Advice on Weaning / Immunity Issues Following Weaning

As far as the flu season coming up, the only way to get immunity for the strains of flu out this season-and this is true for every flu season- is to get the flu. H1N1 is a new strain, unless you have had it already, you couldn't help yourself avoid it if you were exposed, much less your child. They get sick, that's how immunity is normally achieved. The best way to avoid anyone getting sick is to get enough sleep (good luck with that one MOm!) and get the best nutrition that you can. I am sorry if this was not what were looking for, enjoy your children, and have fun.

1 mom found this helpful

I dont know about weaning when pregnant but I have weaned my son. We did so about 8 months ago when he was 8 months old (he started biting once he got teeth and I just got sick of having bloody nipples) I did not notice any decrease in his immunity to things. My husband even brought home swine flu from a business trip. My husband and I were really sick and my son at 10 months only had it as a mild cold which was more annoying than anything else. If you were to wean prior to 6 months I believe that you would see a decrease in immunity but at 14 months your child will have had a great start and will be fine. You should be more concerned about keeping yourself healty because swine flu affects pregnant women the worst - not the fetus just you.

The only other time my son has been sick at all the last 8 months was when he got pink eye - but that is a completely different story.

If your child is showing any interest in weaning I would say go for it and good luck! It isn't that hard to do really we took about a month for my milk to dry up to where I didn't need to feed him or pump.

Congratulations on your pregnancy! And having made it this far with breastfeeding! I got pregnant with my daughter (now 3 months)when my son was 11 months old and so began the process of weaning him at about 13-14 months. I too wasn't up for the idea of tandem nursing. It was a long process (he wasn't fully weaned until about 18 months, the kids are 20 months apart). Most of the delay was because of me and not being able to quite give up the closeness of breastfeeding him and the quick solution it offered to any problem. My son liked to breastfeed when he woke up in the morning and after naps; he was never big into the before bed feeding. I started saying no to him more during the day and offering him a distraction, either his cup or a toy. He stopped asking for it in the morning after a few weeks and we were left only with doing it after naps. That slowly dropped to every other day, a few times a week, etc. I was able to leave him for a weekend (a big deal for me since I knew it would the last time to be child-free for a while with a new breastfeeding baby coming) but he continued to nurse 1-2 times a week for the next month or so. It just slowly faded away. I liked breastfeeding through the first trimester (and beyond) of my second pregnancy because it gave me more time to sleep/rest as we cuddled after he woke up.
I never felt any difference in regards to my pregnancy pre- or post-weaning. I don't know if it was helped because of the slow process or if it would have been the same if I weaned him more quickly. I had morning sickness until atleast 20 weeks with both pregnancy so that did not change with continued breastfeeding.
As for the swine flu season, the only way breastfeeding would make a difference with the swine flu is if you were vaccinated against it and your child wasn't (or you got the flu and the child didn't). Because you're pregnant, you would be eligible for the vaccine but your child would also be and would be encouraged to get it (and the regular flu vaccine) because you'll have a new baby in the house during the flu season. I didn't notice any difference in how often my son was sick after breastfeeding. He continues to be a very healthy little boy.
A book you might find very helpful during this process: Adventures in Tandem Nursing: Breastfeeding during Pregnancy and Beyond by Hilary Flower. It includes material on breastfeeding during pregnancy and toddler weaning in addition to tandem nursing. It was the only book I could find that had good material on nursing and/or weaning while pregnant.
Good luck and let me know if you have any more questions.

I am going to admit, I weaned my son at 13 months and he had always been healthy as a horse - after I quit he did get a cold and later, an ear infection. I also did not want to nurse a toddler and felt ready for a break - my son was also showing signs of being ready to wean - that being said, I did notice how much the breastfeeding keeps them healthy, of course they could still get sick. I would not keep breastfeeding all winter just to avoid the H1N1 virus - instead wash hands constantly, give him vitamins and take as many precautions as you can to ensure he does not catch anything. They are working on a vaccine I think. As for my weaning experience -
As I said he was 13 months, and we where down to about 2 feedings a day. I should have been patient and done things a bit more gradually because I had SEVERE engorgement for three weeks! I could not leave the house and I was in a ton of pain. I had to go to the doctor in the end because it was so scary. The doctor felt so sorry for me he offered me pain killers! LOL The fact was, I still had to just wait until it went down and eventualy they did. So I would say try and go about the weaning slowly. Part of the reason I weaned was because my hormones had been going crazy up and down and I was having alot of cramping and spotting - I never even got my period back because I got pregnant a few weeks later -and you are also pregnant? Congratulations! Good luck!

