Recently it seems that my 11 month old son is starting to ween himself. For about a week he no longer seems interested in nursing in the morning when he wakes up. Then last night he was not too interested in nursing before he went to sleep (VERY UNUSUAL). He also usually wakes up at about 4-5am for a feeding and goes back down. He did not last night. I wouldn't mind this too much except that he has food allergies (milk and egg) and I know that nursing gives him immunoligical benefits so I want to nurse him as long as I can. I did recently add a midafternoon snack (soy yogurt) that I think I'm going to cut out. I also told my nanny not to give him a TON of cereal in the morning. I'm thinking if he is hungrier he will nurse. Any advice on this would be appreciated.
I nursed my daughter for a prolonged period of time as well and once she was over 12 months she nursed less and less until it totaled maybe 10 minutes per day. We also chose prolonged nursing due to allergies. However, I think following the child's lead is important and, unless, you want to restrict solid intake, the more solids they eat, the less they nurse.
Hi JG- I nursed all 4 of my kids for about 15 months- they did start to cut feedings on their own around a year. Just because your son is dropping a feeding it doesn't mean he is done nursing.
I have been told nursing is a team sport and when one of the participants is done the game is over. Ususally it is the mom who is done- but like all parenting sometimes you can let your child lead. I know especially during the winter months we hope our milk will keep our baby healthy (and especially in your case with the food allergies)but see what happens when he leads. It may not be that he's done nursing, just that he is dropping that feeding
Good Luck
Beth
JG:
some of it may be a matter of spending more one on one time together..
call if you want to talk.
P.,RLC, IBCLC, CST
Lactation and Parenting Solutions
www.lactationsupportgroup.com
It may be a temporary "nursing strike" - kids will rarely actually self-wean before about 18 months. Sometimes kids do this if they have a cold or ear infection, or just because they're feeling stubborn.
I agree cutting out the afternoon snack should help. Is your nanny giving him juice at all? You can cut this out too, as it really has no benefit and just fills him up. As long as he's getting a couple meals (of breastmilk) in each day he will still be getting benefits from it. I would continue to offer him the option to nurse frequently and chances are he will pick it back up again.
Are you still pumping at work? If you have a pump at home I would probably go ahead and pump if he skips a nursing session - that way he can have the milk later in a bottle, cup, or mixed with cereal. Plus, it will keep your supply up until he decides to nurse again.
Why not try feeding him other foods. My children were eating what we ate at 1 year. There are lots of foods that don't have milk and eggs.
