I Want to Wean My Baby, How Do I Do It?

I nursed my son till he was 2 so it may be different, but I started only nursing him in the morning and at night and would slowly cut back on the time. Then I went away for the weekend and left some breast milk in a sippy cup for him with my mom.
She was upset I quit at 2 years she wanted me to keep nursing for another year. I kept telling her it is a personal choice and I appreciated her concern. I wish you the best of luck.
A.

L.,

I want to wish you luck because I tried that with my son when he was about 10 months old and he refused the formula. He would spit it out. I gave it to him in a sippy cup because at 10 months he didn't use a bottle at all anymore. He hated the taste of it. Your baby might not take formula. She's probably used to breast milk which is supposed to be sweeter that formula. I ended up nursing my son until 13 months and weaned him onto cows milk. I don't think it's the taste of that particular brand, but your daughter isn't used to the taste of formula. I wish you luck. I don't have any suggestions, but I want to tell you that I understand where you're coming from and I hope it works for you.

L.

My 3 suggestions:
1) Put pure breast milk in it to get her used to milk in the sipper.
2) Talk to the doc about whether he feels she would be okay to start cow’s milk. My son was started on Whole milk at 10 1/2 months.
3) Mix breast milk with formula. Start with 3/4 breast and 1/4 formula. As she starts to accept that easily, mix more formula into it until you eliminate the breast milk.

Other than that you can try different types of sippers, including a straw cup. She may like it better if she identifies a specific cup with the breast milk/formula. My son would get mad when I put milk in the cup I originally had given him water.

Hope it helps~ J.

Good Morning L.,

My best advice is first get her use to formula or continue until she's 1 and can have regular milk. I know the carnation good start taste a lot sweeter than most. Mix the formula in with her cereal in the morning so she gets use to it that way. I would not start her on a bottle she is too old for that just put it in the sippy cup she will drink it eventually. Then when she can be weaned for mine I had my husband do it. She can smell your milk so she won't give in until she gets it. It will be a very HARD day or 2 but then it's done.....do it on the weekend. I strongly suggest you leaving the house overnight at least.
Good luck

Hi L.! Are you pumping anymore? You could try to mix the formula with EBM(expressed breast milk) and go from there. Or, give your daughter the formula at meal times to help with the introduction. That's how I got my son to drink whole milk. He didn't like it at all at first. Every meal I gave him milk with his meal and gradually he started to drink it. Now he can't get enough. Just to let you know, I'm still breastfeeding my 16 month old son.

I would skip the bottles all together. That would be great if it's one more thing you don't have to wean him from later on. Try pumped milk at first. If you don't have a pump, I suggest just a manual... the Medela Harmony is a great manual pump. Try pumping in the morning if you've never pumped before. Kellymom.com has a message board about pumping and you can ask questions there about weaning as well.

And if it were me, I'd just go to cow's milk at that age and skip formula, but you might want to check with your doctor first. I wouldn't do this if your baby has had sensitivity to dairy or has a lot of food allergies, but my son has had whole cow's milk since 9-10 months... more in cooking, but he had it to drink first to make sure he didn't have a reaction so I could use it in cooking for him. You can also look up more information about cow's milk before 12 months in Dr. Jack Newman's articles online. Just google it and it should come up.

good luck!

I would say like one of the others...try putting some pumped breast milk in a sippy cup and mixed with formula just a little or just give all breast milk. If you aren't too paranoid you can try some breast milk and cows milk too. I did have a friend even do formula but put in just a tad of vanilla cream to mask the bitter taste. This is not bad for the child because the nutrients are still in the milk or formula. Same thing with chocolate milk. I wouldn't give a bottle because by 12 months most peds recommend going to a sippy cup because bottles aren't good for their teeth. My daughter totally took over sippy cups even to bed at night with her milk or formula at about 9months old. Good luck! :)

S.

It could be the fomula so you might want to try another brand or maybe even a soy formula. You may also want to try pumping and putting it in her sippy. I hope it turns out well for you!!

Why don't you just wait 6-8 weeks and then wean her to milk? You can also try soy milk, rice milk, etc. to see if she likes the taste of those (but don't dilute, she needs the fat)