Average Weaning Age Before 12 Months

I did not attempt to wean until my son was 12 months, he did have the big slow down in weight gain at 6 months too. At 12 or 13 months I decided I would let him decide when to wean. He chose much sooner than I wanted. :)

Pediatricians here in Canada would never recommend a mother stop breastfeeding. At most they might suggest supplementing with formula. Women receive one year paid mat leave here so that they can breastfeed. I weaned at 12 months with both boys. I didn't want to be messing around with formula at all.

I've had two preemies. My first was always in the 3% or less on the BF growth chart. Even when we calculated in her prematurity she was always very, very low on the chart. BUT she was growing just at her own rate. All babies are different not all of them follow the chart. My ped never made me feel like I was doing anything wrong. Along with her being a preemie we took into account that all of the women in my family are small. She weaned herself at 18mo and is now 4yo. She has 'caught' up on the growth charts and is considered 'average'. I sometimes hate those stupid charts and I really hate doctors who have zero knowledge about BF and bully moms into weaning too young. Yes sometimes babies do need formula for various reasons but I would argue that the majority of the time they don't and it's just an uninformed doctor telling a mom who is just as uniformed what to do. I'm now BF my second preemie who is 14mo and don't have any plans to stop until he wants to. He has never had any weight issues :)

Never listen to Doctors unless your kid is severely underweight. I always just smile politely when the doctor tells me my kids are in the 20 or 30% for weight. When they start using breastfeed baby charts, then I'll listen ;-) My doctor also tried to tell me to let my first CIO. His job is the care of the body, my job is the care of the soul and spirit. Like I said, I smile politely.

My kids weaned, i.e. stopped breastfeeding, between 12-15 months. I would assume my third will do the same. I have a thing about teeth. When they have a a bunch of teeth, I think it's time to wean them, or rather, breastfeeding is no longer enjoyable to me, so I offer a cup.

I am currently (literally, right now) nursing my 30 month old child. She never had a bottle in her life, and still doesn't drink cow's milk. She drinks water for meals, eats healthy, etc...and the WIC lady just told me the other day that she has "too much weight" for her height. You ought to see her...she's skinny!!

I would like to wean, just to have some freedom...it's time. It's hard. I don't know. But don't let anyone convince you to do it when you're not ready, because it's been proven over and over that nursing CONTINUES to be beneficial to a child past toddlerhood and potentially into the wacko range of 8 to 9 years. (Okay, I'm NOT going to be that mom, but still, you get my point!)

my ped was awesome. my daughter was in the 5% for weight and I was concerned and she told me not to worry as long as there wasn't a sudden drop in the babies weight. She told me to nurse as long as I wanted and that she will grow at her own rate. I nursed for 10 mos and quit due to repeat bouts of mastitis and thrush. She finally hit a major growth spurt at about 4 and is in the 40% for weight :)

My Dr. was concerned by my daugthers weight, but when I said I pump and bottle feed her and X is the amount she is getting he was okay with that and we found out that she has acid reflux. Once I got her on the meds, she gained a little better, but frankly she is pettite.

I think if I did not have enough expressed milk they might have wanted me to try putting her on formula. But I dug my heels in and I would not budge.

Frankly, most kids weigh too much.. but they want to pick on the pettie ones. I am lucky that our Dr. was observent, but not pushy. I think he felt that sicne I coud say she was eating X amount.. BM or Formula did not make a difference. For the record, my daughteri s 18 months, She had Breast milk for 12 month and then we weened her and she is only 20 lbs right now. Yep.. tiny girl, but happy.

Nursed both mine for 19 mths. First child rolled in fat! Second fairly skinny but no pressure from doc. They had regular milk in a bottle at 9 mths to 14 mths.

My daughter self-weaned prior to a year old. She just wasn't interested.
She preferred a bottle and formula and thrived quite well.
I wasn't ready to give up nursing, but she was done.
Even though my daughter was very little, she was extremely healthy otherwise and the pediatrician wasn't concerned at all. My baby received nutrition in other ways.
Breast fed is always best, but some babies, for whatever reason, aren't that into it.
My son, on the other hand, would likely have breastfed for who knows how long. He loved it!

My grandson was exclusively breastfed in the beginning. My daughter went back to work, and truth be told, the baby didn't care if he got the breast, formula from a bottle, he didn't care as long as he was being fed. She was lucky in that regard. He was easy and happy.

