Weaning Questions for a Breastfed Baby

I started with a bottle my husband could give -evening. Then I switched to a bottle one eating session every1 - 2 weeks. It took a while to ween him. I did it slowly so he could adjust. Good luck

First of all, congrats for making it this far- that's wonderful! I think first replacing one feeding a day, maybe a midday nursing or any nursing that you think might be easiest to give up, with a bottle of expressed milk would be great. After a couple weeks of that, you can then do the same with another nursing. Give each one a couple of weeks (or more, if you want) and it should be smooth for both of you. If you're nursing four or five times a day now and you want to be done in two months, then ending one every two weeks should put you right on schedule to be finished at 12 months.
Oh and this is just my opinion, but if you at some point in the process need to give your baby something other than expressed breast milk, I'd definitely give her formula over cow's milk, because it's a good source of iron, as well as possibly DHA if it's one with that added. Good luck!

I began weaning both my girls at 12 months, replacing one feeding with cow's milk. I had one who didn't love the milk, so had to start her on formula and then switch. My first took 6 weeks, and the second 3 months. Just trust your judgment! You may be a first-time mom, but you know your baby better than anyone else. That night feeding near bedtime was the most difficult to stop, but if you save it for last your milk supply might just dry up enough that she'll lose interest without much of a fight. Good luck!

I didn't start weaning my daughter until she was 12 months. I nursed her at 7 am, 10, 1 pm, 4, and 7 pm. So, first I cut out the 10 am feeding. After a week or so, I cut out the 4 pm feeding. After another week or so, I cut out the 1 pm feeding. Another week, then the 7 am... lastly the 7pm. I replaced the 7 am, 1 pm, and 4 pm nursing sessions with 7 oz of whole milk in a sippy cup. She was completely weaned by 14 months. If I had it my way, I would have nursed her longer, but she was ready and pretty much weaned herself.

Most doctors will tell you to wait to start the weaning process to cow's milk until 12 months. Talk to your doctor and see what he/she recommends.

Since you have a lot of frozen bm stored up, you might want to start giving her that around 11 or 12 months, so that you use that up first. I would try putting it in a sippy (if that's what you'll be transitioning to, and putting the cow's milk in). That way you won't waste the milk and you can start weaning.

It's completely up to you, ask your ped, and do whats best for you and your daughter.

I was the same way (although I had a sister who breastfed until after three years, and I knew THAT wasn't going to happen!). Since he was already on solid foods, I made a point to feed him well right before usual breastfeeding times, and then around 11 months I started cutting out breastfeeding times. The weaning books suggest one a week, but I did one a month. He was at morning, after nap, and bedtime, and one wakeup at night. My husband went in at night for about a week and fed him oatmeal or yogurt until he slept through the night. The next month it was naptime, after which he would get a "fun" snack, which I would eat too. Bedtime was harder, but we sang songs and read books and then my husband and I would leave at the same time, and my husband would go in after, if he needed it. Mornings were hardest b/c they were sort of "family cuddle time", but one morning I went to get him out of his room and just took him straight down to breakfast-- and he didn't even notice! About a month later he tried to shirt dive, and I told him it was all gone because he was growing up and could have big boy food, and he never asked again. I know I got pretty lucky, but maybe a gradual technique like that would work for you. At 14 months we never looked back...
PS I don't recommend weaning onto a bottle-- then you'll have to wean from the bottle! My son went to sippy cups. A friend of his who went to the bottle is STILL on the bottle three years later!

Goof for you for making it so long with your baby. I am the mom of three and have weaned each of my kids between 9-10 months old. My suggestion would be to just take it slowly. Maybe in the next few weeks, start eliminating one of the daily feedings and replace it with a bottle. You could mix your frozen breast milk with some formula to ease the transition for your baby's tummy. I found that if I just eliminated one feeding each week in about one month my children were weaned and I was able to avoid engorgement issues--the milk just tapered off.

