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

[*happy*]

hehe!!!bring on the raincoats so!!!freeflow it is then!!!!

[Miamamma]

Thanks for the straw cup tip. I will give one a go but I think it is more the taste of the milk that is the problem as she drinks water no problem from a sippy cup. I will keep offering the cows milk and try not to stress too much about how much she has.

[*happy*]

hey,i'm back here again looking for any BTDT.....i have just about managed to swap 2 daytime BFs for BM in a bottle....next step is to swap the morning feed & then the BT feed....would you think it would be less traumatic for LO to get the bottle from me or DH?

[Fiver]

Sometimes they're happier to have a bottle from someone who isn't mum to start with, but if you've already swapped two feeds, it may not make that much difference

[*happy*]

ya,she's taking the bottles fine from me & also from others!she's been getting them more often than not from me...it's wrecking my head though at the moment....she's had a couple of days where she's spewed really badly & gotten soooo upset & i don't know whether it's solids or teething or those darn bottles!!!!

[Fiver]

It may be that she's taking more from the bottle than she actually needs.  BF babies tend to drink more slowly and take more rest breaks than their bottle-fed counterparts and also get the "full up" sensation more readily because of this.  What about pausing mid-feed to let her have a bit of a break, or does she get cross if you do that?

[*happy*]

ya, my gut tells me that she's taken too much milk the times she's spewed...she doesn;t get cross & is easily distracted once she has an oz or two taken, so it's easy enough to drag out a feed but she can be impossible to burp!!!!when i BF, all i have to do is sit her up & out pops the burp, but lately, she has been refusing to sit (wants to stand) & won't rest over my shoulder (wants to stand!)

[Fiver]

Oooh, those pesky babies

[*happy*]

i guess she's making up for the complete lack of spewing for a glorious 6 months 2 weeks!!!!

[KimMackay]

Hi Ladies...hope you don't mind if I jump in here.

My LO just turned 1 last week and my plan was to start the weaning the process....however, I'm getting nowhere.  I've been trying to replace with a sippy cup of homo milk (I've also mixed with breast milk...served warm, served cold) and he just absolutely refuses to drink any of it.  He takes a sip...realizes what it is and thats that.  When it's time for one of his feeds...I will offer the cup, but then he refuses and just tries to lay in my lap.  As cute as it is....I need some help.

How do I get him to switch? He never took a bottle of expressed milk...but he does drink out of many different cups.  Loves his water...but doesn't want anything to do with the milk.  At this rate...I feel like I'm never going to be able to wean.  I plan on keeping his morning and night BF's around for a while...but I would really like to give up the day feeds. Seeing as he's never taken my milk from a cup....I've literally been bound to him for a year.  It would be nice to be able to leave him for more than 4 hours once and while...ykwim?

Would love some advice.
Thanks

[*Ali*]

Kim, he doesn't need to be drinking any milk at this age, especially if you are still doing 2 breast feeds a day. He can get the fat and calcium requirements from solids and the BFs you are still giving. I would offer a snack instead of the BFs you want to drop in the day. You can offer foods with milk in them if you want him to have milk like rice pudding, yoghurt, cereal etc. It all counts. What if you offered it as a smoothie/milkshake? Banana, avocado and vanilla are a hit here And right now we are having success with frozen milk in an ice lolly mould.

[KimMackay]

Awesome...thanks so much Ali! I was thinking I could only drop a feed if I was replacing with milk.

[Miamamma]

Hi Kim. I have been having exactly the same problem as you. At 1 year my LO was on 4 bf but now we are down to wake up and bedtime bf. I was also stressing about her not taking milk during the day but was reassured that she's ok without. Dropping those feeds werent as hard as i feared they would be. Now at nearly 14 months, i wish to drop bf altogether. I am really nervous about it as she LOVES her snuggy 'boobie' time and still won't take milk from a cup. I'm going to man up though and go for dropping the wake up feed once we are back home from a family visit.

[*Ali*]

My best advice for weaning at that age is distraction, distraction, distraction. And try to make sure she is getting plenty of good fats for fat soluable vitamins and plenty of calcium rich foods. And make sure you get your snuggle time in in other ways like snuggling up for A slow dance before bed or a story

[Miamamma]

Thanks Ali. Good reminder with the distraction advice. It got us through the other feed drops. I'm going to lay on the best, most entertaining breakfasts ever next week!