How Do You Wean Your Baby off Beastmilk

One of my good friends slowly transitioned her daughter from breastmilk to rice milk (she's vegetarian) pretty easily. She added the rice milk to the bottles of breastmilk. She started off with a small ratio of rice milk to breast milk (like one ounce of rice milk to 5-6 oz of breastmilk) and over time she upped the rice and lowered the breast.

Her baby didn't seem to notice the transition (it took about a month in total) and her daughter laps up the rice milk like it's the best thing since sliced bread!

Good luck.

Congratulations for going the full year!!! I always stopped after a year and then wished I had gone longer!!My kids (3 of them) had no problem going from breast to whole milk. I actually started about where you are now, but I didn't use sippy cups. I went straight to regular cups. Kids should only be drinking while at the table (once you switch from breast of corse - lol) so regular cups are the best way to go. Also, then you can truly monitor the amount your child is drinking. I started around 11 months with mixing whole milk and breast milk in a cup and offering it at meals - a little before and a little after. Then when I had no more frozen breast milk, I cut the whole milk with a little water and the slowly started adding less and less water until my kids had whole milk. Teaching to drink out of a regular glass (yes I said glass as plastic cups will tip over too easy) is super easy as you just tell them to kiss the rim of the glass.

Good luck and I bet it will go easier than you think - the hard part is on you to give up breastfeeding, your daughter will be fine.

Well, here's how I did it... I transitioned by mixing breast milk with whole milk and slowly adding more whole milk until it was all whole milk. I did this in the bottle first and then started using a sippy cup (I used one with a straw). My daughter had already had water from a sippy cup so seemed to transition easily. I just gave her milk in the bottle/cup to replace one feeding at at time. The nighttime feeding was the last to go (from breast to bottle/cup). Good luck!

Very good you breastfed for so long! I did alos with my 2 kids. When I switched from Boob to whole milk I gave breast for 1/2 day and other 1/2 day was milk for about 2-3- days and then went straight to whole milk.. Both of my kids took very well. I made the transistion in a bottle.
Good luck. Your on the right path!!!

Go to www.kellymom.com for lots of good breastfeeding advice. It has always helped me. My son is too young to be weaned yet but I would trust the information on this site. It has never steered me wrong.

Try the Nubbe sippy cups. they have soft nipple like tops It works better to transition as I know a few people who swear by them!

Hi L.,

Congratulations on breastfeeding for the entire first year. At a year old, this is when their primary nutrition switches from coming from their milk to coming from their food. At this point, you can give her a cup of milk with her meals, and a drink in a cup with snacks. At this point, it's not necessary for her to have a bottle to fill her up at any point although she might like one if you do not nurse her at bedtime anymore - but it's important to clean her teeth after the bedtime bottle if you give one
Good luck!

Congratulations on making it a year! I too managed to make it to a year and although I loved breastfeeding - I took great joy in tossing my pump into a closet when I was finished! What I did...I continued to nurse & pump my normal regimen but replaced an ounce of breast milk with cow's milk in all her bottles. The following week, I tried 2 ounces in a her bottles - and eliminated one pump session...then 3 ounces, dropping another pump session etc. Soon, She was on total cow's milk in bottles and nursed from me in the morning and at night so that my breasts slowed down the milk production without risking a plugged duct/mastistis. When she was 13 months - we stopped completely - and I was almost a little insulted that she wasn't looking for my breast anymore! :) Good luck.

Hi! I am 41 and a mother of two boys ages 4 year olds and a 13 month old. I also work full time. I am still weaning. My son currently gets breast feed during the evening before bed. Like you, I wanted to breastfeed for at least a year.

I put the breast milk in the sippy cup before my son turned one. At times, he would just play with it. But after routinely, helping him tip the cup, he understood that the breast milk would come out of it. I also put water and juice when the pediatrician gave me the thumbs up.

After he turned one, I substituted the breast milk with whole milk. He took it like a champ! Hope this helps.

Hi L.
Congratulations on making the whole year! That's an accomplishment.

My four children all nursed without using bottles or sippy cups until they were around a year old; the first baby watched us drink from lidded cups with straws and switched over to those without complaint and then we also offered him the sippy cups which he took to well. We would offer to 'share our drink' with him and he thought he was getting a big treat! I remember the sense of relief I had when he took to the drinking straw. At the time, Tupperware had cups with lids and straw holes; maybe they still sell them? We still use them from time to time even though the youngest is 6 now.

For the water issue, I cut the juice I normally drank with water 50/50 and that seemed to work. The children were hydrated and didn't get too many calories from juices. I can sympathize with your daughter as I don't like plain water either.

Good luck!
R.

Ii would definitely not start with milk in a bottle. Go straight to those plastic covered straw cups if you can get her to drink from a straw. This worked really well with my own child. i would start by putting breast milk in one of those straw cups. If it works, day by day mix a little more whole milk with your breast milk to get her used to the taste. Eventually you'll have all the whole milk only. If she won't drink from a straw yet, you can do the same with a regular sippy cup.

Congrats on breastfeeding that long!!! Here are some suggestions that may or may not work... Try doing a breastmilk, milk combo in the bottles, or do the bottles with all whole milk and keep the breast feedings until you are sure the baby is taking the milk ok... There are also, more "bottle like" sipping cups that my son really likes. the Nuby has some great options, soft nipple like sippy cup top and they also have a bottle that is more like a straw top with a soft bendy plastic. Different babies like different things... I guess keep trying different options and eventually you'll find something that works...and good luck!!!