WEANING thread...Come and share your experiences and offer support.

[Giorgina]

Hi Erin,
thanks so much.  He was actually on my breast for about 20 minutes.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed but so far so good... 

[MomofCharlie]

Good luck, Giorgina! It's quite helpful for me to read what others are doing who are further ahead of me with weaning. Hoping to remember everything as the weeks go by!

Does anyone know off the top of their head how much liquid my LO should be having? He's 11 months. And the 1 feeding when I'm offering formula, he's drinking 7 oz in like 3 minutes. Plus he still nurses 10 min per side 3x a day. Is that too much? Should I eliminate one of the BFs entirely or replace it with a sippy cup feeding? So hard to know how much he's getting from BF'ing...

Allison

[Erin (redstarfalling)]

Keep me posted, Giorgina - hope things continue to go well.

Allison - I wouldn't worry that he's getting too much fluids.... I was still BF'ing 3 times a day at 11 months too - and later.  Is he enjoying solids?  You want to have a variety and milk is still really important.

This is from the bottle feeding board:
Milk intake - what you can expect between 6 months to 12months +

At between six and nine months it is important that your baby continues to receive 530 - 600ml (18 - 20mloz) breast or formula milk per day, divided between 3 (or 4) milk feeds and inclusive milk used in food.

To ensure you baby gets the right balance of milk and solids aim for 180-240ml (6 - 8oz) milk feed first thing in the morning and one last think at night.


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At between nine to twelve months if you feel your LO's milk consumption drops too quickly and you are concerned about a low intake, additional dairy food such as fromage frais/yogurt/creme fraiche and milk sauces can be introduced into the diet. Milk intake recommendation as above.....


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From one year it is important that large volumes of milk are discouraged, as this can reduce a baby’s appetite for solid food.

At this age, you baby needs a minimum intake of 350m (12fl oz) a day, and no more than 600ml (20fl oz), inclusive of milk used in food.

Try to abandon the bottle, and offer all drinks in a straw/sippy/open cup from now on. Do encourage you child to keep up their fluid intake with water and diluted unsweetened fruit juice although drinking too much before a may considerably reduce a baby’s appetite, so offer solids first at avoid this happening.

[MomofCharlie]

Thank you, Erin,
Since I last posted, I've been able to successfully wean Charlie from the 2nd and 3rd of his 4 nursings. Replaced them with 2 feedings from sippy cup, 8 oz each, while maintaining his bedtime nursing. So far, so good. He was a big clingy for a couple of days after I eliminated the second nursing. Then again, he did sprout 3 molars right after that, so it may have been the teething ??

Just wanted to note here, for any readers, that weaning has been quite easy for us. My LO is textbook/spirited, and right now is 11.5 months old. I began weaning him around 10 months. He hasn't really complained, although it did take us about 5 days to get him to truly take formula from  his sippy cup, but once he realized what it was, he was off to the races! I'm also not feeling the guilt I expected to feel about ceasing nursing. I had a very difficult time establishing breastfeeding, and had planned to nurse for 6 months. We had such success once established, though, that here we are just before my LO's 1st birthday, and he's not fully weaned yet. All of this to say that we did it when I think we were both ready, and feel that our BF'ing experience has been a very positive one. So if you're thinking of starting out and are worried about various things (your LO's reaction,  your feelings, etc) as I did, please be reassured that if you do it at the right time for both of you, it will work out well for both of you.

Cheers!

Allison

[IvaDahan]

Hi , I am new to the site, newly registered, been here before to read some help about sleeping problems, but mainly registered today while I found out that I am pregnant ( I think so ) .
I have two problems....
First - Would I love second child as much I love my first little boy ( can't express myselft from the love I have for him) and
Second: How I will manage to wean him from breastfeeding if I love it so much?

Thank you very much Iva

     

 <img src="http://b1.lilypie.com/QcgTp1.png" alt="Lilypie 1st Birthday Ticker" border="0"  />

[MomofCharlie]

Hi, Iva,
Of course you'll love your second as much. I have a theory that love multiplies. The more people in your life you have to love, the more love you will have. And they will love each other, and so on. I'm an only child, and I worry about the same thing sometimes (we only have 1, and not sure if we'll have 2), but then I see the relationship between DH and his sister, and I realize that I may very well have missed out. But yes, you'll have enough to give, for sure 

On the weaning front, I'm not sure what the general philosophy is on weaning on this thread, as I'm not really a regular here, but I'd make the differentiation between your love for your son and breastfeeding. Of course, you breastfed him in the first place because of your love for him, and it's given you a deep connection with each other. But now, that connection is established, and weaning him, for whatever reason (some readers may have to go back to work, or whatever) won't take away that connection. For some reason, I didn't have a hard time emotionally with weaning (and I LOVE my little guy with what I call "crazy falling love"), so I can't offer first-hand experience with what you're feeling, but if it's any help at all, I'd try to separate in my mind breastfeeding from your love for him. Taking away breastfeeding won't be taking away any of your love, and you'll both find new ways of expressing it to each other, especially with his newfound skills (my LO is just a bit younger than yours), such as his new communication skills, and running up to you and collapsing in your arms. Those types of things. And when you BF your next baby, he'll see that this connection (the breastfeeding connection) is one that is shared with his new sibling, and will give him even more connection to him/her. That's my theory, anyway!