When to wean is different for everyone. I cold turkey'd my son at 15 months due to my own health issues.

Both of my kids are great and perfectly healthy, well adjusted, etc.

Best wishes.

I breastfed my son way more than a year(He was a preemie). When approached by his pediatrician about weightgain, I didn't wean, but supplemented by feeding him rice cereal and oat cereal mixed with breastmilk at about 10 months I think.

He still seemed to not gain, but I didn't wean. I ate very healthy, and still ate for two to supplement the milk.

He is now seven, and four foot tall. He's still considered underweight.

I gave his pediatrician a food diary, written by him, regarding what he ate in a typical day, including healthy and non-healthy snacks(ie. potato crisps and the rare chocolate bar).

He said my son ate enough for two full grown boys a year older than him, and chalked it up to high metabolism, and him being tall(I still giggle at this because everyone told me that he'd be short because he was a preemie!).

Here's a question for you Mama:

Do you eat healthy? You still need to be "eating for two" if you are exclusively breastfeeding. Eating a good variety of proteins and vegetables and dairy will make your milk richer. If you can find one in your area, look up either a direct entry midwife, or a certified nurse midwife and ask them to refer you to a nutritionist. They tend to specialize in dietary needs of a nursing mother, and might be able to steer you in the right direction.
Make a food diary and a feeding diary taken over a two week period, and give it to your ped.

If your son is healthy, if a bit underweight, I'd not be too concerned.

Just my 2 cp.

Is the pediatrician even aware that there's a completely different chart for breastfed babies?

12 months with #1 and 18ish months with #2. My pedi only said we'd watch their iron intake around 6 months, but he encouraged me to keep taking my prenatal vitamins while BF to help with that.

some babies are just small. as long as they are growing, what does it matter about the growth chart. It is a percentile based system, which I personally don't put a lot of stock in.

I would encourage you to (if you want) aim for 9 months :) from my friends who stopped before a year, that was the goal they aimed for.

There are many reasons why a baby may not be gaining weight sufficiently.
It depends on if a baby is latching on properly, as well. If a baby is not latching on properly, for example, the baby may not be getting sufficient intake. Therefore, a Lactation Consultant can be asked for help.
Also, some babies may be tongue tied. This affects the efficiency of how a baby latches on as well, and if the baby is getting enough intake.
Intake.. .also depends on if a Mom is producing enough milk, per her baby's needs. This is why, nursing on-demand (not by a 'schedule') is important, because if a baby is nursed on-demand, then the Mom's body will adjust to HER baby, and milk production will reflect her baby's needs. The flow and supply of milk, is also affected by how a baby nurses.
During growth spurts, a baby naturally will get more hungry more often and will need nursings more frequently. Hence, nursing on-demand.
For a baby to nurse long enough to reach the "hind milk" it takes about 15 minutes, they say.

Many factors, affect a baby's weight gain or not.

In infants, they have growth spurts every 3 weeks, then at 3 months, 6 months, 9 months and every 3 months.

For the 1st year of life, breastmilk or Formula, is a baby's primary source of nutrition. Not solids. Solids, is not as nutritionally dense, as breastmilk or solids. Per our Pediatrician, for the 1st year, breastmilk or Formula should still be given on-demand. And, if on solids, baby should be breastfed or given Formula first... then solids. If given solids first, baby will be too full, to nurse etc.

Also at about 6 months, babies get more active. They are crawling or rolling around etc. and it is a growth spurt period. A time of many changes in a baby.

If the drop in weight is sudden... maybe that is why the Pediatrician is concerned about your friend's baby.

My kids were exclusively breastfed, but they did not slow down in growth/weight at 6 months old. I have never heard of that.

Anyway, my kids self-weaned. And that is just me and what I did. Each Mom being different.

If your friend is concerned about her breastmilk... then she can always see a Lactation Consultant.
My friend, for example, her baby was not growing on par etc. She was nursing. She finally saw a Lactation Consultant... and she learned that her output, was not sufficient and she was not nursing baby enough and baby was not latching on well. So once her output was improved and baby's latch was troubleshooted and she nursed on-demand, her baby got better. But that is just one example. It is not the case for everyone.

