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

[JenJ]

Eloise ~  Thanks for all the great suggestions and you took some of my anxiety away. 

Campbelchick ~ I think that is great that you have bf for this long and if you wanted to make it to 12 months, I think you have pretty made it.  I would not hestitate to give your DS cow's milk as she is only a month away from 12 months, but you  have to be comfortable with it.

jen

[campbellchick]

Thanks Jen, I am slowly trying the cows milk on cereal for her but haven't got brave enough to give it to her on it's own yet.  the main reason though is she had bad lactose issues when she was younger and I would hate for her to start waking up through the night with wind again since she has been sttn for a few months now.  anyway, it will have to happen at some point, so I may as well start it soon!  I decided to wean afterall - I got really sick and dehydrated, so started running out of milk again. 

I hope you are going well with the weaning.

[JenJ]

Good luck...I hope things go well.  I would be worried about the lactose issue, too.  I just took one bf away on Sunday.  So far it has gone well.  He didn't want to much BM in a sippy cup yesterday.  I'm thinking about giving cow's milk in a sippy and see how that goes.  I have BM stored and that is why I'm using it. 

Keep my informed on how it is going
Jen

[campbellchick]

I ended up using up my spare frozen BM too.  I had to mix it with formula though because I had given her a whole feed of just BM and she was starving a few hours later...  But I took a few days and used it up - then I fed her alternative feeds with my boobs.  One day I did the morning feed, then the next day I did an evening feed.  Funny my boobs weren't producing much and they could last THAT long without me feeling too uncomfortable.  I think I might start just a little cows milk in her formula tomorrow and see how she goes.  I might just do one bottle for now, then slowly add a bit more to that bottle... 

glad to hear your dropped feed is going well - let us know if you give the cows milk and if he likes it..

[JenJ]

Does anybody have any suggestions for about you LO's not drinking much from a sippy cup when you are gone for the day.  I left my LO yesterday with my mother-in-law while I had a dr's appt and volleyball for the day.  He hardly drank anything.  I got home after he was in bed.  A few sips of BM and some water, but not much.  His diaper was not very full this morning.  He usually has a really wet diaper in the morning after his morning BF and between his first nap, but today he was dry.  So I am wondering, was he kind of dehydrated?  I am working on weaning him and am worried that he will not drink much of anything after we are done BF.  I have tried apple juice, water, BM, cow's milk in a sippy and a regular cup and he just doesn't drink very much.  We are on 3 BF a day (previously 4 BF) and next week we will be down to 2 BF and day (morning and bedtime).  What am I going to do during the day?  Help!!!

[campbellchick]

Hey Jen, have you tried the sippy without a lid?  E.g. obviously not let him run around with it on his own - but help him drink some water or milk out of it and see if he prefers that instead?  He might find it more 'fun' and start drinking a bit more...

[EloysH]

Hi All,

good luck with the weaning

Jen: thanks for your reply

E

[JenJ]

Yes, I have done that and he does drink some, but not much!  He will not milk that way, but will drink orange juice and water or other drinks....just a few sips is all

[proudmomx2]

Hi everyone!  My girls just turned 1 year this weekend and I am soon going to start the process of weaning them.  My anxieties lie in the fact that neither of them drink a sippy cup really well and they started refusing a bottle about a month and a half ago.  I am a working mom so I'm gone during the day, but when I am home on weekends I do usually bf for naps.  Right now I bf morning and bedtime and when they wake at night (I do know better, but accidental parenting and fear of dehydration have won over) then when I get home from work which falls between afternoon snack and dinner.  I'll probably start with removing that bf first, but I'm worried about dehydration. 
If they won't take bottles and don't take a sippy well, how will they get anything to drink?  I fix a sippy cup each morning with whole milk and by the end of the day they've drank less than half, which is probably about 4 oz. a piece.  We offer it at each meal and snack.  Any ideas? 
I really am ready to wean simply because nursing two for a year has put quite a strain on my back and I need time to heal, but I want to make sure they're ready also!  Thanks for any feedback!

[campbellchick]

Hi Proudmom, do you think your girls don't like full cows milk at this stage?  I remember my ds didn't like cows milk, so I had to slowly add it to his milk (was on formula by then) and slowly increase the amount over a week until he was fully on cows milk.  Also, if you are worried about dehydration, can you get them to sip water from a cup without a lid while you hold it?  The other thought is maybe try using a sippee cup with a straw and teach them how to use it - they might think it is more fun and drink more from it?  Just a few thoughts anyway.

[EloysH]

Proudmum:   If you can ask LO's carer during the day to offer water from a few cups - one with straw, one normal cup every few hours then you can rest in peace that you have done all you can.  LO will catch on soon enough.  I think that babies are very smart and know that if they are thirsty they need to drink from what's on offer.

[proudmomx2]

Thanks for the suggestions!  I haven't tried any cups with straws yet.  Anyone found a particular brand that has worked for their LO?  My girls do have a great caregiver during the day and I do trust that she's doing all she can to help.  I've even got dh offering water, juice, and milk during afternoon snacks now. 
I don't know about them not liking the milk, but they absolutely refused formula, so it is a possiblity.  I'll have to try mixing it and see if I get a better reaction.

[nododo]

Hello all....firstly quick bit of honesty, I haven't had time to sit down and read this entire thread as it is SO long now so appologies if this has already been answered somewhere else but i really need some help.

My DD was one a couple of weeks ago and I have started weaning her.  I've successfully managed to get rid of all her feeds with no problems apart from her bed time feed.  I really don't know how to approach or where to start.  She has a good bedtime routine which ends up with me feeding her in my bed and then putting her down to sleep.  She has never had a bottle so this isn't an option and when she has her morning and afternoon cup she won't sit still with her milk she has to do it in her own time, carrying it around and drinking over about 20 mins.  I am worried about how to introduce a cup, who should do, if it will even work as she doesn't sit still with it etc.  I just don't have any sort of plan!.  I was thinking of swapping the breast feed for sitting and reading a book with me as we don't do this at the moment so didn't know if I should introduce this into the routine first or not.  Also I was thinking about giving her one boob and then trying the cup but is this just dragging out what should be done quicker!?

As you can see I am really confused but I want to stop this feed asap so any help would  be really appreciated.
XxX

[clh]

What does your current wind-down look like?  My first thought (other than bottles) was to introduce a story before bf; then move the bf to before the story; then drop the bf.  That's kind of what we did with J, except we did switch to bottles (that he was already used to) first.

[nododo]

WE go up and have a play with her soft toys and then we put everything away together then (used to have massage here but she got too wriggley) have a long bath, then a cuddle and sing song then boob.  I tried to introduce a book when I dropped the massage but she wasn't interested then, but in the last few weeks she has suddenly got really into them so i would like to introduce a book.

do one years olds actually need bedtime milk??