Weaning 6Mo Old Breastfed Baby....

She knows what she wants and that's also what's best for her. I know it seems overwhelming to be her 24/7 everything but this whole infant thing doesn't last long. Why not keep it up a while longer? I will bet that it's a decision you will never look back on with regret!

My advice: don't wean!
Why are you considering weaning her now? She is still a small baby and very much needs your milk! Very much so!!!
My DD would not take formula either and I considered it a blessing in disguise, I might have (in a moment of weakness) thrown in the towel. (She had a very tight latch from her small mouth and I was in pain much of the time.)
Are you working? FT, PT? How long do you need to be away from her?
She is getting really close to being able to go for a while w/o nursing. Not nursing every few hours and just waiting for mama to come home is not going to hurt her.
I worked PT w/ my first and was never able to leave her w/ much more than 2oz.. My boobs HATE the pump!

Do not tell yourself silly things like she will be nursing till she's 5. Is she your first? Maybe like I did w/ my first, you are aging her prematurely. She is a BABY and you can't compare her behavior now to a toddlers or a preschoolers. She needs you. NEEDS YOU!
WHO (World Health Org.) recommends babies nurse till their 2nd bday.
There is simply no reason to wean her now.

(I know I sound nutty-I'm passionate-I say these things as lovingly as a perfect stranger can.)

You co-sleep: that's great! My son turned 1 yesterday and he still nurses at night and that is FINE. He only does it once or twice in the morning time....by 18 months we will have started weaning from the night nursing.
Don't expect too much from her-she SHOULD still be waking at night to nurse. There is no magical infant age where they start sleeping through the night. She is a baby. Do you sleep through the night w/o ever waking up? I don't.

I hope I have made my case. Feed your baby. You are doing a great thing for her. Setting her body up be its best.

Feel free to PM me if you have any Q's or want to give me more pieces of the story. I will be happy to help. And please don't misread what I wrote as yelling or trying to be nasty-that is certainly not my intention.
Maybe you just need a better support system?
Best wishes to you and your wee one! :)

I suggest that you wait to wean till she is at least a year old. Then she will be on table food and more baby food and will be able to handle the weaning.

She is telling you that she NEEDS breast milk. And she does! It is supposed to be her MAIN nutrition until at least a year old. Don't make her cry for 6 hours trying to break her. She needs to know that she can count on her mama and trust that mom will supply her needs. As she gets older, she will continue to nurse less and less. You do NOT NEED to breast feed her till she's 5. It is much easier to wean when she is no longer a baby.

Good luck.

Our 2nd was very much attached to nursing. We also co-slept. It was still VERY easy to wean him at 18 months. We had cut down to mostly just nursing at night. One day I decided that we were done because I had hardly any milk left and he was waking to use me for comfort 4 to 6 times a night. So that night, I just gave him a blanket and bear (and had a water cup available to him) and when he tried to lift my shirt to nurse, I just told her lets snuggle. By the 3rd night he was sleeping through the night and not trying to lift my shirt anymore in bed.

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Hi there - my pediatrician recommended exclusive breastfeeding for a year if possible. We introduced solid food at 6 months of course but even then I mixed the cereal with breastmilk. You can always put the breastmilk in a sippy cup if she doesn't like bottles for someone else to feed her.

Breastmilk smells WAAAAY better than formula so who can blame her?

Good luck!

I don't think you need to wean her to formula. I've not tasted either formula or breastmilk myself, but those who have say that formula tastes nasty by comparison. Besides, breastfeeding is much more than just nutrition - she's comforted by your presence and your nurturing, which is why she wants to nurse rather than take a bottle. Her behavior is completely normal.

She's old enough to go a few hours without nursing, so you can nurse her before you leave, and then nurse her when you get back. Just make sure you don't leave her hungry, and you will be able to leave her without either breastmilk or formula. "This too shall pass." This time is so short. I know you're just wanting a little time by yourself, and you will get it, even if it's not tomorrow.

She will not be nursing until she's five years old, just because she's nursing at 6 months old!!! She *should* nurse until she's at least two years old, for her maximum benefit, and to a year old at a bare minimum. Don't worry about weaning her now! You can always wean when she's more biologically ready, which is when she's 1-2-3 years old, not at 6 months old!

