Wanting to Wean 11Month Old from Breastfeeding at a Year

hey B.! i breastfed my son for 16 months. he weaned himself off and i had NO pain at all!! he was only eating a couple times a day after the 1 year mark...but we never had a bottle and i didn't try to do it at all. i've heard it's kind of like potty training...they will do it when they are ready. some kids are sooner than others...but you don't have to use cow's milk to do it. you can...but don't have to. my son ate baby food, cereal, oatmeal...whatever they can at that age and it was super easy. he will be 3 next month and to be honest...he rarely drinks milk. he never liked it and i never forced it. he loves cereal and drinks the milk out of the bowl, but that's really about it. he will have a cup of milk every once in awhile if he asked for it...but i definitely don't force the issue as long as he is healthy. good luck weaning your daughter. just let her do it on her own...it will be much less painful for you and for her! :)

both my kids went straight to cups at one year. I would just skip worrying about the bottles and offer milk from a cup instead. After one year of age, they need to start taking most of their calories/nutrition from meals and snacks rather than from bottles/breast.
I would get her down to just a bottle/nursing before bed and before naps, offering a big cup of milk in the morning with a good breakfast and offer milk or water in cups with snacks and meals throughout the day.
When my kids made the switch to no bottles, we still did the nap/bedtime routines the same, just a sippy cup of milk while we rocked/read books instead of a bottle or nursing.
Bottles get to be a hard habit to break the older they get!

B.,
You sound like you are doing everything right. I breastfeeded all four of my kids and all but one went over a year. As far as the cows milk this is what I did, I mixed the formula and cows milk starting at 1/4 cows milk and 3/4 formaula till I got to where it was all cows milk. None of my kids where on the bottle for very ling after I weaned them. Put the cows milk in a sipper cup for your daughter durning the day. At her age she should do just fine on the cows milk with out problems. I hope this helps a little.

Best of luck,
L. A.

hi B.,

wean slowly... you can transition to goat's milk... this milk is most similar to human milk.. easy to digest. using a sippy cup is great.
i also cut out feedings - like others suggested... and then the very last part of the process, i basically skipped every other day for like a week... then stopped. meaning - i breastfed in the morning, then the next time i breastfed was the next night.
oh.. and shorten your feedings each time too.
good luck!!

I have two children and I breastfed both of them. When I decided to switch it was a big adjustment. Number one, engorgement is painful. But if you really want to switch you have to stick with it. I do agree with you though on replacing those feedings with bottles. Also, when I had my girls I was receiving W.I.C. You have to go in for a 1-yr checkup. The nurse there (with both children)really suggested for me to wean the kids off the bottle all together around age 1. Just FYI. You may talk to your daughter's Dr. but you can slowly start introducing baby food.

first off, let me tell you that everyone is going to have a different opinion on this, on no one opinion is right.

i think the fact that she is already used to a bottle makes a huge difference, because you already know that she will take something other than the breast. i don't have much experience on the subject because i had major problems breastfeeding both of my children and my milk dried up on it's own before i wanted it too. however, it was gradual, so i didn't have any problems with engorgement. i think you're on the right track there. when my mother weaned me, i screamed for three days straight, and wouldn't eat anything, but i also wasn't used to a bottle. maybe you should start giving her bottles with formula or cow's milk, and only give her breast milk from the breast. (or maybe half and half in her bottles.) as far as taking away the bottle...i would try to get her used to a sippy cup as soon as possible. i took my youngest's bottle the day after she turned one, and it didn't go over so well. i had tried to get her used to cups and she never liked them, but after i took away the bottle she got used to them pretty fast. i still give them to her when she goes to bed, and she still refers to them as bottles. in retrospect, none of this advice is really that great, but just keep in mind that no matter what you choose, a child won't let themselves starve, so if you can handle a little crying then do whatever you feel you need to do. you may also want to try to stop breastfeeding instead, and only feed her with bottles. then take away the breastmilk. just do whatever feels right for you, and i'm sure you'll do fine!

B., I weaned both of my boys at 15 months. In both situations they were nursing several times daily so I had to take a short weekend trip away to cut the cord. With my first son, he was instantly weaned. My next son, a real social kid, managed to get my milk started again so I had to go away again the next month. That worked but he continued to try to nurse for another year. Wow!

Also, please don't put your baby on cow's milk. I know thats what all the brilliant pediatricians tell you to do but consider this: Ther is no other mammal on this planet that drinks another species' milk except humans. Also, there is no other species of mammal that drinks milk after it is weaned. Milk from another species, especially a cow, is not recognized by our body. It has been linked to many diseases, more recently diabetes. To compound the problem, our milk is cooked so the proteins are altered and there are no enzymes left. Soy milk isn't much better because it is highly processed using dangerous chemicals. DO your homework. Kids DO NOT need milk. If they are being fed a wide variety of fruits and veggies, they do not need milk. There are so many books out there educating us on the dangers of milk. Good alternatives are rice milk and almond milk or filtered water.

