Weaning - San Francisco,CA

Hi there,
I stopped nursing my daughter at 1 years old. I did this because she seemed ready but I was working and she was drinking from sippy cups during the day and during meals so we just gave her a sippy cup instead of the breast and she was fine. I would start alternating with the cup. At one years old babies can have whole milk and we feed our daughter who is about 20 months now milk generally at every meal, but you can ask your doctor.

I probably would wait to completely wean until back from vacation.

Good luck1

I just want to second those who have asked why stop nursing? The recommendation is to breastfeed for AT LEAST one year and there is really no reason you have to stop. The vacation does not have to be an issue, either. When my son was 16 months old I contracted viral spinal meningitis and had to take medications for two weeks which didn't allow me to breasfeed him. I pumped a little over those two weeks, mostly just to alleviate my discomfort, and threw out the milk. I wasn't set on stopping nursing or continuing it either at that point (of course my husband was rooting for stopping). But the bottom line was that even after 2 weeks of saying no, the milk isn't good, he was still wanting to nurse, so when I was finally done with those darn meds we just went back to our routine. Milk supply was low at first but... demand begets supply so a week or two later we were back to normal.

Babies don't have a sense of time yet. If you leave your child for a week at this age it is not good for his attachment. To stop nursing him also, seems a bit cruel. Sorry, you might not like to hear this, but meeting the child's needs should be primary at this age. He is too young to verbalize this to you, but psychological research on this age group shows that they primarily need a consistent caregiver at this age. If you leave them for brief periods they have to get used to you coming back- stranger and separation anxiety are in high gear. You don't want to mess with these- giving him a sense of abandonment. R. F. MSW, LCSW

Dear M.,
I think if your baby already takes the bottle, you are halfway there!
My son had to quit the breast cold turkey due to health reasons and it was pretty rough. But me being in the hospital for a week helped. He was 15 months old.
I guess a week can seem like a lifetime to such a little kid and he really didn't seem to have any breast confusion by the time I got home. He was just glad to have mommy back.
I know it can be an emotional issue, because I wasn't really ready to give up nursing, but I had no choice. And my son survived just fine. He's 13 and still very much a momma's boy. It will work out.
My daughter refused formula, she hated it. But she loved milk. So, perhaps try to introduce it and see if his tummy handles it okay. I don't know that you should feed him twice as much formula to replace breast milk, but you can see what works.
I've told this story before, but when I was in the hospital, my husband was worried the formula or milk would spoil so he put ice cubes in it. My son would not take a bottle unless he could hear the ice cubes rattle.
You just never know what will work.
Best wishes!

Dear M.,
Well as many have said it is your personal decision to make. I have weaned a few times by going away. I was nursing 2 times a day as well. I didn't have much difficulty with engorment, but if you do, you can take benydrl to help dry up. When I have come back, I have just said sorry it is all gone and after a couple of days they quit asking. I am about to wean my 7th and not sure I'm ready since he's my last. It is probably me more than him since he often goes without if I'm not home at bedtime or don't have time in the morning.
Best wishes,
Stac

I know you've made your decision, but if it's still giving him comfort and you're enjoying it, why stop? If you choose to continue, you can pump on your vacation and continue when you return (probably at a slightly lower volume). Just a thought. Good luck.

I think you should cut back to one nursing per day before you quit cold turkey. Your son will be fine, but you may end up spending the first part of your trip with very sore engorged breasts. Ideally, you should gradually wean over a week or two but you don't have that much time....unless you've been putting it off because you're not really ready? You may want to bring a pump with you, just in case...good luck :)

Your leaving for a week is the best way to do it. My goal was the same with my daughter (to wean at 1 year) but she was so dependent on the comforting of sleep eating. She was also solely breastfed, no bottles. When 14 months came along I had to go on a 3 day trip. I thought she would be devastated. Not at all. She had completely forgot about my breasts when I came home.
I had horrible engorgement and had to call the dr for advice to avoid infection. So my advice is to wear a sports bra the second you leave for the trip and express milk if needed in a warm bath. With weaning my son the sports bra was all I needed.
Have fun!

Hello M.,

Weaning is such a personal decision. You don't have to wean if you don't want to. Your baby will still receive all the healthy benefits of your breastmilk as long as you are nursing him. I've gone a lot longer than 12 months because we were not ready at 1 year. If you do decide that now is the time there is no need for formula. Whole milk is just fine given in a bottle or sippy cup. Milk sould be given a couple of times a day and water should be offered all day. Put it in a sippy cup and let him toddle or crawl around with it.

If you are sure you want to stop now is probably the best time but if you are unsure then you may just wait until you return to make that decision. Your son may not even ask to nurse or he may really need that comfort. You can let him decide.

Good luck and God bless!

greta book called "Nursing Mother's Guide to Weaning" by Kathleen Huggins. She has some good answers for you.

The baby will go through the withdrawals when you leave for a week so he'll get used to not breastfeeding, so when you return he'll be weaned, the best thing to do is wean him before you leave so he isn't uncomfortable when your gone.

Weaning is always a sad time for me. I love nursing my babes. My middle child was 11 months when she stopped nursing. I left for a weekend with my husband for a company thing. When I got back she was over nursing. She wasn't traumatized by it at all that I could tell but I wish I hadn't done it and nursed longer. She is the only one that I had a problem with using the pacifier. I think it is an important time in thier lives to know that you will always be there for them, it gives them complete security. She is the least secure of all my kids, the least attatched to me. It could just be personality differences but if I could go back and change leaving her, I would in a heartbeat. Good luck and God Bless!
T.

It doesn't sound like the two of you are ready to quit yet, so why do so? Even the gov't recommends nursing till one, & then as long thereafter as mother & baby desire.

M.....you sound like me 9 months ago. I also planned to nurse for 1 year, but my son was not ready. I have been waiting for him to be ready, now he is 22 months and still nursing. I hope to stop when he is two. My suggestion is to keep nursing if you are not 100% sure you want to stop. As long as you, your son, and partner are happy with things why change. Either way...good for you for nursing your son for a year. Good luck.

M.,

It sounds like your not ready to wean and baby is not ready yet. Weaning is something that should not be put on a calendar. If your a breast feeding mother going away from baby for a week, I would say pump daily and freeze the milk, or take baby with, but there is no reason to stop bringing your child that comfort and mommy time just because the year is up or you want a vacation.

best of luck

CD

The most important thing our children teach us is that we shouldn't make "plans". Little ones have plans of their own. It sounds like neither one of you is ready to stop nursing. Why do it?

Hi M.,

I was also planning to nurse for a year, but found it difficult to stop! Because my son had some dairy issues, the advice nurse suggested introducing milk very slowly (1/2 oz milk mixed with formula or breastmilk at a time). I know a lot of people do 1/4 milk rest BM or formula to start and increase from there.

I figured it was time to wean when I really wasn't producing much milk. I dropped the morning feeding first, and then the night feeding a few weeks later. I was definitely sad after our last feeding, but I know he wasn't getting much and he was starting to get fussy at the breast. I also wasn't sure how he would handle the end of breastfeeding, but it hasn't fazed him at all.

At 12 months, my son was eating 3 solid meals a day. He also gets 3 cups of milk from a sippy cup and a small cup of milk at bedtime.