I am not saying that breastfeeding isn't best! I really am not. We ALL know Breastfeeding is best. But I am with Dawn B. DON'T LET ANYONE bully you into continuing to breastfeed or make you feel guilty because you need some time away from your baby! If you can pump and figure out a way for your baby to get some breast milk, great, but do what you feel is right for you!!!!!!!!!!!

It's still pretty early to worry about weaning. She needs breastmilk or formula as the main staple of her diet until one year of age.

If you want to train your daughter to take a bottle, it is possible, just may take some time and dedication. First, get some different kinds of bottles with different shaped, slow-flow nipples. (She has to work hard to get the milk from your breast. Faster-flow nipples may be too easy for her, evidenced if she coughs and sputters a lot with the bottle.) Pump some breast milk and give her an ounce in the bottle, alternating bottles until you find one she accepts (or at least the one she protests the least.) My kids have all taken pretty well to the Doc Browns bottles, but there are a lot of options out there.

Also, when you try to give your daughter a bottle, see if you can shower first and maybe wear one of your husband's shirts over your own. Babies have a very keen sense of smell, and if she can smell breastmilk on you, it can make the process more difficult.

Keep using the straight breastmilk in the bottle until she takes it with ease. Make sure the milk is a good temperature for her. ie: Try to get it as close to your body temperature as you can. That is what she's used to.

Once she is accepting the expressed breastmilk with ease, you can start introducing formula, if you wish.

I thought my son would never wean.... he breastfed until he was 26 months old! There's just a lot going on for you right now that makes you feel like the hardships are never-ending. It will get better, I promise. (I am currently exclusively breastfeeding my seven-month old twins.)

Also, something I have had to learn this time around, be very diligent about not letting her use you as a pacifier. If she is not in an active suck-swallow cycle, unlatch her and try something else to sooth her. Good luck to you.

My dd wouldnt take formula either, although she would take the occasional bottle of pumped milk. My impression (bf 3 babies) is that some will only breastfeed. My other 2 wouldnt touch any bottle or pacifier, only breast. this one, would take pacifier & occasional bottle, but never formula. At 11 months, I offered cows milk and then goat milk. (maybe 11 1/2 months) She drinks that, and breast milk. My opinion after tasting the formula is GROSS. I dont know how people manage to get babies to have both, but maybe some are less picky or something. It wont last forever. She will take the cup more & more (maybe not with formula in it tho) and she wont be on the breast till she's 5!

Try getting her to take the bottle first with breast milk and than mixing formula and breast milk until she gets used to it. As for getting her to take the bottle, you just have to keep trying, but better dad than you since she knows she can get it from the source with you around. In fact, it would be good if you could leave for a day, or even over night, and let dad handle it until she takes the bottle.

Mix formula and breastmilk in a bottle. Start w/ mostly breastmilk and a little formula. She will eventually take the bottle... but it will be more likely if it's not from you or when you are around. Maybe try it first thing in the am when she's really hungry.... Good luck it can be hard, but it can be done!

I really dont think you should assume that since she wants the breast at 6 months that she will breastfeed till shes 5. 6months is not a very natural time to wean and you will most likely have a very hard transition if you want to do it now. You can either put up with the crying and screaming until she gives up and drinks formula, or you can play a scientist with different ratios of breast milk and formula and trick her into switching. Maybe hold her up against your bare skin while you feed her a bottle so that she will feel almost as nurtured during the process.

My DD was the same way. She never took a bottle and wouldn't take a sippy either. Thankfully my husband was good enough to give me breaks, even thought it meant my DD screaming her head off for a few hours while I was out. Those breaks were enough for me to keep going! Your daughter will not starve if you are away from her for a while. Are you wanting to go overnight somewhere? Breastfeeding is hard, draining both physically and emotionally. I just want to encourage to take a break over the next few days and see how you feel about it. She associates nursing with you so it will be really hard for you to wean her, you need to have someone else around who can feed her food or a sippy cup because she won't take those from you. Best of luck!

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