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

[Riley&Avery'sMommy]

Thanks for the responses. She does not ask to BF so I don't think stopping is going to be that tough. Plus she doesn't seem very interested in taking truly full feeds in the morning or at BT. She isn't that interested in water or milk from her sippy but she does seem to always go for DD1's straw cup so I might start putting all her drinks in a straw cup. She does really like her bottle after the pm nap, she sucks that right down. Should I drop that bottle (and replace with a small snack) or the morning BF first? I was planning on dropping the BT BF last anyway. Do you agree that I should just go with the straw cup and not introduce bottles with cow's milk? As I said, she does eat other dairy & sources of calcium.

[*Ali*]

I would drop the BF first in case she drops the amounts she drinks when she stops BFing. Then you can switch the bottle over to the straw sippy when she is able to take a decent amount from it. Otherwise you may find she is not getting enough liquids to start with. Good luck.

[j.and.e]

Ok am trying to wean. Just over 15mo. Down to 1bf in the am. Droppd today. Help! Do i drop completely or is it ok to give it if he really asks? Xx

[Riley&Avery'sMommy]

She wouldn't take the formula from the straw cup this afternoon, only wanted the bottle. I'm worried that when I drop the morning BF, she won't be taking in enough fluid unless I replace it with a bottle. I know she doesn't need cow's milk, but it's just the amount of fluid (milk and water) in general. My ped had recommended offering the milk in a sippy at mealtimes rather than giving bottles but she only takes small sips during meals as it is.

[Khalam's Mama]

Ds1 only started drinking water well once I was away and he didn't get the bf Dana.
J and e, I would adopt a don't offer don't refuse policy for the gentlest wean. You could try distraction if he asks 1st off.

[shresmummy]

Hi ladies, can I join you please. My ds is 15 mo old now and I am in a bit of a situation! He was down to a couple overnight bf and another at around 5 am. He used to have  bottles at wake up and for an afternoon and at bedtime. This has been happening since 10 mo. But two weeks ago during a major teething stint he absolutely refused the bottle and I ended up having to bf him during the day too just to get something into him

Now he has completely gone off the bottle, only takes a few sips from a straw cup, and now keeps demanding to bf at nap and bt!! I not know how this association happened because I never used to do that.

Now he cries and points to the feeding pillow!! I ont know what to o, it's so distressing. I wanted to wean him off the night feeds at 15 mo, but now we are gone backwards and I don't know how to wean. Can someone please advice me and help me make it as less stressful as possible for him? Thanks!

[Khalam's Mama]

How long has this been going on? Have you given him some pain meds?

[shresmummy]

Hi, thanks! This has been going on now for about 12 days. He is back to his cheerful self and is eating his solids well again. I have given pain meds. But I think whets happened s that he has realized it's better to bf than bottle now, he pushes the bottle away completely. And he wants it at sleep time too, although I have tried to avoid that. There is a lot of protest and tears needless to say. But am I doing the right thing?

[beckygatt]

Does he use a beaker for water? Could you try milk in that?

[shresmummy]

He has a straw cup for juice and water, he drink them perfectly! But absolutely refuses the milk cup. I have tried 3 different cups, and also the beaker style. Basically in his mind if it doesn't come from mummy, it's no good!

[Khalam's Mama]

Have you tried it warm? Maybe with a little horlicks or something?

[shresmummy]

I usually do give it warmed up but it doesn't seem to help. I tried Milo in it once but no use either! Sigh!

[Khalam's Mama]

What about an open cup? That was all I could get k to drink from initially.

[beckygatt]

I need some quick advice. I have stopped BF completely (found I didn't have enough so just switched over to cow's milk). Obviously even though I'm not producing much I'm still getting engorged breasts since I've stopped that last feed. What should I do? Express? If I do nothing will it eventually go down? Can't remember what I did with dd1! Thanks

[Fiver]

If you express too much you're still sending a signal to your body to produce milk.  If you're really uncomfortable you could hand express a little bit, but not too much, just enough to feel comfortable.  Other than that there are lots of great tips here http://kellymom.com/ages/weaning/wean-how/weaning_mom/