WEANING thread #2... Come share experiences and offer support

[EloysH]

ummmmm, so the idea is to wean before you leave then??


I am needing some serious help with weaning ladies   


K is 12 months old and I am still feeding him 3 x daily and 1 x at night or none at night.   I am desperate to wean as I am on a strict ED, eating hardly anything nice for the last 12 months, and now that he CAN be weaned I am struggling to get the job one!

I am afraid to wean anymore day feeds as he has woken more often in the night before when I did so and also I am predicting he will wake more...  I am right that I need to consistently wean that night feed before I get rid of anymore day feeds??

I am not offering  and trying to distract and drag him out if possible but ultimately not denying him a feed if he persists.

Also, he is sooo persistent when he wants "booby".. he will follow me around the house and cling to my leg, squawking like a hungry bird and very hard to distract unless we are outside in the pram or at a park.  I don't remember it being that hard with Ds1!  And if he is teething then forget about it, it takes all my power not to let him have extra comfort feeds!

Anyone had experiece with a very attached 1 year old?? What did you di\o, how did you get the job done???

He has been on goat milk from a sippy cup for 7 days now but hates the taste... will drink about 10-20ml on a good day.  He tolerates it this is my only option as far as milk is concerned.  SO what I am reallylooking at is wenaing with no milk alternative, which is fine for him dietwise (have advice on this).

[bensmuma]

Yes.....sort of. I definitely want to wean the night feed. And won't have a choice but to wean the day feeds really. Seems like the right time. She takes a bottle no problem while I'm working and in December while I was away for 4 days she did great. Wasn't my ideal situation but we had to take vacation early for caregiver reasons 

I wish I had some advice for you about the weaning but I'll leave that up to the expert Mommies!

[EloysH]

well I guess the option os to start mixing formula into your expressed BM in the bottle so she gets used to new taste.

[zoeselina]

Hi all,
Just wondering if anyone has advice about weaning when you have always fed on waking up (eg all naps and sleeps). I'm wanting to start with dropping the afternoon feed (we're doing 4 feeds a day currently), but the couple of times I've got her up from her afternoon nap without feeding, she's really upset and cranky for ages even if I give her a snack of a different kind. If I can't even drop this feed, how am I ever going to drop the others?

She's almost 11 months old now, and I had always planned on weaning around 1 year. Since I can't give her cows milk yet, should I give her a small amount of formula instead? What have all of you done?

I know being a bit cranky is no huge deal, but I'd like to make it as easy as possible on her.

[newbiemommy]

Hi Zoe,

At about 11.5 mo I started weaning DD off the afternoon feed.  I was the same way, nurse after every wakeup.  Does your DD take a bottle or a sippy cup?  I started by simply replacing the boob with a combination of EBM and a very small amount of cow's milk.  If you want to wait until the whole year is up to do cow's milk you could combine EBM and formula, or just do formula if she has ever had it.

Then you can do that for a few days until she gets used to not nursing when she wakes up from the afternoon nap.  What do you think?

Maria

[zoeselina]

Hi! Thanks for your reply. We have tried giving her a bottle at that time but she just goes bananas and refuses it. She'll take a bottle now and then at other times when she's cheerful, but without the afternoon nursing session she's never cheerful at that time of day.

[Khalam's Mama]

I am joining you as I have decided to wean khalam who has just turned 2. i always planned to feed until two and now i have and I am also feeding a 9wo and it is hard work. K has also started to be a bit obssessed with the boob and demand it all day so I am thinking it is causing much distress for him. I told him today now he is 2 boobie milk isn't enough to make him big and strong like his cousin (11yo who he adores) so he can start having some milk in a cup instead. He had his sippy before bed and went off to sleep without crying which surprised me because when he has had his boobie he often demands "more boob" after he is in bed and gets really annoyed when I say no more. Wish me luck.

Will have a think about your issues but this is my 1st time for weaning so I haven't btdt that so will just be guessing.

[Khalam's Mama]

Now i am not on my phone I see the last posts were a few months ago. How did you guys get on?

It is day 3 for us now and K has asked half heartedly throughout the day but no major tantrums. I must say I feel awful refusing him when he cries. I have to keep reminding myself he cries just as much when he was having it 3x day to have it more and he was crying about play dough today and I realised everything is the end of the world at that age

[Khalam's Mama]

I guess I will just write as somewhere to vent even though it is quiet here. Getting easier for us.  Few requests for "me boob again" today but no tantrums and he didn't even ask when he really cried after banging his head or at BT. I must say I really miss that he doesn't want to cuddle instead. I planned to cuddle while reading books and having his BT milk in a cup, but  all he wants do do is sip the milk inbetween playing. I feel sad that my baby is now a boy.

[Shiv52]

Just wanting to drop off some hugs. You're doing a great job weaning him and being consistent. I weaned M at 20 months and was really sad about it but your transition is much smoother than ours was. Have to say though that after a week she was over it and was totally fine. I found the cuddling came back after a few weeks and she wanted more cuddle time reading books snuggled on the settee so don't worry am sure he'll come round.

Two years is an amazing time to have BF him for!  Such a great start to life xx

[Gypsymom]

Some hugs from me too and I want to second what Shiv said about the cuddles coming back in time. I can't imagine weaning while nursing an infant FT so extra high-fives for doing this more hormonal and sleep-deprived than most!!

[Khalam's Mama]

Thanks guys. We are day 11now and if still asks a few times a day but can be easily distracted so not too traumatic. We have developed a new bt routine which involves reading in his bbb snuggled rather than sat on the pot. I know it is not deal to wean and swap to bbb together but he suddenly started climbing out and t was dangerous and i felt once we started weaning i couldn't go back. He is doing well though. I felt sad again last night when he woke up for a pee about 10'30 he was all sleepy and asked for a bf and when i said no he said me sleep on boob then just put his head on them.

[Shiv52]

I felt sad again last night when he woke up for a pee about 10'30 he was all sleepy and asked for a bf and when i said no he said me sleep on boob then just put his head on them.

Awh    Maeve used to do that.  Instead of feeding she'd say 'mummy i just hold your milk' and put her hand in my top.  I didn't mind that as it was still comforting for her and meant we got to cuddle.  She'd still do it now given half the chance. 

You're doing great xx

[pondofstillwater]

I wanted to share my experience of weaning from breastfeed to bottles.... really it was not my choice... DD did on her own... at 12 weeks when she had her big growth spurt.

I noticed she started fussing when being breastfed couple nights before bed and she would cry and she would latch on for just couple minutes and go off. Then one night she woke up at around 4am and fed hungrily... so I had a hunch that she is not getting enough milk from me. I debated on bottle feeding as she had been rejecting the bottle since week 6. But what do you know... she decided that to have her tummy full is more important than the comfort of being breastfed. So from that day onward she never looked back. I have been pumping for about a month afterwards so she can still have the benefit of breast milk.

So to those moms who are considering weaning earlier, consider the "opportunity" of growth spurt at 12 weeks and 4 months... if you are not producing enough milk, maybe it is better to switch to bottles, that way you are less stressed over milk supply and LOs are more happier with a full tummy 

[Khalam's Mama]

Thanks for sharing. Glad you are both doing well. Well done for pumping so long. K only asked 1x today when having a tantrum about something when tired before bt. K made me laugh in the bath today when he was chasing me with his mouth open saying "me eat boob" and laughing. He seems to realise he is cheeky rather than upset. He put his head on my chest at bt today but didn't say anything. Bless him.