My baby just turned one and I am currently still nursing her. My first child weaned herself at 10 months so having a baby who has no interest in weaning or eating a lot of food is quite a change. She will try all kinds of different food but doesn't eat enough of it to fill her up, at least that is how it seems. She is a little stinker about drinking milk from a bottle, sippy cup, regular cup... I feel like we have tried everything. I have even tried sweetening the whole milk with chocolate syrup, corn syrup... I have given it to her in all degrees from very cold to warm... Does anyone have any other suggestions as to how I can go about trying to wean her?
After reading the responses from everyone as well as happening upon a website called kellymom.com I have decided to wait to wean my daughter. I was really ready to wean her because of her disinterest in food and didn't know if that was healthy for her or not. I found some amazing information at kellymom.com not only about how some babies still aren't interested in food at the age of 1 but also how to introduce calcium into your baby's diet after they do stop nursing and if they do not like milk. Thank you to everyone for the encouragement. I am going to sit back and enjoy my little one for as long as she wants to continue to cuddle with me.
If she does not want to wean, why insist on weaning her? It could benefit you both to just wait a couple more months so the process isn't so awful for both of you.
Each child is different about nursing B.. My first wanted to nurse forever and weaning was hard - my second stopped when one day I announced we were no longer nursing and she simply accepted it.
There is no magic to weaning - you do it or you don't. I do, however, believe that there is the right age to wean each individual child. Why not relax and let her nurse a little longer?
Keep in mind that nursing stimulates brain activity that food and bottles don't. Maybe she's doing physics in there while she's nursing and hasn't quite finished that last equation....
It might be helpful to have someone else feed him. He knows that you have what he wants. He maybe refusing to eat/drink other foods because he rather nurse. You may just have to begin removing feedings and letting him cry. Or take the other moms suggestion on waiting longer to see if his interests change.
Other posters gave you some good things to try. I just wanted to add, your baby may just not like cow's milk. As long as you make sure she is getting calcium and good fats from something else, she will do just fine nutritionally and developmentally if you try offering her water, rice milk, almond milk, soy milk, goat's milk, or even expressed breastmilk in a cup. Some kids are just not ready to wean at a year old, so it may take a lot longer with her than it did with your first child.
B.,
My second son (now 18 months - weaned at 16 months) was like that. I figured he really wasn't quite ready to wean yet at 1 year. He started eating much better right around 14 months, so at that point I started cutting back on nursing during the day so that by 15 months we were down to very early a.m. (like 5:30 or so), naptime and bedtime.
He did ask to nurse regularly, but I would offer him a snack, or distract him as needed. I dropped the naptime nursing, then bedtime and early morning about the same time.
I'd keep offering a variety of solids, encourage her to use a cup, offer it at times when she wants to nurse, and try to limit the nursing to the times of day that you want to do it (naptime, bedtime, etc.).
She will eat more solids as she is hungrier at meal time.
Good luck!
J.
SAHM to Charlie (3 years), Joey (18 months) and #3 due in Nov.
My second was like this as well. She is now 21 months and still does not like cow's milk, which is okay. I just make sure she gets her calcium in different ways. She loves cheese, yogurt, calcium-fortified OJ, broccoli, etc. I also give her vitamins. The doctor told me that the Flintstones vitamins have the highest amount of calcium of the child vitamins. Because she's under 2, I give her half of what they recommend for 2 year olds - so a quarter of the vitamin.
As far as the weaning process itself, I thought it was going to be awful because of how much she still enjoyed it (but I was ready to stop due to being pregnant again - even though you don't have to). It wasn't hard. I just cut out one feeding a week, starting with the middle of the night one...this is the hardest to kick. During the day just substitute something else, such as a snack, water, 100% juice, etc. Her eating will naturally increase due to all of this. Since it was very gradual, she did fine.
Good luck!
I had to respond mainly because of the whole milk and chocolate syrup thing....I have 3 boys and am a natural healer and nutritionist. They are learning that cows milk is very unhealthy for humans. We are the only species that continue to drink milk after we are weaned. Our bodies just arent made to digest it and it is very mucous forming. Secondly sugar and corn syrup are so unhealthy. Many people dont realize this but sugar actually robs the body of vital nutrients and vitamins,it is basically poison. Babies especially are very sensitive to sugar and chemicals. Every baby is ready to wean at different times. Its best not to force things. My little guy will be 2 next saturday and he still nurses at nap and bed time. I think it is a conforting thing for him and of course it is very nutritous. Besides breast milk,I only give my children water and ocasionally soy milk (I found out that even soy milk is mucous forming and it has natural sugar in it) It is better than refined sugar,but not much. There is one sugar that is actually good for you....This is Stevia...it is a natual herb that is at least 100 times sweeter that sugar,so you really have to know how to use it. I make lemonaid with it. I use 3 lemons to about a half tsp. of stevia,its very refreshing and cleansing. Any ways...babies grow up to fast and soon she will have no interest in you...so enjoy her while you can.