I started weaning my son at 10mths, he was weaned from all nursings except the night one but he was also eating baby food while nursing. I would give him water in a sippy cup and he was still nursing, he turned 1yr old and he got milk during the day when he wasnt nursing. He weaned himself from the last nursing at 16 1/2mths. As for the engorgment by doing it slowly you shouldnt feel engorged and when you stop altogether you may or may not feel engorged, if you do just pump to relieve the engorgment not to empty.

If you have anymore questions or concerns, feel free to send me a PM.

Hope all goes well
Good Luck
G.

Hi B.! It's sounds like you've got the right idea...slowly and gradually is the best way for mom and baby. You want to aviod getting engorged which could turn into mastitis (breast infection). Most of the new information will tell you NOT to do it abrubtly, by leaving baby behind for a weekend or other type of seperation.
Breastfeeding is very much second nature. My son will be 2 next month and we're still breastfeeding! I was going to wean him at a year and when I actually analyzed my feelings and looked toward his cues I realized we both weren't ready. I'm not saying this is your situation, but don't feel bad if weaning takes longer than you anticipated or you decide to wait awhile. If you still want to go forth on weaning I would strongly suggest a book called "HOW WEANING HAPPENS" by diane bengson. It's wonderful!! Also, I would strongly suggest contacting your local La Leche League. They are the world's leading experts on anything breastfeeding... here's the link: http://www.llli.org/WebUS.html
They can even help you over the phone and give great suggestions. Good luck and congratulations on breastfeeding for a year!!!
K.

Hi, B.. The decision to wean depends on your individual circumstances. I weaned my first daughter at about 1 year, because she was drinking from a cup, going to a babysitter during the day while I worked, and she didn't seem to want to nurse longer. My first son kind of weaned himself at around 7 months--earlier that I wanted, but he just wasn't interested any more. My last two children were not ready to be weaned at all! My third child was very attached to nursing, and finally when he was 26 months old, I was pregnant again, and I told him I needed to stop nursing for the new baby's sake. He seemed to understand this. My last child nursed until she was 3 years old! If you don't have a health concern that dictates that you stop nursing, why not keep that special bond in the evenings when your daughter is going to sleep for as long as you and she enjoy it? Because you say you are "nervous" about making the transition, I wonder if someone else has told you that you "ought" to stop nursing at 1 year? Only you and your daughter know what is right for you. I think 18 months to 2 years is a healthier time to wean, unless the child loses interest.
J. Wynhausen

It sounds like you are well on your way to weaning (weaning starts the first time you give anything as a substitute for breastmilk). Do you want to wean her for any particular reason, are you having trouble breastfeeding or not enjoying it or feel pressure to? I've found with my children nice and slow works best. One day your child nurses to sleep and then all of the sudden you realize that she's been stopping and rolling over to fall asleep and then one day you realize it's been a week since she nursed at all. We are mammels and like with other mammels, we find our own time to wean. Do what works best for you and your baby, let her and your own feelings lead the way!

K.

I nursed both of my daughters for 13 months. You are right to start weaning now, then they are completely done by the 13 month point. Don't add bottles, use sippy cups, because then you just have to wean from bottles. Put juice with water in the sippy cup for meal times. Cut out the bottle at naptime. For me nap time and bed time were the hardest, so next I would recommend getting rid of the morning feeding. When they wake up feed the cereal with juice. It is a slow process. I cut out one feeding and then two weeks later another one. I worried about it for months before I started weaning and everything worked out fine, with both girls. Just be patient.
A.
28 year old mother of 2...3 and 1

I breast fed until my daughter was 15 months. I think at this age, you can start replacing breastfeedings with either a bottle or a meal. So, in the morning, instead of breastfeeding, her right at wake-up, get her some rice cereal or oatmeal. This way you don't have to pump to have a bottle for this. On the week-ends stay consistent with the weekly routine. It's basically just switching out a breastfeeding/bottle session with a meal. You can use jarred food, a baby food grinder to grind what you are eating, a food processor, or make your own baby food. (A good book for that is Super Baby Food, but I can't remember who the author is) I also would start switching to a sippy cup and not a bottle anymore. After age one, babies can have cows milk in place of formula or breastmilk. I found it was easier to transition with vanilla soy milk, as it is a little sweeter like breast milk. And just as an encouragement, I was down to one feeding a day, bed time, and we were doing good with that and I had no clue how to get her to bed without breastfeeding her. Then I had a dr's appt and was put on medication that was not compatible with breastfeeding and had to stop cold turkey. The first few nights of bedtime with no nurrey (that's what we called it) were fussy, but she got used to it really quickly. Also, I understand wanting to wean her, but if you just want to keep the night time one for a while, you can do that too!

B.,

You are doing a wonderful thing for your daughter. Weaning is a project that takes a little time. I replaced a breastfeeding with a cup, YES a cup, every three days until it was all cup. If you get uncomfortably full pump a little.

I wanted to tell you the cup is important for your daughter's teeth. I know you will be great. Enjoy!!!The children grow really fast.