What's the deal with weaning at a year?

aimeelclark · September 2012

I bottle nurse DD who is 11 months old. All of my mommy friends are a buzz about the impending 1 year mark when they are going to wean their babies (switching to whole milk and totally cutting out bottles). I totally disagree with forcing DD to stop all bottles and use sippees, but I am curious what the AP thought is on this subject.

spaceunicorn · September 2012

While the majority of my mommy friends do stop breast feeding at a year, I do have several mommy friends who are still BF'ing and their LO's are about 2 years old. I think that there are probably more people out there still BF'ing their kiddos after a year, but in today's society it is sort of taboo to still breastfeed over a year of age, and they just don't talk about it because they don't want to be judged... (Not that I agree with society!)

danienross · September 2012

My understanding is that bottles need to be cut out at a year for dental health. Bottles can affect how the teeth grow in. Doesn't mean you can't put what was in the bottle in the sippy though.
Someone else may have more input though. My DD started refusing bottles at 4mos old so we had nothing to wean. We continued to nurse well past the first birthday though.

PurpleDrewbie5 · September 2012

danienross:
My understanding is that bottles need to be cut out at a year for dental health. Bottles can affect how the teeth grow in. Doesn't mean you can't put what was in the bottle in the sippy though. Someone else may have more input though. My DD started refusing bottles at 4mos old so we had nothing to wean. We continued to nurse well past the first birthday though.

Yes this. I think the main reason for weaning from the bottle at 1year is dental health. Also, it may be harder to get rid of after a year. I am working to wean DD off of my breast by a year, it will probably be more around 13-14 months but that's okay. I am just tired of breastfeeding and I'm really hoping that my breasts go back to a normal size after stopping I also want time without breastfeeding before TTC again.

tokenhoser · September 2012

Cutting out bottles around a year is a good idea - for dental and mouth development.

But there's no need to stop breastfeeding or giving breastmilk. A lot of moms here in Canada wean at a year because they return to work; it's a shame, as I've had zero issues continuing breastfeeding without pumping or doing anything special.

boogerbearoriginal · September 2012

Ditto pp regarding bottles having detrimental effects on teeth/mouth.

And I also think it's partially spillover from FF culture. Everyone I know who FFs was/is excited to switch to WCM at 1yr because it's cheaper than formula. I think a lot of people push that after age 1 it's time for food/cows milk because that's what toddler's are "supposed" to eat.

Since BFing at age 1, much less beyond, isn't as common as FF the standard of what is done is skewed towards that method of feeding/weaning.

There is nothing wrong with continuing to offer breastmilk - whether nursing or the sippy - after age 1. In many ways it is better than cows milk in terms of nutritional makeup and of course the continued immunities. There is evidence that a child's immune system isn't fully developed until age 14! Obviously no one is still nursing at that age, but the benefits of BFing last well past age 1.

orangecurls · September 2012

With my first, we didn't stop bottles until he was 17 to 18 months old. He had been getting straw cups of water and juice since he was a year. He was not falling asleep with a bottle and we regularly brushed teeth.

With Number 2, we are still brestfeeding and I don't think we'll stop until 18 to 24 months or so.

pixieprincss · September 2012

Ditto PP that it is likely a carryover from the formula school of thought so
a) cow's milk can be started at 1 year and is cheaper than formula
b) the bottle/teeth thing

Personally, I believe in baby-led weaning (both in terms of the solids method and in terms of extended BFing). BM is incredibly nutritious even beyond a year. There is a picture floating around FB right now about this (copy here). Also, BFing has such great benefits for soothing sore, teething gums; soothing emotions; hydration and nutrients on-the-go; closeness, etc. Plus, WHO recommends BFing at least until age 2. It is a healthy thing! Also, children do not have to ever drink cow's milk (we don't offer it to DS1), so the replacement idea does nothing for me.

DS1 self-weaned at 18 months and even though that is not uncommon when mom is in late PG (I was 37w PG), I was a bit bummed. I am so glad that he did it on his own timeline, but I do wish he was still getting the nutritional benefit (I am actally considering offering him BM in a cup now that I am producing a ton of milk again.)

Here is what Kellymom says about BFing after 1: https://kellymom.com/ages/older-infant/ebf-benefits/

sweetpea2003 · September 2012

Put your breastmilk in a sippie cup. Voila! Bottles aren't good for dental health and there is nothing cruel about transitioning to cups. I honestly think they are cleaner (less parts, less chances for bacteria to grow, etc) and more convenient overall (less leaky and can be transported more easily). I truly HATE bottles so I always wonder why people keep them around longer than necessary.

Both of my kids transitioned right at a year old with zero issues. I stopped nursing my kids at about 10 months both times, did frozen milk from my stash until 12 months, and then slowly weaned to cows milk then. Neither of my kids had an ounce of trouble with it.

LouiseB2001 · September 2012

I read your question as weaning the bottle (nothing to do with weaning from BM and nursing). I was quite worried about the bottle because, yes, all recommendations tell us that bottles should be fazed out at 1 year. DD was still taking a bottle (and nursing, but that was of course not the issue) when I was working and away at night up until 19 months. I was really worried because I felt she loved her bottle and it was a comfort to her. However, in the end she dropped it herself without any problems. She simply used it less and less and at Christmas we forgot the last bottle at my parents' place, so she had to fall asleep without when we had babysitters. The 1 year rule is great but sometimes there are other issues and letting you LO have a bottle on occasion is not bad I think as long as it will be fazed out gradually.

ILoveRunning · September 2012

I don't have much experience because DS was never very attached to the bottle. However, I am an extended breastfeeder and can see why some parents might not want to wean their child from the bottle so quickly.

All of that being said, your question reminded me about a post on the fearless formula feeder blog that I once read that makes a case for extended bottle feeding (sorry not clicky)-

https://www.fearlessformulafeeder.com/2012/05/the-case-for-extended-bottle-feeding/

I'm not an expert, and neither is the author, and she does acknowledge the possibility of dental issues, but ultimately suggests that it is up to the reader. It seems to me that middle ground that would be true to AP spirit would be to slowly wean your child from the bottle in a thoughtful manner, leaving the toughest bottle for last. You do need to eventually wean, but I don't think that it would be the end of the world to let your child have a bottle every evening before their teeth was brushed for another 6-8 months.

SunnyMuffin · September 2012

I dont understand it either, I think a lot of moms make a 1 year breastfeeding goal and some reach it, and decide they are still enjoying it and want to continue.. and others are eager to stop?

I do think it has to do with making a goal though

sbevmc09 · September 2012

The 1yr thing is totally arbitrary. Yes, if you put your child to bed with a bottle or let them walk around all day with one it's going to negatively effect their dental health. If that's what you do now then I do suggest you move away from this soon. If they're only taking a couple of bottles then IMO you should get rid of them when it feels right.

DS was no where near ready to be taken off of bottles at a year old (nutrition-wise). Once he really started eating a variety of table foods we decreased the number of bottles he got per day, but he took a bottle before nap and bed up until he was probably 20 months old. He only had it when we were giving it to him and it was definitely a comfort thing. He still refuses milk out of a sippy cup so we were very hesitant to take it away. I was unable to breastfeed so I was also going to miss the closeness we got from those feeding times.

Anyway, I don't base my parenting decisions off of a calendar and that includes the bottle issue. While I do think it's not a good idea to let them have a bottle all day long once they're older or to put them to bed with a bottle in their mouth, I don't think there's any real reason why the bottle has to be taken away at exactly a year old. Wait until you know it's the right time and trust your instinct.