How Do I Go About Weaning Breastfeeding?

T.,
I weaned my first son when he was 5 months, that was fourteen years ago. I was then in my mid-twenties and working full time(although I did have the fortune of day care on premises, but I didn't take full advantage of this to continue the nursing longer) but I think that I was too preoccupied with 'learning the ropes' of motherhood, and doing whatever the other women around me told me to do (ie my mother, co-workers) to really know what was right for my son! I really can't remember what caused me to make the decision, but it probably had something to do with my fear of his biting me again (once he realized he could get a reaction), as well as my own lack of patience at the time. I didn't understand the concept of a mother's 'sacrifice' at the time. That's all I knew from my own mother who was a 'professional' and a workaholic while raising me. I had to learn this concept of 'sacrifice' on my own. So when I had my second son, I nursed him for two whole years, and my bond with him was stronger because of it. My second one is now 11 years old, and he has a much easier time connecting to the world, friends, people in general and I will always attribute this to the bond that we had those first two years while he nursed, my older son, on the other hand, still struggles with bonding. This 'wisdom' only comes with experience. I am now still nursing my youngest (2 years old) but getting ready to wean. Although I was ready to wean a few months ago, I decided to wait until after he had surgery, which happened a few days ago, it was my 'sacrifice' to help in his recovery. Nursing is comforting, aside from healthy...Whatever you decide to do, do it with love and some amount of 'sacrifice', and it will be alright...

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T.; it's so great that you are nursing your baby! congratulations to you! what a great mom.

how about waiting at least 6 more months before weaning? first and foremost, weaning is usually a painful, stressful, arduous process that no one should have to endure too soon or, frankly, ever if possible. and you don't have to do it if you move gently from nursing to solid foods and the use of a sippy or straw cup when your baby is ready for water.

more over, if you look at the World Health Organization website and many other infant nutrition resources you will see that breast milk is really the optimum food for your baby for at least the first year of life. it reduces by leaps and bounds the risk of childhood diabetes and obesity and allergies as well as all kinds of health problems well into adult life. formula is not even a close second as far as your child's health is concerned. if you stick with nursing, and pumping if you have to be away from the baby, you don't have to use any formula ever; you can nurse her right into readiness for solid food, get her onto good dairy and protien and vegetables and fruits after 6 months into the 1st year, and then you're off and running!

formula is really not good for babies, T.. i know it's the norm but so are many unhealthful and even dangerous iinfant care practices. pediatricians get kickbacks from formula companies and also the use of formula is part of how the mother-child bonding process is undermined. you have such a wonderful and special relationship with your child T., please don't jeapordize it with this 3rd rate excuse for food, which will really be a disservice to her in the long run.

you can easily rent a hospital grade Medela Classic breastpump at any surgical supply store and it will come with clear instructions on how to put it together and use it. it's a really reliable way to make sure your supply doesn't drop if you have to go back to work and also asyou start to introduce a little food to the baby. you could also buy a Medela Pump-In-Style, but i don't know much about these.

try accessing the La Leche League Intl. website and find a group in your area; you don't even have to go to a meeting, just call the chapter leader for more information on successful pumping and good infant nutrition.

good luck to you, and if you would like to chat more about this you can send me a message directly and we can email.

J.

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Hi T.,
Going through the same thing My son is 6 months also. Instead of offering him the breast during feedings I would give him bottles instead and breast feed at night or in the morning. Now he is used to the bottle I don't give him the breast anymore nor does he seem to go after it anymore. Or I'm thinking this is what I should have done if you want to contnue givng her breast milk then you should pump it and give it to her. I really only stopped because of his teeth! ouch....

Hi T.,

I'm just curious why you are stopping breastfeeding? If you enjoy doing it, why not continue?

Hugs,
L.

If you love breastfeeding, why are you weaning? If weaning isn't a necessity, I would recommend continuing to breastfeed until she is much older and/or ready to wean herself.
As for myself, I found that the two children I weaned at 13mo were definitely too early for them. One of them went back to the breast a couple of month later and stayed until he was ready at 18mo. Those weaned in the 15-18 month range did much better than those younger. I think my oldest nursling was 21mo. By many standards this is short, but it worked for me and I think for them.

R.

If you haven't already, start giving her one bottle a day. Try to give the formula right away. If she resists, then pump and give breast milk, just to get her used to the bottle format. Then start giving less and less breast each day until you are only doing bottles. This is a really great way for both the baby and you. This way your breasts will regulate themselves according to the demand for milk and you won't go through painful engorgement, etc... Good Luck!

