My daughter is almost 14 months old and still nurses in the middle of the night and once during the day. She drinks milk from a sippy without a problem, but prefers nursing when she's tired, cranky, sick.. I have no idea how to cut her off without feeling like a horrible mother! She'll cry and fuss and whine, and I know if I just give in, she'll stop and fall asleep while nursing.
I nursed my son until 6 months and had minimal protests when we quit. I wanted to go longer with my daughter, but now I don't know how to break the habit. She'll wake up 2,3,4...times a night. She only gets nursed one of those times, usually the middle one, and she throws a fit the other times when she realizes that I'm not going to take her out of her crib to nurse her. Daddy puts her down and has very little problem getting her to fall asleep. So, I think we could get through cutting off the night time feedings (it's so much easier to nurse her back to sleep than stay awake for half hour or longer trying to get her to get herself back to sleep without it..expecially after already getting up a few times during the night). The day time is the worst. Yesterday, she threw a huge fit and refused to fall asleep for her afternoon nap. Then she was just miserable for the next few hours until I finally gave in and nursed her. She took her nap and was in a perfectly good mood afterwards. I would continue nursing and let her self-wean, but we are going on a 3-day trip the first week in December and her aunt is watching her. I'd like to be completely weaned by then, so it won't be so hard on either of them. My daughter is very strong-willed and determined to get what she wants! She's a fiery redhead!..lol
Thanks!!
Well you say you are trying but you "keep giving in".... if you are serious about weaning her you have to stop giving in so she knows it's for real ;)
I breastfed my son for 14.5 months. He weaned himself naturally at that point. I suggest cutting out the nighttime nursing first, and then gradually weaning her from the daytime nursing. Have you introduced cow's milk? You could supplement it slowly to decrease her need for breastmilk.
I feel your pain! My son is doing the same thing!! i have gotten him to sleep through the night, most nights. I had to just let him cry. the first night was awful. he cried forever! i would go in after a half hour or so and let him know I was there and rub his back, maybe walk with him a bit, and then lay him back down and tell him it was bed time. he goes through phases. sometimes he'll sleep all night and sometimes he still wakes up once. usually if i let him cry for a few minutes, he'll go back to sleep. we're leaving for a week in november and my husbands cousin is keeping both of my kids, so I'm extremely nervous about the nursing! However, when I'm not around, he goes to sleep for other people wonderfully and sleeps for 2 hours at a time for naps! we haven't started weaning during the day yet. I'm interested to see what others have to say. it amazes me how different my children are. My daughter was never this difficult!
You have received some great responses. I am in a similar situation with my 2.5 yr old boy. However we just moved and we no longer live with my parents so I am not pushing the weaning since I the move has been a big a change for him and I have noticed that nursing seems to comfort him. You could try the vinegar thing, I was thinking of trying that as well in a couple of months, it's the night time nursing that is really getting tough for me. Plus we co-sleep so it's even harder to wean from the night time thing. During the day distraction is best, I just try to give him attention in a different format, playing together, reading, watching a movie, etc.
I have heard of women taking a trip to wean, so you may not need to worry about the weaning before your trip, the trip may actually work for weaning anyway! Actually that was what my PED recommended for us when my son was 1.5, at the time I wanted to self lead wean,but now that he is 2.5 and still nursing I am not so sure he will stop without a little encouragement! My PED recommended a 3 day trip overnight, being gone for the night was the most important, so your trip could be the ticket! I might end up doing that in a couple of months as well, he may have a weekend at Grandma and Grandpa's in the near future. Keep me posted on how it goes and what you decide! Good luck (:
I just weaned my 13 month old just over a week ago. He was doing the same thing where he woke at night to nurse. He wasn't nursing during the day though. I decided to try giving him a bottle with milk in it for a week and then I went to a sippy cup with milk in it. He wanted nothing to do with the cup, so the following night, I just went into his room and said, "it's time to go night night. You need to sleep now. He cried for about 10 mins and then went back to sleep. That was 3 nights ago. He wakes up a little, but so far he has been putting himself back to sleep. I had never heard of anyone doing this, but it seems to have worked. As for during the day, when she wants to nurse, try the milk instead. Either in a bottle or cup. Good luck.
I've shared this info with many on the forum. I nursed both my boys until they were almost 2. My 2nd boy nursed all night long off and on. To wean him, I put vinegar on my nipple. When he tasted it....he was done, and we talked about how his milk got yucky. Then, if he would try to lean in to nurse I would give him a kiss so he knew he was loved. As for naps, my daughter grew out of naps at around 15 months (mostly because our house was noisy w/2 older brothers) and has been sleeping so much better at night since then.
Good luck!
chances are, when you arent aruond, it will be easier for her to "forget" about it.
however, i know how you feel; my son would accept no substitutes... he was STRONGLY attached to nursing, and then after a nearly week long trip to illinois (he came with us, we were just busy) he just weaned on his own at 20 months.
it IS easier to just let her nurse to sleep. and theres nothing wrong with it either. if it fulfills her need, and gets you all more sleep, you cant argue with that. i would much rather get my sleep that worry about weaning.
what i would do is just try to avoid those times or places during the day that you normally nurse. move the furnature, whatever you have to do to avoid sitting in the location that you normally do that nursing session in.
or try other things, like reading books, watching a movie, or something, to see if she wont be distracted enough to not worry about nursing. start your naptime routine earlier if you have to.
but even if shes not weaned by december, just dont worry about it. the more you stress over it, the more shes going to think its a big deal, and shes gonna want to be comforted a lot more. i would really think that she would self wean just by being separated. you could return and tell her that they are "broken" or something, or just let her find out on her own. after 3 days, they are going to make less milk, and with only nursing 2 sessions, theres not a lot there anyway, so it might just frustrate her enough to give it up.
OR, if you are ok with nursing her, dont worry about it at all. if she still nurses after your trip, then alls good. if you dont want to nurse her anymore, just take the vacation and tell her they are all gone after you return. ive heard that it works for a lot of moms to specifically take the trip to wean their babies. :) so i think you are doing just fine. :)
I feel for you. I am going through the same thing with my 14 month old little boy and he too is a little redhead. LOL....I'm experiencing the same thing exactly. I posted on here as well asking the same thing. Here is the link to my question along with the replies I received:
http://www.mamapedia.com/questions/1713164118011281409
As you will see I got mixed responses. I wouldn't mind extending but I really need to get back on some medication that I can't take while nursing. I don't know really what advice to give you since I'm struggling with it as well. I just wanted to let you know you aren't alone and also to share what I had posted and the responses I got. Hang in there and stay determined. Gotta love those redheads!!
