WEANING thread...Come and share your experiences and offer support.

[wolverineMum]

I have an 11 month old son and Nurse him as follows:

Morning feed at 7:00 am
Afternoon at 4:00 pm
and nighttime around 8:00

I suppose I want to know if this is normal....I have to cut out the 4:00 as I'm returning to work at the end of April.  I realize these feedings are more about comfort as my supply is significantly reduced, as my DS eats very well and drinks from a sippy cup.

Anyone else out there nurse just a few times a day? It just feels like such a reduction in comparison to the first 6 months.....maybe I'm just in denial of him growing up so fast!

[scarlettsmom]

wolverine mom - first I want to say how insanely cute your lo is!!  omg, the black and white picture...soooo sweet

I think it's completely normal.  I was pretty much right where you are at 11months.  Then we went to 2 feeds around a year or so.  It is weird what a change from the newborn days.  And I'm right there w/you w/the denial....I've just realized my little baby is now a little girl...crazy!

Anyway - HTHs a bit.  I'd say you're both right on track. 

Tari

[Erin (redstarfalling)]

Yup - it's normal! I know what you mean though - I'm just moving towards a 4hr cycle, and I find I'm nursing her so infrequently compared to before!  I nursed my oldest only twice a day for a few months after I went back to work, and then only at night for a while.  I still feel it was giving her good nutritious milk, even if the supply was lessened. 

[chickchick]

I have just weaned my little girl (last feed was on her birthday!) and she had already dropped the day feed. So she was just having a morning feed first thing, then a night feed at bedtime (7pm). I stopped the morning feed for a week, then the night feed and i was all finished. I know this isn't what you were asking but just thought i would mention it!

[Preston's Mom]

My LO will be 11 months on Thursday and I plan to BF for a year, however, I want to get some advice on weaning- when should I start and how do I drop the night feedings.  He drinks about (2) 8oz. of EBM at the sitter's each day, however, the amount he drinks seems to be decreasing. I have tried unsuccessfully to cut out nighttime feeding but he either gets a cold or DH insists that he "must be hungry" when he wakes up in the middle of the night and "fights" my husband because he doesn't have the "goods" he's looking for.  I don't honestly believe my LO needs to eat, I think he is used to me giving in to him.  If I go into his room when he wakes up once or twice, he pushes his arms out to prevent me from holding him close until I feed him....please help!

[chickchick]

I had this trouble for awhile. So i started to give my LO some water instead. She had a little drink, then pushed it away. So I said, "night night Rosie" and popped her back in to bed. I then left the room, and she protested for about 30 seconds, then went to sleep. She hasn't woken in the night since beacuase she knows she's only going to get water!

My weaning schedule was at 11 months feeding morning, lunchtime, and bedtime (with the occassional 4am feed), then Rosie cut out the lunch one herself, 2 weeks before her birthday. then one week before her birthday i cut out the morning feed, so when she woke up i gave her water (she won't drink cows milk) then breakfast straight away, then on her birthday i gave her her last breastfeed at bed time, and that was it!!
Now at bedtime she has water, and she's very happy!!

Hope this helps, and good luck with the night feeding prestons mum

[daisymelan]

Hugs prestons mom.  And you are right, at that age they don't NEED food at night, it's usually comfort.  Does he go to bed on his own?  I mean, can he self soothe? 

I'm afraid it will likely be some long nights before you get rid of them.  I would perhaps visit a night waking board and use PU/PD for him or walk in/walk out.  HUGS to you. 

[amacasi1]

Hello ladies!  I'm hoping for some advice please from mothers who've been there before!  I've had to wean in a hurry (cold-turkey) due to the need to commence long-term epilepsy medication, I started 36 hours ago.  LO is 11 1/2 months and is doing very well without the breast so far, luckily! I'm not doing so well, I miss the bond between us and on a more prozaic level my breasts are very sore!!!  The doctor recommended I try not to express unless I absolutely had to.  I was feeding 3-4 times in 24 hours prior to starting the medication.  My questions are these: how much discomfort should I put up with before letting off a little steam, as it were - chew your arm off pain, or is it ok to let out a little without draining the balloon?  Do cabbage leaves really work to help dry up the supply?  For how long can I expect my breasts to hurt before they start deflating and softening up?  Will it defeat the purpose if I massage them a little to soften the lumps?