When we were growing up, my sister and I did not get sick much until we went to school, and then we came down with everything on and off for about 2 years. My son was fine up until he went to daycare (at 3 months old - breastfed till 5 months), and then he came down with whatever was going around for about a year. I think whenever they get exposed to the general public germs that are out there is when their own immunity starts to build up.

I weaned my daughter at 13 mos. for exactly the same reason (pregnancy, energy issues, wanting a break from BFing). I was a little sad about it, too, because I had planned to BF until she was 2. But really, we had no problems and it was pretty painless. I did it slowly-- first I cut out the naptime feedings, then about a month later, I was going out of town for the weekend, so I just didn't resume BFing when I got back. I had no hormonal issues with my pregnancy, and (kind of to my dismay) my daughter didn't seem too fazed by the whole thing. I didn't notice any change in her immunity or tendency to get sick after weaning at all. Hope that helps!

I weaned DS at 18 mos (he mostly weaned himself really) and he's only been sick once since then (that was 5 months ago). He goes to a small daycare with only two other children, so he does get more exposure than a stay at home kid, but not as much as at a larger daycare center.

I am a bit different from everyone else who commented because I had to wean my little girl at 3 months - she is now 15 months old and only once got sick with a mild fever at about 12 months of age. Other than that she is a big healthy girl.
When she was around 10 months old my husband and mother (who lives with us and provides daycare) both came down with a horrible flu that kept them in bed for three days straight. I took care of both of them and never caught the flu and my daughter, who I tried to keep away from them, never got it either. I suppose she received the immunity to that strain of flu from me during those first 3 months of feeding.
As for the Swine Flu - I think we are all concerned about that because everyone of child bearing age on down to infants are at risk. Since you do not have immunity to it your child will not receive immunity either. So as far as I can tell the Swine Flu is not really a factor in whether you wean now or later.
Congratulations on your pregnancy and for being able to breastfeed for such a long time!

I'm not 100% sure about this, so you should check in with the doctor, but I think I remember hearing that most of the immunity benefit that comes from breastfeeding starts to wear off around 18 month or so?? My son started getting sick here and there around 19-20 months, and I heard that it was common to pick up more communicable diseases around that time. And I had stopped breastfeeding him at 10 months, so it took that long for him to get sick (Fifth's Virus).
To clarify, I also got flu vaccine in the fall (and I think he did too). He has always been very healthy.

I can comment on the latter part of your question. I have 3 children. I breastfed 1 and 2 for 12 months each (no overlaps) and was only able to provide breast milk for #3 for a couple of weeks. #1 was hardly ever sick, no ear infections, etc. #2 had constant ear infection, colds, fluid in her ears, etc., etc. #3 average colds but nothing more serious (and slept like a charm most of her infancy).

My point is the first two had same amount of breast milk but both had different immune systems as far as how often they were sick.

Good luck weaning. Your child will most likely have a cold of some sort this cold season. He is older now, exploring, putting hands in mouth, etc.

A friend of mine weaned her son at 1 year and she said she noticed a significant uptick in his illnesses. Nothing major, but got a lot more little colds and such than when he was nursing.

My daughter still nurses and at daycare they tell me that both of my children are never sick.

Nursing helps, but I think with all the little stuff mostly and helping them recover more quickly.

I had to stop nursing my first child when I got pregnant with the second child because due to hormones my breasts hurt terribly. Also I was too weak with morning sickness. My first was almost two years old. She became a thumb sucker after nursing ended. Other than that she was healthy. AF

I have had similar swine flue worries since I just weaned my 18 month old fully this month. However, the fact is YOU have to have teh Swine Flu yourself in order to provide immunity. At least that's my understanding. The odds of you getting it are probably pretty small and thus the odds of offering the immunity are low.

Also, you and your child will qualify to get the vaccine first, so as long as you can maintain your health until the vaccine is available, you should be in good shape. In the meantime, you both should wash hands frequently, eat probiotics, take vitamins, etc.

As I mentioned I just weaned my 18 month old , so I haven't had an opportunity to observe changes in her immunity - although she has only ever had 1 cold and 1 stomach bug. Yea! But I weaned my older daughter, a day care baby, at 13 months. Unfortunately, she did get more infections as a toddler than as an infant. But tha tis also proabably diue to the nature of being a toddler - hands in mouth, touching other kids, etc.

I will say, BF doesn't have to be all or nothing. You might get down to one feeding at night or similar and still decide to keep it up for awhile. Jus tbe openminded. All I can say is good luck. I can't imagine nursing while pregnant, so good for you for getting this far. Enjoy this transition to a new phase with your oldest. I