Don't.....the benefits for both mother and baby until
at least 1 yr. of age are monumental....from immune
response...to diabetes and breast cancer issues for mom...
enjoy the upcoming months as a successful breastfeeding
mom.....in 20 yrs. I PROMISE you, you would give your
left arm for another moment of breastfeeding your precious
baby. Besides formula really isn't a healthy subsitute.

I just want to give you a little encouragement--I have no idea what your situation is, but if you feel that it is time to stop breastfeeding, you need to stop. Breastfeeding is a wonderful thing and is best for your baby--but it also shouldn't be a source of guilt for you. I had an awful experience: because of the nature of my job and my work schedule, I weaned my son early by some people's standards and was completely badgered and harassed by other moms who thought I was doing the wrong thing. I went through weeks of guilt and shame, feeling like I was being selfish or doing the wrong thing for my child. But once we went through the switch, it was just fine and I was much happier and more relaxed knowing that I am a good mom despite what others thought. He switched to formula just fine and is now a healthy and happy 1 1/2 year old who drinks whole milk and water.

As for how to do it, I did what a lot of the other moms here suggested--slowly phased out breastfeeding sessions by giving him a bottle instead. Soon we were down to just one (breastfeeding) at night and one in the morning, and we switched the morning one first, then the night one. It worked for us. Good luck!

I wrote this paragraph before adding this word of encouragement, too. Only you know how to balance your life and if you need to move to the next step in liberating yourself and your baby from breastfeeding that is your decision. No one can tell you when to stop but yourself, so if you feel the time is right, dont let anyone make you feel bad about your decision. It is hard. Have someone film you a few times breast feeding so that you can remember how precious it is. Then move forward.

I would suggest that you take your time with the process so that you and your baby get used to it together. Start your baby on a bottle of formula (which they usually love) and alternate with breast milk if you have to pump and avoid engorgement. Sadly enough babies usually prefer bottles of formula to mommy's breast as long as they have enough cuddling. The formula is richer, sweeter and easier for the babies to drink as it comes out of a bottle faster than milk comes out of mom; point being babies are often ready to wean before moms are:). It is hard to do so spend a little extra time cuddling with your baby each day.
Exercise, hot showers and advil will help you with the initial engorgement which actually goes away within a week or so. Good luck.

Kara Y, this is exactly what I did and it worked like a charm. I had no painful engorgement.
And BF isn't a wonderful comforting experience for everyone. I did it for 3 1/2 months with my second son and was miserable every single time. I would dread just thinking about it. So I made the decision on my own to stop (I did it for 4 1/2 months with my first son-who was actually much harder to BF). It wasn't just a little sacrifice for me (freedom, etc). It was really a horrible experience for me and everyone around me. I'm a million times happier now that I stopped, although bottle feeding isn't the answer for everyone, it was for me. BF isn't for everyone either. I also pumped every day too, and got a good stockpile in the freezer, so he'll be getting some BM until he is about 5 1/2 months old. Good luck, if you want to stop, don't let anyone tell you that you're wrong. Its your decision

I nursed my three each until they were 14 mos. I wean very slowly and just drop a feeding every couple of weeks as they are becoming more interested in their "sippy" cups. It was a very easy process and because it was so slow I really didn't suffer from engorgement. I don't think they noticed a change. I drop the night feeding last.
A.

First of all don't let anyone tell you that you should feel guilty about weaning. Do what feels right for you and your family. Like others said just replace a feeding with formula every couple of days and in a couple of weeks to a month you should be good. This helps with engorgement too, you'll start producing less milk the less feedings you are giving. I went back to work part-time when my son was 3 months and after a while he wouldn't take what I pumped from the bottle when I was at work but would take formula so at 6 months when he was feeding less anyway I started slowly weaning and by the time he was 7 months he was only on formula. I know every baby is different but my son didn't seem to mind. I felt more sad about stopping than he did it seemed. :)

Starting with alternating breastfeeding with bottle feeding worked best for me. Gradually reduce the breastfeeding sessions from there. IF your baby has trouble transitioning to a bottle/nipple... you might need to pump breast milk into a bottle. Good Luck!

Replace one feeding at a time, at the same time of day consistently. Wait at least three days in between replacing the 2nd, 3rd, 4th etc feedings so that your breasts can adjust. It's horribly painful and highly emotional to the mom to wean too quickly. Perhaps the baby is ready to replace one of the breastfeeds with cereal. That will help too. When offerring a bottle for the first few times, try to do it just before the baby's scheduled feeding so they are not screaming in hunger. Pay careful attention to the nipple flow so they do not get frustrated that it is too slow or choke on it being too fast. Good Luck!