Trying to Ween My Baby Boy off the Breast Need Help!!!

First of all I know of people that have weaned their babies at 9 months. For all of those that keep saying wait till AFTER 1 year. . . whats 2 or 3 weeks going to do? I'm assuming myself that he is 10 or 11 months. So keep trying. My son hated solids up till a few weeks ago. Keep trying all the time.

Smart kid not to take whole milk! Babies are pretty smart sometimes. Given that he is not yet a year old he needs either breastmilk or formula not whole milk. It has far too much protein, sodium, potassium for his system to handle. He will not get the nourishment he needs like vitamin E, iron or essential fatty acids from whole milk at this point and will get too much of other things for his system to handle.

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002448.htm

If you are ready to wean him that is strictly your decision but you need to give him formula not cow's milk until at least after his 1st birthday.

Weaning is much easier on both of you as a gradual thing. Stop one meal at a time, then a week or so later the next meal. Offer the sippy cup with food, and not the breast. He'll learn it eventually! The nighttime nursing is usually the last to go.
As to the biting, it almost always comes at the end of a feeding when he's had enough. Just insert your little finger in the corner of his mouth to break suction and stop that feeding...every time he bites.
Good for you nursing to a year. It is such a good start for your baby. Just have patience for a little longer and you should be fine! Good luck.

I second the postings about teaching him not to bite. Babies are quick learners!

You must be consistent and do not yell (even if it hurts) or laugh.

1st bite: Sternly say "No biting" and take him off the breast for a few minutes. If he cries and wants to nurse after that time out - let him.

2nd bite: Sternly say "No biting" and take him off the breast for a 10 minutes. If he cries and wants to nurse after that time out - let him.

3rd bite: Sternly say "No biting" and take him off the breast for an hour or two.

He will learn VERY quickly, I promise.

If you are just weaning for the teeth, you can teach him to not bite. My first got his first tooth at six months and nursed till 14.5. My second is working on her second tooth at 6 months, and is learning what she can and can't do. As far as taking whole milk to sleep, I would suggest moving the feeding up so that it isn't associated with sleep.

Definitely follow Pamela's suggestion. My kids didn't bite when they got teeth because I used that method the first (and second and third) time they bit me when they were much younger, and they learned early on not to bite me.
In the meantime try to figure out why he is biting. When babies bite, they are not latching, and he probably already realizes there's no milk when he bites, so it's a sensory need that needs filled.

You don't need to wean now, and he is definitely showing signs he is not ready to. If you try to he will pitch a fit about it, it's just not worth the effort, especially since the solution is easily implemented. I feel for you though, transitional times can be so frustrating. You're doing great! You made it a year! The second year is easier ;)

you can easily teach him not to bite. dont worry he will naturally on his own cut down his nursings as he becomes a busy toddler. Youll regret forcing him to quit

I agree with others, baby should not fall asleep with a bottle anyway, this can lead to baby bottle rot on their teeth. If he is eating solid foods and getting plenty of nutrition he won't need a bottle. It would be best to go from breast to sippy cup. Just gradually cut down your feedings until you only do one feeding, maybe the one at tonight. That one will be the hardest to break but if he isn't hungry and just using it to get to sleep you can try a new bedtime routine. Like bath, then rock him for a while then put him to bed.

Also whole milk should not be given until 1 year, you should talk to your pediatrician about this. I would suggest to breastfeed until 1 and then start weaning, but you can still cut down your number of feedings, and you can pump and put formula in the sippy cup. (Don't try a bottle now because then you will have trouble weaning him from the bottle! Been there, done that!)

Until he is a year he should not have whole milk at all. Formula or breast milk. Whole milk too soon does a number on their tummies and greater risk of allergies.
When you do decide to stop the breast, just give him whole milk in a sippy cup. We had a routine with a bedtime snack and milk at that age and my son drank it. He doesn't need to take milk to sleep. Get him used to milk at the table with a little bedtime snack, maybe stories and then put him to bed.
As far as biting, a firm no and taking him off the breast should do the trick. Both of mine bit, but it resolved quickly. My son is going on 21 months, still nurses with almost a full set of teeth and never bites now.
Don't force him off the breast unless you really have to. I forced my son off at 14 months because I was attending a wedding out of town and I was pregnant with our 2nd and very nauseous. I had a little guilt about it, but when I returned from the wedding my son never even asked to nurse again. My 2nd son seems to enjoy nursing much more, that's why at 21 months I'm still doing it.

Hi C., I don't think you need to wean because of the biting either. All three of my kids tried to bite. Just a stern, NO! and ended the nursing session once or twice did the trick!

I also would caution against quitting. You will most likely regret pushing him towards it when he wasn't ready yet. Teach him not to bite as the other posts suggested.

Good luck!

Why are you giving him whole milk before a year!? He should get breast milk or formula. Google what whole milk can do to a babies stomach before a year.

If you want to wean him off the breast it would probably be best to teach him to fall asleep without needing any kind of milk/sucking (bottle, cup or breast) so you won't have to "wean" him off something else next year. What worked for me was to get daddy to put him to sleep at night time in his own way, then for naps i had to put him down the same way dad did. We started on a long weekend so dad could do nap time and bedtime then on Monday I did naps and dad did bedtime for a few more weeks. Little man was piiiiisssseeed for the first few days, he wanted the boob badly! It was very hard for me to not cave in (especially when my husband was at work during the day and he would crawl to my lap and ask to nurse) but i just had to try to distract him with something else. My son was 17 months, i have a 7 week old daughter and I will hopefully wean her around her first birthday because weaning did wonders for my husband and son's relationship. He realized there were other people to comfort him besides mom and him and his dad are best buddies now. Best of luck to you!

Me personally, I wouldn't stop that soon, especially if he's resistant to it that much. But that's me...

You might try pumping so he continues to receive the full benefit of the breastmilk, but gets off the breast. Also, water bottle at night can sometimes work because it's more about the sucking than the actual milk. Wean gradually as mentioned before, try during the day first, take nighttime away last. You can also work through the biting so in the meantime you aren't getting hurt, use a firm no and take away when he bites, but don't offer a bottle because that associated a bottle with punishment.

when my oldest was 6 months he started wanting the sippy cup instead so i would nurse one time then the next give him milk with table foods the next nurse so on til he didnt want to nurse. my youngest was different half the time he didnt want to nurse he wanted a bottle the other time he wanted to nurse. but he ate ALL the time. i am talking every 45 min. which his doctor said was fine. you can try mixing some of your milk in with his baby food if you want. so he still gets the taste. but i dont think you want to be one of those moms you see nursing you 3 yr old. no offense. but most kids will stop when they are ready. if necessary quit cold turkey. just move from nursing to milk and food. he will not starve i promise. my doctor said the same thing about my 2.5 yr old. cause he didnt want to eat for a little while. it may be hard for you and hurt you to do it but he will get the hint. as for the biting it took me 3 times with the "No Biting" and taking my tit out of both of their mouths and they figured it out quick. kids are smarter than we give them credit.