T., I weaned my daughter around 13months. It went without a hitch for us. I started with substituting one breastfeeding with one bottle and then added another bottle in 2-4 of weeks. There was no set schedule or rush to wean her. Just keep gradually substituting a feeding with a bottle. I started with frozen breast milk, and ended with some formula. Then when she was over a year we started cow's milk. When I did this I started by mixing 1/4 cold cows with 3/4 warm formula. As the quantity of cow's milk increased the temperature of the milk also got colder. Hope it goes well for you.

Hi T.-
I would suggest that if you have enough breast milk stored for use of the next couple of months then go ahead and start doing that if your baby will. Every baby is different, but for a 1 year old it might take a while to wean them. You will just have to figure out what works best for you. Some slowly start replacing feedings with bottles or sippy cups, and others just go to night time breastfeeding. I would just recommend not getting stuck on a time limit, or goal. Sometimes that makes it all the more stressful for you. Its whatever you and your baby are most comfortable with.

What a great start you've given your little one. It is no small task to nurse that long, especially when friends and family haven't. The best resource I've found about weaning is How Weaning Happens. I forget the author, but it is published by La Leche League, which is also a great resource. Most of the time we think of LLL as a resource for breastfeeding problems, but they have a lot of information available on weaning at any age. You can look some things up on their website (www.llli.org) and you could even find a local group to visit. Oh, by the way, How Weaning Happens does talk a lot about natural weaning or letting your child decide when to wean, but if that doesn't feel right for you, just skip to the parts that do. Every mother and child have a unique relationship and only you will be able to decide what is best for the two of you. I would just take the information that works and ignore the rest. Good luck in your journey.

When I had my first child I found it very frustrating that the same people who encourage breastfeeding (at the hospitals, etc.) are reluctant to tell you how to wean them completely! It's like they don't want you to stop. I finally had a good friend advise me on what she did. I am currently breastfeeding my 3rd baby who is 10 months now. This is what I did for my first 2 kids--gradually replace a breastfeeding with a meal. First I did breakfast (I had to pump for realief for a few weeks then it fine to skip), then dinner, then lunch which was easier for me because it spaced out the feedings better and I didn't get engorged. Finally when I was left with morning 'snack', afternoon 'snack' and bedtime feeding. When my kids where 12 months old I replaced snacks w/whole milk and finally made sure they got a large enough dinner w/milk and changed bedtime routine to a song and a book (no milk there). I also had my kids drinking out of a sippy cup easily before 12 months so that they didn't hang onto a bottle when I weaned them. If you have lots of frozen milk, try putting it in a sippy cup to get them use to the sippy cup easier also. This is what I am doing now and it is working fine for me now. It all just takes patience and planning. Hope this helped!

I wanted to have my son weaned by 1yr, I started the weaning process at 10 mths and he didnt stop until he was 16 1/2mths. I would start with the mid morning one first and give him a sippy cup with water (or the frozen milk)and a snack and play with him to distract him from that nursing, did that for 3 days straight by the 3rd day he forgot all about it, once he was done with that one I went onto the next one. The night nursing was the hardest, he quit that one on his own. Once they turn 1 yr you can give them whole milk. Just know that once you stop the feeding you may have to pump to relive engorgement if you feel engorged, I never felt it, I weaned slowly.

I have four children and never purchased formula. I'm no expert of course and La Leache League did help me with some of my nursing problems. I'm sure you will get lot of good advise here at Mamasource.
If you want her weaned by 12 months then you will want to start at around 11 months and introduce milk. You can give her a sippycup at mealtimes when you give her jar food or green beans or whatever. It seems best to keep the naptimes and bedtime feedings and "accidentally' forget to nurse, say, at lunch and a few days or a week later forget another nonbedtime feeding. If you go slow, your body will adjust so you won't feel the difference after a day or two. If you feel uncomfortable (engourged) and you don't want to nurse (because you are skipping that one) then just pump a little. A couple of my children kept their morning nursing as their last one - I thought it would be their bedtime one that was last, but no. Guess they just wanted their "Mommy-check" when they woke up.
It's pretty easy if you go slow. Just loose a nursing every few days but don't expect the last one to go away as easily. One of mine kept their last one for a month (but I let him) :)
C.

