Dear mamas,
Does anyone have advice or experience on how to wean a 13 month old who still wants to be breasfed? I have tried for several weeks but he pulls at my shirt and cries terribly so I give in and breastfeed him. He eats some solids and drinks whole milk but still wants to be breastfeed about four times a day! I am about to put him in a new daycare and I don't know what to do about the breastfeeding situation! Please let me know if you have any advice.
I just wanted to thank the mamas that responded to my plea for help! This is really one of the most difficult things that I have ever had to do but I am very happy that I breastfed my son! Thanks again, I appreciate it very much.
The best thing to do is to dry up your milk supply. He'll want to be breast fed, but once he notices that there's nothing there, he'll want that bottle right away, my pediatrician recommended putting cabbage on the breast, and that dried it up right away. Weaning from one thing to the other did not help me at all, it just seemed to be confusing. Best of luck.
I just weaned my 22 month old. I was going to go all the way to 2, but I got pregnant and it just hurt too bad to continue. He used to nurse at nap/nighttime and also during the day when he felt like it. First I cut out the daytime nursing. I told him it was only for nap and nighttime. I had to be firm, but I was never mean. I couldn't bear to just cut him off cold turkey. That went pretty well. Then my plan was to cut out the nap/night nursing. That wasn't as easy (as I expected). I told him the milk was going bye bye and to say "I love you/miss you milk". It wasn't super easy, but he did get the point eventually. That probably took about a week. And that's not to say that I didn't cave a few times. I just kept repeating that the milk went bye bye. It helped him to kiss my boob and touch it. I guess it comforted him in some way. Anyway, he is now totally weaned and my nipples can recover somewhat before #2 gets here.
Good luck! I was really dreading it, but honestly it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be.
Hi C.,
I don't know if you have heard of Dr. Sears, he has written several books and he has a website where yoy can read about questions such as yours.("ask Dr. Sears") You can email questions to him but there is probably no need because most questions have already been asked and answered on his website.You can email me if you need the link, otherwise just google his name. He is one of the greatest resources!!
Good luck!
C.,
Don't worry, he will wean himself when he's ready. I breastfeed mine till he was 15 months old and I also felt like it was way past time. He will become more interested in his table food. Give it a few months and see how he's doing. Sometime it's the closeness, try giving him his bottle with whole milk but this time, hold him without your shirt on.
Sometime it's just comforting to have a skin to skin contact.
Best of luck!
Val
