I Need Help Figuring Out How to Wean My 16 Month Old from Breastfeeding

I'm not sure what to tell you - I'm trying to encourage my 19 month old son to wean by the beginning of March too (I'm due with baby #2 in June). You *can* certainly breastfeed while pregnant - it's completely safe. Lots of moms see their milk supply decrease but lots don't. I haven't had any change in mine yet. What works best for me is distraction with my son - he tends to want to nurse when he's bored or hungry. So frequently finding something fun for him to do or feeding him some real food will cause him to forget about asking. It's probably harder for you since you're at home all day. I'd try and see if you can drop one feeding every few weeks. Maybe some days you can get her to skip the morning meal, but other days she just can't seem to function without it. We manage to skip my son's evening nursing about 2/3 days, but if he's had an especially long/busy/good day and asks for it, I don't really have the heart to refuse him.

I talked to a friend about this and she said she basically went cold turkey with her kids (she's also a SAHM). Said that she had to pump a few times for the following weeks to keep herself comfortable, but then it was done. She said that some of her friends who weaned older children had so much trouble they actually had to leave the house for a weekend and when they returned, they just refused to nurse. That seemed to work ok too.

Mostly, it just depends on how much of a hard-a** you want to be about the whole thing, and how adamantly you want to quit.

My son was 14 months old when he was getting constipated, and they asked how much he drank, and told me he wasn't getting enough liquid from me, and that he wouldn't drink as long as I nursed. He was utterly refusing the cup, hated them, but nursed like a champ. I stopped doing daytime feedings first rather than stop outright, and only nursed at night and first thing in the am. It took him a good week before he'd drink out of the cup. He disliked milk, so I spiked it with tons of syrup and he'd sip at it, it would take him a couple of attempts to drink a whole cup, then I backed down on quantity of syrup. His favorite was strawberry. Then we broke off the am feeding and bedtime nursed for another 3-4 months. I'd offer him real milk first thing in the morning when he was used to his am booby snack, and that worked. Then a few consecutive busy nights had him falling asleep before our nighttime ritual of nursing, so we just stopped it. He didn't miss it. He just turned two, and sometimes when he doesn't feel well, he'll nuzzle at me, and I miss it. Don't be pressured like I was, work out your own pace. But if she's not going for regular milk, maybe try mixing in some carnation instant breakfast or syrup for fun.

We sound almost the same! I have three boys ages 10,5,and 3. My oldest 2 have ADHD and my 3 year old has horrible asthma as does my daughter who is 16 months old. I am also having the same dilema with weaning my daughter. She will drink from cups and she goes all day at daycare without nursing but as soon as she gets home she is ready to nurse. I would also like to meet other moms that have children around my children's ages and have the same problems.

I just wanted to say that your daughter won't necessarily wean herself just because you are pregnant now. I thought that and I'm 35 weeks pregnant now and my daughter is still going strong, more than ever lately, b/c I think it's turned to colostrum already.
I also wanted to say that if you still do decide to wean her, I wouldn't worry about her not drinking milk. Make sure she has water so she's hydrated but milk is really not a necessary part of a toddler's diet. She needs fat and calcium that can come from many other sources besides milk.

I read on your other question that you are pregnant. She'll most likely wean herself really soon. Your supply will decrease and change taste around second trimester.

How often does she nurse?

I nursed my daughter until she was 26 months. The last 6 months or so was really just nursing at bedtime. She also started taking breastmilk (pumped) in a sippy cup when she was about a year old. She still doesn't drink cow's milk which is fine with me.

I'm more of a "they'll wean when they are ready" kind of mom so the only advice I can give is "don't offer, don't refuse."