As your baby grows older the amount that you are breastfeeding will naturally decrease a little. Like now you are probably only nursing 4 times per day (roughly breakfast, lunch, dinner, and bedtime). What I did was introduce cow's milk (in a sippy cup) about 2 weeks before both kids first birthday - just to get them used to the taste. Then I would gradually drop a feeding from me. I think I started with the dinner feeding first because it was pretty close to the bedtime feeding. My kids both ate the heck out of solids so they didn't miss it at all. Then I dropped the lunch feeding. Then I dropped the bedtime feeding and the morning feeding was last. I nurse 2 kids until somewhere between 12 and 13 months. The only thing you need to do is give yourself at least 3 days between dropped feedings so you adjust and your boobs don't get too engorged. My kids both weaned pretty easily so I don't know what would happen with kids who don't. There is no need to ever use formula and really no need to switch from breast to a bottle (instead of sippy) because anything you start doing now will be harder to stop later and you will have an 18 month old drinking formula out of a bottle and won't be able to get her to stop. Congrats on nursing for so long. You can thaw your breastmilk and use it to make baby cereal or you can just throw it away. Also, if your baby doesn't seem to like cow's milk, you could mix breastmilk in with the cow's milk at first. My daughter is 16 months old and I have a ton of BM in my freezer that I will never use but can't bear to throw away - isn't that silly?!?

congratulations on breastfeeding for so long!! If you want to wean you need to do it slowly. There is no rule that a baby has to be weaned by the time they turn one or even when they turn one. Don't push her because forced weaning can be traumatic. But, if you are really ready to stop, a good plan is "don't offer, don't refuse" pay attention to when she nurses, try to pick her least favorite nursing time and don't offer to nurse her then. Read her a book or play a game with her. If she still wants to nurse at that time don't refuse her just don't mention it to her. It won't be fast but it will hopefully be less painful. she will wean when she is ready, usually babies wean themselves sometime between one and three years. Babies can vary from the norm as no two babies are alike but it is still the usual time.

This time you are spending nursing her is precious so don't be in to great a hurry to end it. One day she'll get up and not want to nurse anymore, you'll wonder when she got so big as to not need you to feed her anymore. it's amazing how fast they grow treasure the baby she is.

I nursed all three of my children. I think the best way to wean your child is to do it gradually. This is less painful for you and less stressful for the baby. Replace one feeding with a bottle and then after a week or two replace another and so on. I continued to nurse my oldest just at night untill she was 18 months just because we both liked the bonding time. My other two were done at one year. They were both to busy to be bothered with sitting still to nurse. Just remember to replace that special bonding with a new bonding ritual. This will ease the baby's tension. Good luck.

I thought I would stop at 1 year too. I went on another 6 months. One thing that I think is important is to get her using a sippy cup. You don't want to have to wean her twice. Once from your breast and then again from a bottle. It wouldn't be fair to her. I'm sure that you want this to be a progression for her, not just a replacement. Any way you do it, it will be hard for both of you. Start her using the sippy cup as much as possible. There will be times that she will need your breast for comfort. Good luck and feel proud that you breastfed her this long.

I nursed all three of my kids. With my first child I had the world's best doctor(just my opinion) and he said they will wean when they are ready. My oldest quite nursing the day he turned 10 months, at that point I switchd him to milk, I know that is early for milk, but he was a big eater and I just watched what he ate and made sure he was getting the nutrients he needed. My other two seemed to take forever. By about 18 months they had stopped nursing during the day, (for the most part) but they continued to nurse until they were both 22 months. I had set 2 as my absolute cut off date. I realize you were looking for info on weaning and I really do not have any, I just wanted you to know that unless you want her to be done at 12 months she doesn't have to be. That being said, if you do want her to be doone there are alot of books, I know my sister in law had to get a little help. She called the laleche' support line and they chastized her for trying to wean her daughter (if I remember she was over a year at the time) Best of luck to you!

