- Pregnancy
- Baby & Toddler
- Parents
- Getting Pregnant
- Baby Names
- Product Reviews
-
Registry
- Community
-
More
Want a personalized experience?
Download the free app
Breastfeeding
Help! Desperate to wean 18 mo. old.
I'm in desperate need of advice. I'm hoping to wean my 18-month-old daughter. I have to go away for 2 nights in a couple of months, and I was really hoping to have her weaned by then. Not just for that reason, but because I'm feeling the need to be done. We exclusively breastfed, even when I went back to work for a few months... even when I was hospitalized for emergency gallbladder surgery... she never had any formula. Not that I should get a medal or anything, but I'm just feeling exhausted and starting to feel a little resentful. Most days we're still nursing 4 times (morning, before & after nap, and before bedtime). Some days, I get her to skip the after nap session with distractions. I just have no idea how I'll ever get her to drop the other sessions, because I nurse her to sleep. I'm just feeling very overwhelmed right now and anxious... any advice you could offer, I would greatly appreciate. I've read LLL & Kellymom's sites about weaning and have been trying all of their suggestions so far. She has no problem with regular milk and drinks between 2 & 3 cups a day in a sippy cup, but I have no luck in getting her to take the sippy cup right before bedtime instead of nursing.
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Help! Desperate to wean 18 mo. old.
I have read that the best way for both of you is to at most cut one nursing session a week, leaving the before bedtime feeding for the last one to go.
Good luck and congrats for BFing as long as you have!
I'm also trying to wean my 17 1/2 month old son. He is absolutley obsessed with breastfeeding. We are mostly down to once a day (sometimes twice), but he wants it all day and lets me know he wants it. He pulls down my shirt and pushes his head into my chest all throughout the day.
What I have been doing is trying to distract him with other things. He loves the cats, so I will talk about the "kitties" and he will want to look for them. Or I will sit on the floor and play with him.
Once he starts asking for a drink from me, I have to assume he is either hungry or thirsty, so I either give him a drink in his sippy cup, or put him in his high chair for a snack. This usually helps a bunch.
I also have my husband put him up to bed now because if I do, he expects a drink from me. So my husband will hold/snuggle him and he really enjoys that. That has eliminated the night time feeding.
Good luck to you!