my son didnt want whole milk at all when he turned one and adding chocolate to it helped him a lot. however, at 18 months he still wants to nurse, especially during cuddle times or nap/bed times. i have let this be ok because he will wean himself when he is ready. i dont feel i have the right to take away something that he feels so strongly about.
it isnt about just the milk either. its about the 1 on 1 time, the cuddling the snuggling. maybe adding some more of this type of time into your day will help the nursing not be so much of a big deal. most people recommend "dont ask dont refuse" for weaning, where you never offer it, but you dont refuse it either. i really try this .. but he seems to sometimes ask during times that i really dont want to stop and nurse as it isnt nap time or anything... so i do refuse sometimes and offer a cup instead. sometimes i have said "not right now do you want a cup" and he has really just wanted a cup, not necessarily to nurse.
nursing after 1 year is not harmful to anyone, and it is actually GOOD especially during a time in the child's life when they may not want to slow down and eat, or eat healthy foods to begin with. at least if you are still nursing, you are pretty much guaranteed that she is still getting plenty of good nutrition. your milk supply is down from what it used to be, so every drop of milk is super-concentrated!!
www.llli.org -le leche league - find a group in your area and go to some of the meetings. you will find an educator and other moms who are nursing babies of various ages, and they love moms who have older children. the local group where i live (is an hour away, but whatever) is having a meeting tuesday, and the subject is weaning! so you will find help there for sure!
also... if she has a nuk or blankie, dont discourage their use. they are important items in a baby's life...
www.askdrsears.com has some good info too. dr sears says that an unfulfilled need (usually in an infant) shows up as an undesireable habit later. babies who arent allowed to suck, for example, on a nuk or something, they will find their thumb, or, as in the case of a day care child i have a kid who hasnt been allowed a nuk, and he grits his teeth, chews clothing or blankets, and all sorts of other methods of trying to comfort himself, when all he would need is a sucker. just an example on how a nursing/sucking need can cause trouble if not fulfilled.
you can however, encourage her to wean. the le leche league will be able to help you a lot, as may many other mothers, but the thing to remember is this: if you notice any signs of frustration, anger, temper that are unusual, and start during the time you are weaning, step back. dont expect it to be a quick process. you dont want her to think you are just up and deserting her needs. take it slowly and be willing to take a step back when and if she needs. replace that time spent nursing with time spent cuddling and snuggling and just being lovey, without having a deadling in mind. try as much as you can to be sensitive to her, and you will bless your relationship with her with trust and honor!
breastfeeding and weaning are very emotional things, and you should treat them that way. patience, and connectiveness help you grow through it as mother and daughter. :D good luck!
I'm LMAO at Annette's answer... and I agree with her. Each child will wean when he/she is ready. My oldest wasn't so attached, and was read yto wean around a year. My youngest was VERY attached, and we weaned around 18 months. I say 'we' because while he was getting less and less attached, I did encourage it by distraction, and by 16 months we were only nursing morning and night.
No need to mix corn syrup or chocolate in her milk.... if she's nursing even once a day, it will give her all she needs milk wise. So just work on the table foods, and let her eat what she wants for meals, and keep the nursings to morning, before nap, before bedtime. Give her a cup with water at meal times, and relax. She won't nurse forever, but if she's this attached, then she still needs it.
Why not plan a girls weekend away? Sometimes if they know your boobs are right there they will not even touch the bottle, but if you were not there she might just get used to it and in the mean time you would let yourself dry up. Then there would be no other choice. I know breast feeding is the best for babies, but seriously, I also know after being pregnant for 10 months and nursing for a year you probably are desperate to have your body back! I had two kids 15 months apart and so I was either pregant or nursing for 3 years straight! As soon as my youngest started biting me while nursing, I had no qualms about quitting and giving her the bottle. She fussed about it at first, but then I went to CA with my girlfriends for a long weekend of volleyball and when I came back my husband said everything was perfect! Good luck!
I agree. Every kid will wean at there own time. My oldest never initiated it himself and we were down to just at bedtime. He was very active, even when nursing, so I finally stopped it at 3 1/2. Yes, this is extreme, but I have a son with Sensory Integration Issues, which is on the Autism spectrum. I believe, with all my heart, that letting him nurse that long was good for his development and that he is doing as well as he is today because of it. I got a lot of slack from family and friends for it, but, as mother's, we do what we feel is right and best for our children.
When I started to wean my second one I would put water in a sippy cup with his meals so he would get used to drinking out of a cup. When he did well with the sippy cup then I would introduce milk in the sippy cup. He seemed to do well with those methods, but good luck. When they decide they want the milk from the cow watch out!
