Weaning 14 Month Old Picky Princess

Congrats on nursing past 1 year!!

Sounds like your daughter still wants to nurse. Why is it such a hardship for you to continue nursing your daughter? At this age, her nursing is probably at MAYBE 10 minutes per session - if that long. How can that ruin your day even if it's 5-6 times a day? Maybe you need to ask yourself why you are so frustrated with breastfeeding and try to work towards solving that rather than forcing your young barely into toddlerhood toddler to stop what she needs.

Nursing at this age soothes so many problems, insecurities, hurts and allows her to recharge with Mommy. Nursing makes them feel safe, loved, comforted and gives them a steady access to superior nutrition and antibodies - no matter at what age.

I should also remind you - each child is different just like each pregnancy is different.

My DD didn't like cow milk, either. I've done two things:

1) given her lots of other dairy (or fortified OJ) for calcium and given her flavored milk to get her to drink it

2) Pick a nursing that she can do without (like mid-day) and distracted her. "DD are you hungry? Here's some cheese. Are you thirsty? Here's your cup." Then I slowly worked down each nursing session til we eliminated it. Bedtime has been last, but she has a 3 minute countdown and that's it, no more. If she asks during the day, she gets reminded that "mommy milk" is only for nighttime. I started with afternoons, then morning. It seemed to be easier. If she associates your bed or the couch with nursing, sit with her somewhere else when she's likely to ask to nurse. Change the association.

Our pediatrician said that as long as DD eats well and gets other dairy, cow milk was not necessary. You could also try goat milk, but I'd just give her what she will eat/drink as long as she gets it somehow.

The idea I'm getting from your post is that though you do want to wean her, you are concerned that she won't get enough milk. I wouldn't worry about that. Just continue to offer her milk, maybe put just a small amount in the bottom of a cup, so that if she refuses it you aren't wasting a lot of milk. Then be sure you give her more dairy products to make up the difference. Yogurt is my main choice in replacement of milk for children, but cheese, cottage cheese and other options are plentiful. So what if she never likes to drink milk as long as she's getting the nutrients from other sources. I wasn't a big milk drinker as a child either.. in fact my parents always had to add chocolate to mine to get me to drink it (which is NOT an option I would highly recommend). However I have strong teeth and bones and have not had a problem from the lack of drinking milk as a child.

I guess I am kind of a "bit the bullet" type of person, but if you are ready for this to be over, end it. Tell her you guys are going to count down until she is a big girl and give it week. Every day in the morning say "Only six more days until you are a big girl and don't drink from Mommy anymore!" Remind her of this every time throughout the day when she's done nursing. Make a chart where she can rip off the day in the countdown, or let her X off days on a calendar. Make it an exciting thing for her to do. The day she wakes up and there's no more nursing, have a party in the morning. Get paper hats and little toys that make noise and celebrate her being a big girl. She might get upset when she really realizes what it means. That's ok. Just stick to your guns and tell her you are a big girl and there is no more milk in mommy. Trust me, when she wants it enough, she will finally drink her milk from a bottle or sippy. Good luck mama!!

Congrats on BFing for over a year - you're definitely in the minority and you should be very proud of yourself for making it this far, especially if it's been less than pleasant for you.

The book "Mothering Your Nursing Toddler" has a lot of great suggestions on ways to wean - both cold turkey (and why they're probably not the best option for most toddlers and their moms!) and slower ways that are less traumatic and difficult for both parties.

To play devil's advocate: You can go on a diet even while breastfeeding. You don't want to lose more than about a pound a week, but if you're dieting in a healthy way you shouldn't lose at a much faster rate than that anyway. And just because a child is still breastfeeding at the age of five doesn't mean that her parents can't stand up to her! It means that they have weighed their options and feel that it is in their child's best interest to continue to breastfeed. Trust me, you've got a long way to go until five! :)

Just because she refuses to nurse while you are on your period doesn't mean she ready to wean. It means she doesn't like the taste of the breastmilk when you have a hormonal shift. Very common.

You might try organic whole milk. It has a better flavor than regular whole milk. My 1st didn't care for regular whole milk but would drink the organic. Warmed is best since that's how breastmilk comes. You could also try a bit of Ovaltine. It's not pure sugar like chocolate syrup and it has some vitamins/minerals.

If she is eating yogurt, cheese, other calcium rich foods or calcium fortified drinks and you are ready to wean then she'll be ok till she begins to accept whole milk. She won't get depleted in the time it takes for her to figure out her new milk delivery system. Nursing is a two-way street so you both need to feel good about it to continue. Over a year is fantastic!

My suggestion is that when you get your next period and she refuses to nurse, continue on with no nursing when she would normally nurse. Tell her mommy milk is all gone.
Make sure she gets enough dairy products if she still will not drink milk. You could also try to warm it up or give her chocolate or strawberry milk.
Good luck!!