Allison

[IvaDahan]

Thank you Alison....

While I am only few weeks pregnant (did 3 test - all positive) , I will have hopefully enough time to wean him before new baby arrives, and to explain him that I will always love him ( he will be big brother and always our first baby) . Maybe he will wean himself due to new taste of breastmilk and if not I will slowly wean him.

Iva

[Melly*]

Hi
I have a few questions really I know every child is different but would really appreciate some advice.
My lo is 6.5 months, exc bf and appears to have given up on solid food. We weaned at just 5.2 months and managed to move onto 3 homemade meals a day (3 icecubes carrot or sweet potato etc) per feed:

6.30 am milk
8am solids and more milk
12pm solids first milk after
3pm milk
5pm solids
6.30 milk...bed!

Since what i think was a growth spurt and a small cold she seems to be refusing food, not opening her mouth and crying in the chair. I dont think she is teething? She liked the fruit for a bit and i gave her some petit felouis however since finding out how much sugar is in them I have stopped offering!!!.
Now she is feeding:
 
7am milk
8am offer solids, has some more milk
10.30 milk
12pm offer solids
1.30 milk
4pm milk
6.30pm milk...bed

The only way she was eating, was when i offered it before her milk but she then dropped her lunchtime milk feed, I assume this is too soon???
So she is off her vegetables and fruit doesn't like more than one mixed together,I have tried mixing pear and no luck.
She will have a spoonful and that is it...almost trying it out and thinking eew no thanks mum!

Soo now she is 6 months how do i introduce things like chicken etc if one she isn't even interested and two cant move off of one type of vegetable or fruit? do i keep offering different things or go back to familiar carrot etc? She seems interested in natural yoghurt (is probiotic ok??)

I have tried to go down the blw route and she is popping things in her mouth toast and carrots etc. So should i carry on with this? at the moment there isn't much going in, i assume it takes a while! Can you mix blw with spoon feeding at the same meal or is that considered too confusing?
Sorry for all the questions.
Mel

[Aly Mac]

Melly,

your actually on the wrong type of weaning thread but that's ok!!! This one is for weaning from breast feeding totally, not onto solid foods.  Happy to help out though.  Here are a few things:

* always give solids about an hour after milk (breast or formula).  at this age milk needs to be the main source of nutrition not food.
* take it slow - you can certainly keep going the blw route if you wish - there is a support thread in the solid food forum that is really helpful.
* you can mix blw with spoon if you wish - I did. the beauty of blw is that there are no hard and fast rules.
* keep offering new foods, ane if he wont eat it - that's fine.  he has plenty of years to enjoy food. 

Again, don't rush it - it's a process and if you rush it, he may suffer nutritionally.  And you, try to relax about the solids - there is a saying - food is for fun until they are one!

good luck - and check out the solid food forum for extra tips.

[Melly*]

Oopsy sorry but thanks for the tips! 

[Aly Mac]

no need to apologise - the term is used interchangeably!

[lyndsy_p]

Hi all, just wanted to share that I am weaning the PM feed for my LO who's 1yr 2weeks. I am continuing with the AM feed a while longer. She has had a bottle of EBM the last 2 nights as I work some nights, but tonight is the 1st day that I will be home with her and be giving her the bottle instead of DH. I didn't pump those last 2 nights, so I imagine there is very little milk left. I imagine I would have the best sucess if I offered the bottle in an area different than where we bf. I might just chicken out and have DH do it.

Lyndsy

[Lizziesmom07]

I have been slowly weaning my 1 year old since she was 10.5 months old. I have only the nursing right before bed (around 7:30pm) to go. She does well with milk from a sippy cup during the day.
My question is: Should I offer her milk from a cup at bedtime too, or should I not give her anything at bedtime?  Thanks so much!

[lyndsy_p]

Lizziesmom, yes offer the milk in a sippy before bed if she uses it during the day. Your LO should get around 16oz dairy per day.


An update:

I didn't chicken out! I sat in the same chair (because DH gives her the bottle there too) and gave her the bottle and she didn't miss a beat. I was so relieved. It went waaaaay easier than I thought. I was so nice to be able to put head against hers as she was feeding. Physically impossible with bfing!

[Aly Mac]

Yeh Lyndsy!!!!!  The surprise us sometimes hey?