Weaning

I am thinking seriously about starting to wean. DD is 11.5 months old. I've tried to give her breastmilk in a sippy cup, and she drinks a little and then lets the rest dribble out of her mouth. Today she had a fit and I had to nurse her. I am toying with the idea of giving her cow's milk but my ped said to wait until 12 months, which is 16 days away. I tried it once and she let it all dribble out of her mouth. I have given her the drinkable yogurt but there's a lot of added sugar and I'm concerned about that.

Any advice on how to make the weaning process easier? I feel ready to start by dropping one or two of the daytime feedings, but DD doesn't seem all that thrilled. Those body parts are getting tired though - and sore because she still sucks forever! TIA.

Personally I think the "12 months" thing is a pretty subjective date, and 16 days will hurt nothing. You are quite a trooper for going this far - I did 10.5 months with one, 11 months with #2 - both had teeth and were biters.

The dribbling out of her mouth thing makes me think she's still really into the sucking rather than being able to do the cup. You may want to try Avent brand sippy cup - they are a lot like a soft nipple. Or, you may want to do the milk in a bottle just in order to get her weaned. Mine both took a bottle until 18 mo or so and slowly switched to cups.

Good luck - and way to go mom!

It will be easier on you if you can drop a feeding here and there rather than quit cold turkey. I had to distract my kids to drop the day feedings but kept the bedtime and wake-up feeding until later. The thing that worked the best with Anna was going out of town overnight and leaving her with DH. I think she was about done anyway but that sure helped. If your husband has a stretch of a few days off, maybe he can help you. I weaned past 1 yo and they were more into the sippy cups by then. The Avent cups with the soft spout are a great suggestion.

[Flynn]

I second what Nellie said...drop all your feedings gradually THEN wean the last feeding. Othewise it's HARD on child and you blow up like a balloon with unused milk. OUCH!

[PrincessFiona]

Jill.....I agree with everyone else....

I always started by dropping the least-missed feedings first....and the most-missed (bedtime for us) last. It's much easier for mom and baby if the transition is gradual. For me, weaning usually took a couple of months. Of course, the only way I got Aidan to wean was because I had no choice this past month....and so we did go cold turkey. I'm an extended breast feeder though, I guess...something I never thought I would be...yes...he's 2.

For the 'most-missed' feeding thing, having dh step in is the easiest for us too. If they don't smell or recognize that 'milkytunity' things go more smoothly. When dh puts Aidan to bed, it takes 5 minutes...if I do it then there are the tears, etc...and it can take ages.

I also think the Avent sippy cups are good....I tended to give sippy cups at mealtimes and bottles for naptimes until they were completely weaned.

kris

[mommax3]

I always started the process by giving apple juice mixed half and half with water out of a sippy cup....NOT a dripless cup (the ones with the valves) those are really hard for a baby to use! I have to second the Avent brand sippy cup, too, although I only used it with my third. Once the baby liked the juice, then I switched to the dripless cup because they knew what was inside by then and wanted it....incentive!

After that, I started giving milk in a dripless cup with meals (and I think you could do whole milk at any point now) and would "augment" it with strawberry quik (just a little) if the kid was less than enthusiastic about the taste. I think I have read that breastmilk is sweeter-tasting than cow's milk, so that made me feel a little less guilty about adding the strawberry quik.

In general, I found that it was easier to give up the feedings that took place during active parts of the day first, and saved the "cuddle time" feedings for last.

Good luck!

Sally

[SueC]

Yep, what everybody else said!!! I did cold turkey with my first two no problem, but with Mitchell, I gradually backed down and still found myself in a world of pain when I weaned him. I was in the process of weaning when I realized he hadn't nursed all day, so I decided that was it. Ended up being a bad idea, I should have given it more time. Mitchell was a few weeks away from his first birthday, but I really don't think anything magical happens when they hit the 12 month mark. I don't think there is anything wrong with going ahead and introducing milk in a sippy cup. Plus, I found that none of my kids took to drinking formula or breast milk out of a sippy cup. For some reason, that really turned them off. I had to do straight milk (which I added chocolate syrup to at first,) and they all made the transition just fine. Good luck, it's sad but also liberating once you get them weaned!

Thank you all for your insights! I dropped one today, and so far she seems fine. So we are down to three nursings. But I am engorged! Hopefully that will fade over time. Thanks again - I appreciate all of your suggestions.

Still down to three a day, though we had a slight relapse over the weekend. But with three it's hard - because it's two feedings on one side, one on the other, and then reverse the next day. So I'm still feeling engorged. I wish I could have nursed her all night tonight...this is much harder than I expected!

[Flynn]

Try feeding 50% on one side and 50% on the other for all feedings...then you end up being a bit more balanced. If one side is more full adjust the % a bit....

The last feeding is the hardest in my opinion.
We go from breast to sippy cup (my kids refused bottles despite me torturing them ) and I always feel a little guilty at first.

BUT we avoid the wean from a bottle and it all works out in the end.