Weaning 1 Year Old Who Nurses to Sleep

First and simplist - yes, mix your milk and the formula (and you are right, human milk or formula is better than cows milk until age 2 years). This worked for us. Start with 100% your milk in the bottle/cup for a few feedings to get her used to something other than water in the bottle. Once she is no longer surprised by that, go 75% your milk, 25% formula for a couple days, then 50/50 for a few days, then 75% formula/25% your milk for a few days, then formula.

Have you condsidered pumping a3 or 4 times per day while you are gone so you can resume nursingto sleep when you get back? If you do this, it will be easier on your kiddo. Mean while, you can get your baby used to the bottle/formula and when it is just the care taker and your baby while you are gone, your baby will deal with going to sleep with the bottle. Also, if you don't use pasifiers, I would arm your caregiver with a couple. If you are worried about it being a habit, just hide/toss them when you get back and it will just be associated with your absence, not a new part of your household.

My baby is exclusively BF and nurses to sleep (now 14 months old). She is NOWHERE close to being ready to wean, but I have had to take a couple of buisness trips in the last 6 months (3 total) in which I left her with my mom who was armed with a soft top sippy cup, my frozen milk and a pasifier (we are otherwise a no pasifier zone at this house). She said it took a while for my daughter to go to sleeep, but between feeding and then rocking with the pasifier she was able to get her to sleep and she took her normal length naps/night time sleep. We then returned to normal when I got home.

Puping for that short time was worth it for me and this worked well for my dd. I feel better knowing I am not forcing a premature weaning (before dd is ready) and I sure don't want to pay for formula if I can just keep breastfeeding.

Good luck mama - that is a tough spot to be in!!!

Have dad ( or another caregiver) start doing the bedtime ritual she will need to get use to this soon anyhow. Are you able to pump the breastmilk for her to have at night in the bottle or cup and dad can give it to her. As far as the milk transition I suggest doing what your mommy gut tells you we usually know what to do, dont second guess yourself, just do it and it will work out, relax and dont worry, focus on your health and getting better to take care of your little ones. Good Luck!

Make the nighttime routine more about other things (like book, bath and bed) and shorten the nighttime session over time. I told DD "just a little bit" and gave her less and less over time. She was a little older, though, so it might be harder. Nighttime was the last to go for DD. I would wean by starting with another nursing session first and nighttime last, personally. My DD is not a big cow milk drinker. We were not successful in transitioning her to anything else. She did get a sippy of water some of the time. Formula at night can be detrimental to her teeth, so never just leave her with a bottle. Always brush her teeth.

If you want to continue post procedure , I'd pump (even if you are pumping and dumping for a week - alternately you could freeze it and bring it home on the weekend) to keep your supply up, but if you are swapping for formula, you would slowly increase the amount of formula per bottle til it's not milk and all formula.

You can also call the Holy Cross Lactation center for more info. They're nice people.

We just started to have my husband lie down with the kids and hold them gently, just firmly, at bedtime and they cried for about 5 minutes. The entire time, he would tell them, "I love you. You are safe. It's time for bed." Yes, even at one they get this. After a few nights of this, they would just got lay down with dad and it was all good.

At one, she does not need formula....especially after having breast milk. Most formulas are full of junk, including corn syrup solids, maltodextrin, etc. Cow's milk isn't great for a lot of kids. We never have given our kids any cow's milk and went straight to water. To this day, they only drink water.

You might consider pumping and dumping for the 2 weeks, so when the treatment is over, you can continue breastfeeding? She'll live for 2 weeks without breast milk.

I know this may sound gross but try rubbing lotion or lanolin on your nipples before she tries to nurse and have expressed breast milk in a soft nipple sippy cup. You are trying to create an aversion to the taste of her breast by offering her a better tasting bottle/cup with your breast milk in it. Aversion Therapy usually works. If you haven't already stock piled breast milk start NOW! Pump in-between feedings and it will increase your milk production and you can freeze it for up to two weeks. That way you will be able to gradually mix it with formula to wean her off breast milk. You start with 3/4 breast milk to 1/4 formula, next week 1/2 breast milk to 1/2 formula, then 3/4 formula to 1/4 breast milk to all formula. Now if she still needs to "breast-feed or nurse" You can always buy the bib that holds 2 bottles like breasts, it's usually for the dad to bond with the baby, but any care giver could use it while you're away with nap/bed-time if all else fails. Just use breast milk and she should be okay, she milk balk at first but once she realizes it your milk she should be okay.