I'm just starting to wean my LO who just turned a year. She's very slender and tall and as long as her weight stayed on her growth curve the pedi never had any worries. The only reasons why I'm weaning now are because she still doesn't sleep and I'm starting to lose weight that I can't spare.

My ped never pressured me, even though my daughter was on the small side (my son was big). Her weight gain was consistent for her though, so they weren't too worried about it. However, at her one year checkup, they did feel she was underweight and had us come back a month or so later for a recheck. At that time, they looked at her on the World Health Org chart, rather than the American Academy of Pediatrics chart and determined that she was right on schedule for a breastfed baby. In general, the AAP chart is a better measure for a formula fed baby and the WHO chart is better for a breastfed baby.

If your child's weight gain is consistent and also is in line with his height, don't worry. Glad to hear you're not going to wean just because of this. Do it whenever you feel ready.

I weaned my son at 14 months and my daughter at 16 months. Lots of people I knew did it much sooner (many were done at or before 6 months). I always say just do what works best for you.

My first son was breast and bottle fed (we had an accident when he was a newborn and I had to exclusively pump for 2 months. Lost a lot of milk). He breastfed/bottle until about 14 months.
My second son nursed until 18 months (no formula)
My Third, daughter, nursed until 16 months.
L.

Both mine weaned at about 9 months, and it kinda happened naturally. I worked full time, so I pumped. Eventually, I was pumping less and supplementing more and more with formula and food. My goal had been 6 months with both, so I was pleased it went to 9 months.

Absolutely no issues from the pediatrician.

I weaned when my daughter was ready for food.

My problem with your ped is that they didn't recommend supplimenting the breast milk with formula. Why does it have to be one or the other? If bf is something you want to do until they are a year or 9 months, I don't see why it needs to grind to a halt because of slow weight gain. I BF my daughters until they were over a year.

I am at both ends of the spectrum. With my first, she had an undiagnosed posterior tongue tie, and I was told she was failing to thrive, needed to be hospitalized, and put on formula at 8 weeks old. We went to numerous pediatricians and lactation consultants during those first 8 weeks. The doctors all advocated formula, the lactation consultants tried everything in the book, and told me it must be my milk production because they could hear her swallow when she latched on. I was constantly engorged and having to pump, so I knew it was not a lack of supply. Finally, the last lactation consultant figured out the problem, on a friday afternoon appointment. She encouraged me to nurse, then follow each session with 1 oz pumped milk until I could get into the MD on monday to clip her tongue. One oz out of one bottle and she flat out refused to nurse again. We spent 24 hours in a power struggle with both of us crying alot, and gave in and started bottle feeding. I pumped for 1 year, and she was exclusively bottle-fed my milk.

My second will be 2 Jan 2013, and is a still a full time nurser (she eats solids normally). She hates pasifiers, won't touch a bottle, and will only use s sippy cup if I am not home (and then will only take my milk out of it). I have had pediatricians tell me I need to wean, and even a nurse tell me that all babies should be weaned by 9 months, and average weaning age was 6 months (I laughed at her and told her that the WHO disagrees with her and reports world-wide average weaning age as 3 years old, and recommends Breastmilk until age 2). So yes, american ped offices are not real reliable about good BFing advice.

My plan is to wean the day after my dd's second birthday, as I am really ready to have my body back and only holding out because I know it is in her best interest. I will also say that I am pro breastfeeding based on the science. I really don't enjoy BFing, and never have. I have had every BF problem in the book, and I sincerely hate pumping. I know many women love it, and some don't but I think it is a worthwhile commitment to make for your own health and your baby's health regardless of if it is enjoyable or not. Just my 2 cents :)

Two of them weaned around 3yo, one at 18mo, and one at 2yo. I am not a believer in "child led weaning" and there were different reasons for weaning when he or she did.

I stopped listening to doctors regarding how I'm raising my kids after our first family doctor scared me out of a homebirth with my first child by telling me an untrue story about someone she knew that died because she was at home (I went on to birth only with midwives after that and two of them were at home). The World Health Organization suggests nursing a MINIMUM of two years for the full nutritional and immunological benefits. I threw that into any conversation when someone was trying to convince me to wean my babies before we were ready. WIC was the biggest offender, truth be told. Breast milk is the BEST food for babies, period. To try to solve a weight problem by switching to something less nutritious like table food or formula is counter-intuitive, imo.