How to wean?

[Tecike]

Hi all!

DS2's reflux has turned silent and although he doesn't show obvious signs of pain, his sleep is still horrendous and the ladies on the CRC board agreed that he still might feel discomfort from it. They suggested a trial: for a few days I'd be giving him HAF and cut dairy from his diet to see if it helps with sleep.

My question is about how to start weaning him... He has 3 BFs a day and 1-2 NFs. Should I cut cold turkey or wean him gradually? My gut tells me it'd be batter to do a gradual wean as he's very much a boob-boy, so it'd be a battle to fight...  First I thought I'd pump in the no BF days and go back to BFing later, but then I figured it would maybe be better to wean completely, as I shortly go back to work and would wean anyway... 

[Fiver]

There's some great info about weaning here http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=157385.0 and you'd be right to say that stopping cold turkey may be too much for both of you.

Big hugs.  I know how hard you've worked to BF little Victor and you've done smashing.

[Erin M]

I've found with all of mine that the daytime feeds are more easily dropped as its easy to distract -- wake up and BT are harder.  I know with James that BT will be the hardest of all.  I'd say to drop the night feeds first, but I'm almost wondering with him if the discomfort is causing the night feeds?  Maybe if you were able to drop the daytime bf he won't wake up as much and you won't need the night feeds?  At any rate, I'd go somewhat gradual so you won't get engorged.

And like Amanda said, you've done amazingly well so far, I know it's been a struggle!  ((hugs))

[Tecike]

Thanks, ladies!

So, I've made  a plan to drop the midday feed first and then move on to either WU or BT feed. I'm hoping that the NFs will be easier to drop once he gets used to the bottle. And this is what I don't have experience with - bottle feeding. If I drop the midday feed, do I substitute it with a HAF bottle? If yes, how much should he get? I'd like him to get used to the taste of it as I think he will most likely reject it if I offer at WU or BT...  At least that's what happened when I had to top him up with an AR formula, he wouldn't take it at BT for almost a week...

And one more silly question - the weaning link mentioned a lot of skin to skin contact while weaning... I tried to picture myself with my spirited guy crawling all over me while naked...  ...but I know that every time we play wrestling on the big bed, he looks for the boob even through my T-shirt... Any ideas how to achieve skin to skin contact and avoid looking for the boob at the same time???

[Erin M]

I would stick more with fully dressed cuddles than skin to skin at this age.  The idea is that you still want the closeness, but I know that James would be looking for the boob too in that situation.  Not sure about the amounts, we'll see if someone comes along who does, otherwise I'll look around to see who I can find who has experience in it. 

[Fiver]

When we were mixed feeding with DS, I just followed the guidelines on the formula tin   That said, it might be worth starting with a smaller amount first so that he can get used to the taste a bit more without wasting lots.

[Tecike]

Well, I managed to wean the midday BF and started with 2 oz HAF... He wasn't very happy about it, but took it in the end. Then last night we had a NF at 4.30, so I skipped the WU BF as well, as he was up at 6.30 and wasn't hungry, so he didn't have a BF until 7.30 pm after bath!  And then he BFd for only 4 mins...    He was quite OK during the day, but had only the 2 oz bottle before nap2. Tomorrow I'll offer a bottle at WU and see how he takes it. So, this has begun easier than I hoped for! 

Only one question... as HAF is quite pricey here, after this dairy free trial, I plan to go back to WU and BT BFs and change my own diet if need be, so in the 2 weeks when we're not going to have any BFs - is it enough to pump at WU and BT, the supposed feeding times, or do I have to pump more often to maintain the supply? And what if he takes less formula than he's supposed to? Should I worry about less formula intake for 2 weeks, or just roll with it?

[Fiver]

I'd keep the WU/BT feed times for pumping and see what happens.  If you feel you need to add another pumping session during the day, you can add that in.
As for the bottles, he's probably got a reasonable idea of how hungry he is and how much milk he needs to consume.