Weaing from Breast

I'm not sure why you need to wean him just because you are going back to work. My son nursed when he woke up and before he went to bed and it never interfered with my work. If he will drink water during the day and eats a balanced diet I don't know if you really need to force him to take breast milk or formula from a cup. You can also talk to your pediatrician about other options. At 11 months he will probably be fine without bm or formula and you can switch to cow's milk, soy milk or another milk alternative.

I agree with the others. There's no need to wean here. Nurse him in the morning and evenings to provide the maximum health benefits for the BOTH of you. He'll get what liquids he needs from his food and water and you.

Could you try to put the breastmilk in a cup since he can drink from one? Also, I've heard that it can help if the dad or another adult feeds the baby a bottle--not the mother. A baby knows that you have the fresh stuff and may not take a bottle from you.

I had the same problem with my daughter going from the breast to the bottle to the sippy cup.....always a struggle. Some kids are more persisitant than others! I just keep trying and did not give her any breast milk. Once I eliminated the breast, it took a few days and she finally took the bottle. Babies will not starve themselves, so eventually he will. This may seem hard to do, but with a persistant baby, you will need to do this. This is advice I got from the doctor too.

At 11mos old, he can easily just nurse in the morning and at bedtime and get what he needs from breastmilk, no need to wean him. He won't dehydrate as long as he's eating a good diet and getting some water during the day, those two breastmilk feedings will stil give him everything he needs to thrive. Breastmilk changes as your child grows, so right now with only two feedings its highly concentrated and made exactly for his needs.

If he's on solid food and taking some water you might want to discuss switching him to whole milk a little sooner than 12 months. Maybe he's stubborn and just wants to goods straight from the tap : ) I switched my son to whole milk at 11 months. If his diet is good enough it might be an option. If your ped thinks you could switch early I'd try a few different sippy cups with milk and see how it goes. It took us about three or four sippy cups before we found one our son would take.

my son weaned himself at 9 months and I went straight to a cup. I'd pump and put it in a sippy cup. He'll get used to it. =) Good luck!