How do I wean my toddler?

Re: How do I wean my toddler?

• GrayGhost13 member

  August 2012

  We're going very slowly, as I don't think either of us is really ready to stop yet, but here's what we've been doing. I am already away from home most of the day on weekdays, so I'm trying to stick to a no daytime nursing schedule on weekdays and days off too. I just offer either milk or a snack. DS won't always take cow's milk, but he has to be in a realllly bad mood to turn down cheese or a banana. Sometimes I also try to play with him or distract him until he forgets he asked as well.
  

  We still nurse in the morning when we get up, in the early evening and before bedtime. (With a couple recent and really crappy exceptions, he pretty much STTN). I am not sure what we're going to drop next ... maybe the early evening feeding. I am already trying to limit feedings in the evening down to just the main two. I have a feeling bedtime will be the last to drop, but we're taking things gradually, so I'm trying not to stress about that yet.
  

  
  
  

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• TripMomma member

  August 2012

  I could have written this. I am so ready for Jericho to give up the boobie, but he is not. He would nurse all day and night if I let him. I have him down to before nap...if he naps that day, and then before bed...he gets up 2-3 times a night too. UGH. I think we are about to cut his middle of the nights cold turkey, I will give him a sippy of cow milk and that will have to do. I also baby gate myself into the kitchen sometimes to keep away from him during the day. He will literally attack me, tear at my shirt, hit, pinch and bite me if I am near him and he wants boobie but I won't give it to him. I never thought BFing would end up going this far. If we ever have another child I am really on the fence about EBF again, this part has been hell...and he never did get on any kid of a schedule...which was also hell. LOL. Please share if you find anything that works for you!

  

  Xander, Hayden & Lily 5 1/2 and Jericho 3 My Blog!

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• bosha711 member

  August 2012

  I started replacing the daytime sessions with WCM in a sippy at 12 months. Then the before bed session, and lastly the early morning session. I thought the before bed session would be the last & hardest to cut out, but DS sorta weaned himself off of it. He was nursing for shorter & shorter periods of time till one night I just tried putting him straight in his crib without sitting to nurse first & he went to sleep no problem. So I just followed his lead with that one.

  The morning session was the last to go b/c my supply tanked at approx 3 months pg with DD. He was biting me b/c nothing was coming out & that was the end of it. I was ready to stop, but tears were still definitely shed!

  I was lucky in that once I started replacing sessions with WCM, that he wasn't asking to be BFed. He never pulled at me or verbalized wanting it.

  For the sippies, he did like WCM, but wouldn't drink a lot at first. There was a period b/w 12-15 months where he maybe drank 8 oz total per day. I did the chocolate milk trick, too. I think that in combination with just time passing, he eventually took to plain WCM just fine. Now I have to ration it out during the day so he doesn't drink too much!

  GL, girls. 

  
  
  

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• pitterpatter129 member

  August 2012

  I'm not sure I'll be much help, because Nate was ready to wean when we did, but... First I flat out refused to nurse any other time than morning, nap, bedtime.  Then, we weaned from all naps first.  It helped start to set up different sleep associations other than breastfeeding.  Then I weaned from the night nursing before bed, same thing, I was trying to sleep train about the same time anyhow.  Then we weaned from the morning.  There's the "don't offer, don't refuse" method where just don't ever offer to nurse and only let them if they flat out ask for it.  And the other ladies and you have mentioned distraction and offering other food.  You can also just take it away cold turkey and deal with the aftermath of that, but I'm not sure I would go that route.  I read somewhere where a mom put bandaids over her nipples and told her kid they were hurt or broken.   I got lucky because once I got pregnant, Nate wasn't all that interested anymore.  He would nurse for about five minutes and get down and he accepted the sippy of milk instead pretty easily.  I think he asked to nurse about three times after I quit offering and then never again.  The other day he pretended to latch on on the outside of my shirt and then laughed like it was hysterical and that's the last of his interest.  It was kind of sad, but I agree it's nice to have my boobs back for a few months.  Fingers crossed for you.

   

  

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• tiffanyp member

  August 2012

  Well at least there are others to commiserate with      

  TripMomma, I feel your pain. Avery has just started waking up in the middle of the night again (followed by an early morning wake up), after months of doing pretty good. I need to quit that cold turkey too before it gets out of control. Let's do it tonight. Are you in? 

  letranger, maybe you'll get lucky and LO will self-ween when (if) your supply drops. I feel like my supply is nearly zero, but it's not stopping her from trying to nurse as often as possible. She may be trying to nurse more to make up for the low supply.

  GrayGhost, I've also been having some luck with distraction techniques. If I give her chocolate milk or juice, put on Yo Gabba Gabba, and leave the room, she *usually* forgets that she asked to nurse. Of course that doesn't stop her from asking again 30 minutes later.

  Maybe I should just leave town for a few days and come back when I'm dried up completely.

  
  
  
  

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• tiffanyp member

  August 2012

  pitterpatter129:

  I'm not sure I'll be much help, because Nate was ready to wean when we did, but... First I flat out refused to nurse any other time than morning, nap, bedtime.  Then, we weaned from all naps first.  It helped start to set up different sleep associations other than breastfeeding.  Then I weaned from the night nursing before bed, same thing, I was trying to sleep train about the same time anyhow.  Then we weaned from the morning.  There's the "don't offer, don't refuse" method where just don't ever offer to nurse and only let them if they flat out ask for it.  And the other ladies and you have mentioned distraction and offering other food.  You can also just take it away cold turkey and deal with the aftermath of that, but I'm not sure I would go that route.  I read somewhere where a mom put bandaids over her nipples and told her kid they were hurt or broken.   I got lucky because once I got pregnant, Nate wasn't all that interested anymore.  He would nurse for about five minutes and get down and he accepted the sippy of milk instead pretty easily.  I think he asked to nurse about three times after I quit offering and then never again.  The other day he pretended to latch on on the outside of my shirt and then laughed like it was hysterical and that's the last of his interest.  It was kind of sad, but I agree it's nice to have my boobs back for a few months.  Fingers crossed for you.

   

  Thanks for sharing your experience. The "don't offer, don't refuse" method clearly does not work for us because I haven't offered in months, and she literally asks me 10 times per day, either by giving me the milk sign or crawling up on my lap and pulling on my shirt. Lately, when I refuse, she'll even ask my husband! She'll poke his chest and give him the milk sign. It's hilarious.  

  I think I'll have to do some sleep training along with weaning as well. Right now she goes down for her nap and at night super easy but she practically falls asleep while nursing. I guess I have some work to do!  

  
  
  
  

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• lrn327 member

  August 2012

  We dropped the morning session very last at 15 months because he still seemed to need to snuggle in the morning.  He has replaced that with running, haha!  We still give him a sippy of soy milk right before bed because we like that time to read books with him.  That was the easiest transition actually!

  

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