about it at first, but I think thats probably normal. Just hang in there and don't be discouraged. GL

stacee55j

Did your baby nurse to sleep for naps? Mine does and I'm not sure how ill get him to sleep. Did you have to do any kind of sleep training? I'm dreading this but I'm also over holding him for his nap especially because I know he isn't getting the sleep he needs during the day because he is still fussy when he wakes. : Sometimes I feel like I've done everything wrong!

dyg201

I'm in the same place..not sure where to start. He nurses to sleep and at daycare he gets a bottle before naps. Since he turned one, I no longer pump and he gets WCM in the dc bottles. I know he technically doesn't need it bc I'm still nursing 4x a day, and I know I should have given him a sippy but I thought it would betoo many changes at once. Today I skipped the after work feeding and he did ok so I might keep that going this week. I'm also concerned that he doesn't eat enough solids so Im hoping this will get better as he nurses less.  Eventually I will have dc start the milk in sippy and no bottle before naps and see how it goes.

You're not alone!! 

js13524

stacee55j:

Did your baby nurse to sleep for naps? Mine does and I'm not sure how ill get him to sleep. Did you have to do any kind of sleep training? I'm dreading this but I'm also over holding him for his nap especially because I know he isn't getting the sleep he needs during the day because he is still fussy when he wakes. : Sometimes I feel like I've done everything wrong!

DD did nurse to sleep for nap times. Now that I don't nurse her, I give her a sippy cup while rocking her. Then we cuddle for a little bit and I put her in her crib. She does cry a little, but she's been doing better then I thought. I know not everyone likes 'cry it out', but it's the only thing that has worked for us. I think she will do a lot better once we get blackout curtains in our room. It'll probably just take some time for you two to adjust to a new nap time routine. And you may have to try different ways to get him to sleep. You are not doing everything wrong!! I mean, you nursed him for a whole year!! That's quite an accomplishment! I always tell people that when it comes to parenting that I'm just 'winging it'. They think I'm joking, but I'm not! There is so much parenting advice out there, but each child is so unique, you just need to find what works best for you. Trust me. My kids are so different from each other. I used to feel I was a first time mom agian with DD! Don't worry, you are a good mom!

stacee55j

Thank you all so much! Your posts have been really encouraging and it makes me feel better to know I'm not the only one! I feel like everyone I know is on a baby wise kick and that is just not for us! But then again all of their kids sleep and mine is laying across my lap napping right now!

mrs.larry

stacee55j:

Thank you all so much! Your posts have been really encouraging and it makes me feel better to know I'm not the only one! I feel like everyone I know is on a baby wise kick and that is just not for us! But then again all of their kids sleep and mine is laying across my lap napping right now!

oh, but is there anything better than holding a sleeping baby!?!? I'm all for crib naps but sometimes I can't bring myself to put that baby down.

I know it seems daunting and like it will never all work out - but I assure you it does! With my first I was nearly in a panic and kept putting off weaning because I didn't know where to begin. But in the end it went smoothly just using distraction and the "don't offer don't refuse" method.

GL!!

mrs.larry

stacee55j:

Did your baby nurse to sleep for naps? Mine does and I'm not sure how ill get him to sleep. Did you have to do any kind of sleep training? I'm dreading this but I'm also over holding him for his nap especially because I know he isn't getting the sleep he needs during the day because he is still fussy when he wakes. : Sometimes I feel like I've done everything wrong!

 You're not doing anything wrong. there is not one right way to do it. I did nurse my first LO to sleep for naps. When it was time to wean (he was a bit older - nearly two, but you could modify the approach) we switched from nursing in the rocker for naps to reading a story in the twin bed in his room (he was still in a crib at night) then after the story we'd snuggle together till he fell asleep. we still do this at 3.5 most weekend days. Is it the "right" way to do things? probably not. but it provides us that closeness that we might have otherwise lost through weaning, and it makes both parent and child feel good. It works for us. You'll find what works for you! but don't feel like you must follow certain rules or methods. There are many many ways to bring up well adjusted happy kids.