Sorry if this is a bit TMI, but at the moment I feel like someone has stuck a sack of new potatoes in my chest!

[Samuel's mum]

HUGS (gentle ones)

Gosh -I'd say pain from engorgement is so personal to each person. However mastitis, blocked ducts and abscesses are universally awful for everyone. You should express a small amount to relieve discomfort. Just 2oz or so. If the baby is obviously not going to drink the milk so a bit of expression is only a problem for hassle factor. Even it means you have to pump a couple of times a day for a week (and gradually pump less and less and for shorter and shorter sessions) that is SO worth it if it means you won't get mastitis. New lumps can mean blocked ducts - I wouldn't mess around frankly. Get massaging and get expressing. You don't have to do a 'full' express just a bit. I understand your doctor doesn't want you to stimulate supply but I doubt he wants to deal with mastitis either - and you are at serious risk of getting mastitis if you don't express. Stopping cold turkey from 3-4 feeds is very very likely to cause you problems if you don't express. Cabbage leaves supposedly help but it's a bit of a dodgy one - I think most of it is probably psychological and the coolness of the leaf.

[amacasi1]

Many thanks for this!

[Jodi and her boys]

Well, I am sad to announce that we are officially weaned, but also feeling very "FREE"!  I thought I would be much more emotional, but surprisingly, I am a bit relieved.  I think it helped that DS was very ready to wean, and that was a benefit with the process.

Here is what we did:

9 mos: At 4 bfs.  Dropped feed #2
11 mos, 1.5 weeks: Dropped feed #3
11 mos, 3 weeks: Dropped feed #4
12 mos, .5 weeks: Dropped feed #1 (morning bf, in bed, my favorite  )

Ds would basically get very whiny/ emotional around the time we would bf (at about 11 mos).  I started noticing, too, that he was learning to ask for milk by signing, tugging at my shirt, etc.  After I dropped his afternoon and evening feed, he was soo happy!  It's like he needed it.  Shortly after, he would get annoyed when he would bf in bed.  So, I finally just brought him straight to his high chair.  We have not looked back. 

My breasts are a bit "lumpy" and are still producing a bit of milk (almost two weeks after weaning), but they are not too painful, and I am sure they will subside eventually!

Hope my story helps someone   

And congrats to all those who have successfully breastfed, it's no easy task, but well worth the benefits!

[Samuel's mum]

Congratulations Jodi. I hope you feel very proud.

[Preston's Mom]

chickchick and daisymelan thanks so much for the great advice! 

Chickchick....I took your advice and offered water when he woke up and wasn't happy about it, but he took a few sips and "rocked" himself back to sleep!  It took about 2-3 days for him to figure out that I wasn't going to give in although he pushed back, I stuck to my guns!

Daisymelan...he can get to sleep on his own by "rocking" with is head on the mattress and knees tucked under him...he actually does that (rocking) whenever he goes through his sleep cycles throughout the night.  Unfortunately he has started to rock so much that he moves closer to the end of the crib.  There have been a couple times this week were I heard woke up in the middle of the night to him rocking himself back to sleep and his head was hitting the bumper guard so I moved him back to the middle of the bed. I have since elevated the mattress (for congestion reasons also) so he won't hit his head anymore.  He still occassionally wakes up in the middle of the night for water but will go back to sleep.

[Preston's Mom]

Oh, can I get some advice on weaning my 11 month old.  Right now I am only BF in the morning, and before bed.  I pump twice at work so he will have a 8oz. bottle of EBM at the sitter's for the next day.  The sitter has started giving 1 oz of cow's milk this week to see how he tolerates it so once he turns a year we will know that he's ok with cow's milk since he won't get EBM anymore. THanks

[Erin (redstarfalling)]

Basically, gradual is the key.  You can choose whether or not you want to stop pumping and keep the BF for now, or if you want to drop the BF and keep pumping for bottles for a while. Most tend to stop pumping first.   If that's your route, just cut down the time you're pumping (an ounce less a day...) until you're no longer pumping at all.  Once you're done pumping, you can try just dropping a BF (you can always pump or hand express a little bit if you feel engorged, but you might not have any problem). HTH!