Hi T.,

I breast fed my Daughter until she was 11 1/2 months, I planned on doing so longer, but had to have an MRI with medications and dies that were not safe for Breast Milk and I had no reserve, because I was a stay at home Mom and never thought I needed any back up. So we just went straight to whole milk. I had to have my Husband give her the bottles at first, actually I think her Doctor told me to give it to her in a cup. I always used those nubby cups with handles on both sided and the silicone spout is almost like a bottle any way. You know a really great resource that is free that I used all the time and loved was American Baby, www.americanbaby.com you can get the magazine free, and they send you milestones, what and when your child should be doing, I found it reassuring and comforting. You can also search for things on their website. Another thing I would recommend to all parents is Parents as Teachers, this is a wonderful program my Daughter will be 4 at the end of August and has been involved in it since she was born. The Teacher comes to your home and visits with and plays games with your child to see where they are socially and intellectually. I love it and couldn't say enough great things about it if I tried. www.parentsasteachers.org
It seemed like my Daughters teacher always knew what the Pediatrician was going to say when I took her in for say her 6 month check up, and she always left me with information on what to expect my child to be doing at the age she was.
Hope this helps, thanks!
M.

Hi,
First I think I want to say I think it is great they you are dedicated to breastfeeding. I breastfed my first boy for a full year and and still nursing my 6th month old and plan to until he is a year. I never gave formula. I also did not give a bottle when I was around, only when they are at the sitter did I give bottle. Anyway my 2 year old pretty well weaned himself by the time he was 13 months and I was more upset than he was. the older he got the less he nursed so when he was 10 months old he nursed three times and took one bottle of frozen at school so by the time he was one he nursed at night and in the morning and drank regular milk out of a cup. Then before I knew it he only nursed at night then one sad day for me he didn't need mommy at bedtime anymore, he just wanted a cup of milk. I feel because I didn't give a bottle at home it was easier to ween him, I also switched from a bottle at school to breastmilk in a cup when he was I believe 10 months old, I think that helped to because it made him feel like a big boy. If you have any other questions for me or just need someone to talk to, my e-mail is ____@____.com

Best of luck to you.
K.

I haven't read through the responses yet, but I have a boy that will be a year old soon, and I plan to let him wean on his own naturally. He uses a bottle for my milk at daycare, and a sippy cup for water, but soon I will have them give him my milk in a sippy cup as well so he gets used to only drinking from a cup (other than from me).

I just saw on the news today that a new Swedish study found more benefits for extended nursing: Moms that breastfeed for 13 months or longer have a 50% reduction in likleyhood for rheumatoid arthritis and they don't know why. (Nursing one to 12 months reduces rates by 25%) Incredible. I believe God is reminding us through the scientific community that breast is best. (It was on NBC, here's the link to the news article: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24594431/)

Another interestng article about diabetes and nursing: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10154836/from/RSS/

EDIT: Be sure the cups you are giving your baby are BPA-Free! Check them out at http://zrecs.blogspot.com/2007/05/sippy-cup-showdown-safe....

Also Remember: The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends breastfeeding for a minimum of one year, not to stop at one year. Here's a link from the World Health Organization (WHO) regarding breastfeeding: http://www.who.int/child_adolescent_health/topics/prevent... If these respected knowledgable researchers recommend something, why don't we listen?

You already have a lot of good advice so I'll just mention your time line. I would suggest that you think about when YOU want to completely be done. If it's at 12 months, start weaning now. If you say 12 months because that's when EVERY one else says to, then re-evaluate if you just want to start weaning at 12 months and end around 14 months.
I felt a lot of pressure to be done at 12 months but I wasn't ready to give it up.I knew I was going out of town at 15 months and wanted to be done by then so I just relaxed and tried to take it at MY own pace.
Good luck.

I am sure you will get all great advice but talk to your ped and other nursing moms. What worked for me is cut back to only nursing once or twice a day and give frozen milk in bottle for other feedings. If I remember right I had to give part breastmilk with real milk in sippy cup for a while until frozen milk was used up and makes it sweeter. But another recommendation is if you have an Oberweis buy vitamin D milk because it seemed to be a bit sweeter than the others. Hope this helps!!

It seems like you got some great advice... my words of wisdom are similar but very important...

do it slowly... it is healthier for you and for the baby.

My first... I stopped cold turkey... lordy was I in pain. LOL

Good Luck... do what feels best for you. :)