Weaning from breastfeeding

DolphinLover2002 · September 2016

Hey everyone! I haven't been around for a while. My twins will be 16 months on Monday. My plan is to start weaning them. They still nurse a lot. My son self weaned by 13 months, so I never had to do that. I am not sure how to go about this.
The girls nurse about 8am, 10am, 1pm, 4pm, 7pm and 10pm.
So my question is, how do I wean them? Do you cut one feeding a week? What order should I cut the feedings out? I'm completely lost. Any advice is great! Thanks in advance.

ciennah99 · October 2016

I'm following along for input. My LO seems to nurse a lot when I'm around but really no set times. I try to offer her alternatives like milk in a sippy, water or a snack during the day so we can stick with nursing just mornings and nights and before naps. When she gets closer to two if she is still nursing a lot I may try the "mommy milk at night" only. Sometimes I get worried she is nursing too much still but then I tell myself it's okay since the WHO recommends nursing for the first two years of life, just seems like most people think that it is strange to nurse a toddler. I would think cutting one day feeding a week would be a good way to start. Maybe give a snack at the time you normally nurse?

KonaCoffeeBean · October 2016

I'm trying to cut out nursing in public right now. Mostly relying upon distraction and redirection. Mixed results.

delujm0 · October 2016

I'm only nursing twice a day now (when we get home for the day, around 5:20, and then at bedtime). I'm really hoping she will self wean but it's not looking likely. I'm TTC again now, and if I'm not pregnant by the end of the year I will probably force her to wean...I'll probably do "don't offer, don't refuse" until we drop the 5:20 session and then change up the bedtime routine to get rid of the other one (maybe daddy will put her down instead of me or something).

I won't lie, I'm hoping I'll get pregnant and when that causes my supply to drop she'll take that as a cue to wean herself. She doesn't need the BM at all at this point, it's just comfort. She gets at least 12oz WCM a day, eats tons of solids, and drinks s bunch of water, so I'm not worried from that standpoint. I just like her to have the bonding, comfort, and immunity benefits as long as she wants them.

caitlincunn · October 2016

I weaned lo at about 13/14 months in August for mainly my wedding in September and honeymoon. She was nursing 5 times A day. I can't remember which one I stopped first but i think the second morning feeding, then the mid afternoon, so I was left with the morning when she woke up, middle of the day, and before bed. I just kinda went with it. every few days or a week I would drop another one. Finally dropped the middle one. Then had to figure out how to do the morning. It actually was easier for her to drop the bedtime feeding so I stuck with the morning for a little while until we were ready and I needed to be done. Good luck! And can't believe your nursing twins that much still, that's awesome!

janat1717 · October 2016

KonaCoffeeBean said:

I'm trying to cut out nursing in public right now. Mostly relying upon distraction and redirection. Mixed results.

My guy is nursing more now in public. When he gets nervous and after the playground. We can actually walk down the road and nurse at the same time

bwow615 · October 2016

I'm also trying to wean... we are still nursing at night and if he wakes up in the middle of the night and then when he gets up.
Weekends are my downfall because i nurse him before he naps so he falls asleep. I need to break that.
This week I am going try to eliminate the morning session. Day one is actually today!. Then hopefully I will be able to stick with it through the weekend. I am hoping my body is able to adjust quickly. I feel like LO nurses more for comfort than need. We actually found a new milk, "Ripple" that LO will actually drink. It's plant based, made from peas. Anyone else try it yet?
@DolphinLover2002 I think you are on the right path by slowly eliminating nursing sessions. Keep us updated on how it goes!

DolphinLover2002 · October 2016

Today is day 2 of dropping one nursing session. I cut out our 1:00, because it's right after lunch, so I just give whole milk instead. It seems to be going ok so far. Hope everyone else is doing well too !

virginiaunicorn11 · October 2016

janat1717 said:

KonaCoffeeBean said:

I'm trying to cut out nursing in public right now. Mostly relying upon distraction and redirection. Mixed results.

My guy is nursing more now in public. When he gets nervous and after the playground. We can actually walk down the road and nurse at the same time

Oh that's awesome! I have stopped nursing in public because my kid can't stay focused and I don't like being so exposed every 3 seconds. I've never used a cover and I'm a big proponent of BF in public, but...not if the dude can't pay enough attention to actually nurse. If we are close to bedtime and I know he will actually drink, sure.

I've just been away from him for 40 hours and only pumped twice, so am curious whether we will just fall back into our routine or if this will start the slow decline. I'm ok with whatever. I plan to follow his lead til he's 2 and then re-evaluate...or not, we shall see.

bwow615 · December 2016

We are officially weaned! I am having a minor surgery tomorrow with anesthesia and i'm sure some heavy pain killers following. This was kinda the push I needed to start the process. I have a lot of emotions towards the whole thing, but I am happy that he is adjusting just fine. We were down to only nursing right before bed for a few months now, and the occasional nursing to nap on the weekends. It took 2-3 days for us to completely wean. I only fed him for a few min on one side before bed the two nights prior to going cold turkey. I am honestly surprised at how easy this has been for us. Nearly 18 months of bfing, and my first goal was to make it to a year, and that was a stretch for me. So many struggles along the way.

delujm0 · December 2016

I think DD officially self-weaned from her last feed tonight...she cut the other one about a month ago. I'm 12 weeks pregnant now so I suspect my supply is about gone. happy to have my boobs back until June, but I wish I had known that last night was the last time. she had zero interest in latching tonight and just wanted to be rocked instead.

bwow615 · December 2016

congrats on the pregnancy! @delujm0

Weaning from breastfeeding

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