Need Help to Begin Weaning...

You need to have someone (Daddy or Grandma) help out by taking these feedings. And you should try not to be around; go out with a friend to distract you!

A nice slow weaning process will likely work best for you and baby, meaning maybe even 6 more months to totally wean. I can only say that what we think we'll do before the baby is born and the reality of what truly happens can be very different. She's beginning food, she'll begin to drink other things too. It'll all happen in a natural course of time - with some organization and direction from you, she'll eventually wean. Drs. Sears & Sears, La Leche, Nursing Mothers Companion all are good & helpful reading material.

you're doing it the right way but slowly cutting back. D you have someone else that can feed her so she won't want to breastfeed? You might have to go "cold turkey" if she refuses a bottle from you.
Good for you for going 6 months. My daughter is 4 months and I wonder sometimes how i made it this far even though i do want to go as long as possible some days it just seems like another "job" to do.

Hello,
Why do you need to wean her? It sounds like you have a pretty good set up the way things are. Breast milk is always best- so why would you wean a baby who is doing so well, getting what is the best for her health and obviously needing the comfort that you give her? It doesn't sound like there is a particular reason why you need to wean her.
I say keep up the good work!
-S.

The La Leche League has a number of articles on going back to work while you are breastfeeding and making the whole experience easier on you both -

http://www.llli.org/NB/NBworking.html

Maybe something here will be helpful - I'm not really sure what else to point you to. I breast-fed my son until he was 11 months old. He weaned himself a little at a time, naturally, at his own pace - they tell you that's the way it's done - and that's pretty much what he did. Usually weaning isn't even an issue until they start solids - and you don't mention if your child is starting to eat solids yet - so I don't really know what to tell you.

With my son - I would take him into the bedroom, or the rocker, or whatever, and we'd sit, and if he wanted to nurse, he'd nurse, if not, we'd cuddle. As he started eating more solids, the "food-food" would hold him longer, so he wouldn't be looking so much for nursing time. I'd kinda hoped we'd make it a full year - they say that's the best to create the best immunities - but by 11 months he was only nursing at bedtime, and then finally he didn't want to do anything but rock a bit at bedtime.

I would let your daughter guide you - don't stress over it. Don't force her. Let your time together be a time of joy for you, a time to relax together, and be close and comfortable with each other. A unique time in your history together. There's really no other way, with a six month old, anyway.

Anyway - hope there's something there in those articles that is helpful.

Lis

Hi,
I really can't give you an answer to your question but when I was breastfeeding my daughter we lasted until about five months. Then when ever I would breastfeed she would be fussy and suck a little then turn her head and cry even though I was pumping about 9 oz by then so it wasn't an issue of not enough. We switched to the bottle and she had no problems. I hope that you can find a way to help. Maybe it is not time to stop breastfeeding?

My little guy (now 18 months) had a hard time with the transition to the bottle. We tried many different brands until one finally worked. And my husband had to do it and I was out of the house.

As far as weening I would drop one feeding a week. Ease into it for her sake and yours. I had a hard time when I stoped with engorement. I had to wear a sports bra 24 hours a day for a about a week to stop the demand.
-S.

As the mother of a 3 year old who breastfeed for 20 months (starting solids at 6 months) - I weaned her off of me with a bottle - BIG MISTAKE! If only someone had told me! I hear about it all the time - now that it's too late. I have a big girl that needs a bottle to sleep.

I really believe that to go from exclusively breastfeeding to not at all - is not a healthy way to wean. In my experience - the more solids my daughter acclimated to - the less interest she had in nursing. Start with not nursing at night and/or cutting out "snack time" on the boob. Get her use to not having it whenever she wants.
Also, I'm due any day now - and really really really - if he doesn't wean naturally and I have to nudge it - he will only be given sippy cups. For the 6 months of exclusive breastfeeding I will try to not give any bottle to him ever, b/c as tough as that is - weaning twice sucks. 8-)

Good luck!

p.s.
Look into "Sear's" baby raising advise. Dr. William and Martha Sear's. I believe they have on line resource if you did a search. They are a great supportive, yet non-judging resource.

Hi J.. Do you have someone else who can introduce a bottle to her? Have you tried a couple of different bottles?
I know One Step Ahead makes bottles that very much resemble the breast (www.onestepahead.com), and other moms have a lot of luck with the MAM bottles - which is supposed to be close to breastfeeding.
At 6 months you can also try a sippy cup, so that might help as well.
Lastly, your pediatrician might have some advice too.
Good luck!

My daughter is 22 months and only now beginning to ween on her own. What's the rush? It truely is the best thing you can do for your baby and is reccommended to be continued by the American Association Of Pediatrics until at least two years of age...save yourself and her the added stress!

I know it can be tough when you are working! My experience with my three boys is that they will wean when they are ready. My oldest did it at 11 months, my second at 10 months and my youngest is 10 months old and is giving no indication of wanting to stop anytime soon. Every child is different. I would check out those articles mentioned by someone else and see if that might help. But my suggestion is if you can nurse...why fight it? Good luck with whatever you do!!

H. Z (mom to Spencer 4 1/2, James 3 1/2, Wilco 10 mths)

Good for you, it's so great you could bfeed your baby for so long. I thought I would only nurse my 1st for 3 mos (or until she got teeth - which was 3.5 mos!)... but in reality she was 15 mos when we stopped the morning nursing. It just felt like the right thing to do for us. So trust your gut in when it's right to wean.

For help with the bottle - both my girls preferred the breast. My first wouldn't take a bottle until 5-6 mos, and my 2nd (now 5 mos) is just starting to accept it without flipping out. It takes a lot of patience and understanding. I would give her a bottle every day, I tried different situations - at home or out, while holding her close or letting her sit in her seat or bumbo, different people giving it to her, etc. My first would only take it while in her seat, my 2nd prefers being held. I didn't force the bottle on her, I didn't want it to be a negative experience. And sometimes I would take a break for a few days and try again. Finally she would start playing with it in her mouth then latched on and finished 4 oz a week ago. I was so happy. We have good days and not so good days with the bottle, but it's improving. So, good luck and keep at it. She will eventually take the bottle, or you can even give her a sippy cup now instead. I've heard of people skipping the bottle since sometimes they'll take a sippy cup easier. I hope this helps. Good luck!