breastfeeding...start To Wean

I see you've gotten some good suggestions already. I would recommend the book "The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding" put out by the La Leche League; it has a good section on weaning. Are you asking what to give her in place of the feeding you are eliminating? Tap water (because it's fluorinated), whole milk, diluted juice (all in a sippy cup), or healthy snacks are all options.

When they are one they need 16oz of whole milk a day. I would start cutting out one feeding at a time and replacing it as needed with whole milk. Gradually cut out all feedings except right before bed and first feeding of morning. Those are the hardest to wean because it soothes them so much. If she already uses a sippy cup you're way ahead of the game. Most nursing babies will only nurse. You probably won't have much of a problem getting her to switch.

Good Luck!
M.

If your child isn't allergic to soy products, try giving a glass of soy milk (silk plus is a great one to try because it has added omega-3's)in replace of one breastfeeding and slowly increase. By twelve months she will be well on her way. If you have any problems with engourgment put cold cabbage leaves (not lettuce) in your bra, right next to the skin. Don't know why but it stops the milk from coming in. It really works and is commonly suggested to most patients. I actually learned about it in nursing school.

I would recommend reading The Whole Soy Story before ever giving a child that young soy milk. It really isn't safe for a child that young.

I just weaned my 3 1/2 year old. She was ready. I was ready, so it just happened naturally.

I agree with Lisa, that is pretty much how I did it with my son at that same age and it worked very well. Just start slowly eliminating feedings starting with the midday and ending with either the morning or nighttime feeding. My son barely even noticed and it was comfortable for me. You could replace each feeding with either regular milk or a small snack. I was terrified of eliminating that nighttime feeding because I thought it would give him a hard time going to sleep but he was just fine. Good luck!

my son is 11- so it has been awhile but I would recommend you just slowly day by day missing a feeding- so if tomorrow you want to nurse in the morning and skip afternoon and do it in the evening and pretty much just keep on skipping till you feel comfortable- you dont want to get where you are so full that it hurts- just go with the flow and in a month you might just be doing it at night or not at all.
good luck

I agree that you need to take it slow, if you can. I have weaned a couple of children cold turkey and it really bites the big one. I found that, for me, it took about 3-4 days for me to not feel the feeding that we missed. So I would take out a feeding at that interval. And then replace that feeding with one of formula or regular milk. If you take is slow then it won't be as uncomfortable for you and less stressful on her. Good luck.

I too agree with Lisa. That is how I did it, but I only waited 3-4 days in between eliminations - not a full week. It depends on how quickly you both adjust to the change! Good luck!

I probably can't add much to what was already suggested. Take it slow, eliminate/delay a feeding every 3 days or so (whatever you're comfortable with). Get down to where you only have feedings before naps, bed and morning. Then cut out the nap feeding (replacing feedings with milk in a cup). The last feeding you want to eliminate is the one she's most attached to. I started weaning when my daughter was 11-months and she wasn't fully weaned until she was 13-months.

When my daughter and I got down to one feeding, I just skipped it one morning telling her mommy didn't have any more milk. She was upset. Then I had to feed her the next morning, we skipped the next two morning and then she fed one last time and that was it. We always used a nursing pillow, so she would cry when she saw it or would bring it to me and I just avoided our usual nursing spots for about a week after she was weaned. Like I said, she was visibly upset, but I was ready to wean her and she got over it pretty quickly.

Good luck!

I would just start to cut down on the nursings. Maybe you do 10 minutes a side, cut it to 5. Or cut out a nursing all together - keep the morning and night and cut out the others. Then continue to cut down on timing. It seems like they wean too as they get more interested in other things to eat!