have started weaning my 1 year old and am wondering how you did it? I started the process about 1 month ago where I stopped most day time feeding. He eats solid very well and drinks whole milk, although not much. He drinks juice water and milk well. He is now breastfed b4 bed and first thing in the morning. These 2 times are going to be very hard to give up for the both of us. They are when we do a lot of cuddling and bonding. How do I stop? How did you do it?
Hello. Just because you are not breastfeeding, does not mean you have to stop cuddling. Keep the cuddling, read a story while he drinks from a cup at night. In the morning, cuddle a little before he eats -- if he's not starving : ) -- and right after.
Good luck.
First of all, S., congratulations to making it to a year! That is wonderful & will truly provie LIFE-LONG bennefits to you and your son! In fact, they're finding out more & more bennefits that it offers both of you! Including: decreased risk of developing diabetes, obesity, high cholesterol, leukemia, digestive disorders, allergies, heart conditions (even for you!)...and of course, your chances of developing female cancers (especially breast cancer) have just dropped by about 24%! So this truly is a milestone worth celebrating!
Now, I have to ask you why you'd want to wean entirely? There is no reason at all that one should wean (for a non-medical reason, of course) at any age, especially at only age 1. The WHO suggests nursing for a MINIMUM of 2 years & the APA suggests a minimum of 1-2 yrs or for as long as mutually desired. The longer you nurse, the greater the bennefit to both of you. Your risk of cancer development decreases approx. 2% for EACH month you nurse. Though this is cumulative (so you'll continue to reap this bennefit w/ any subsequent children), it is most benneficial when done consecutively.
Did you know that the immunity in breastmilk actually INCREASES as the child gets older? That way, they are still protected against getting ill and if they do get ill, they generally get better much quicker & often are far less sick than if they had not still been nursing (I have much personal experience with this and am, personally, forever greatful since my children could've been seriously ill!). In addition, breastmilk alone can make up approx 25%+ of a toddlers dietary needs & caloric intake, which MORE than "fills in the gaps" caused by a digestive system that's still developing and a toddler who will, at times be picky and/or too busy playing & exploring to eat much.
If you do choose to wean all together, I highly suggest reading about it in La Leche's "The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding" (the "Weaning with Love" chapter) or to contact your local LLL Leader. Many women, however, choose to drop the day time feedings & keep the bedtime ones since they are the most cherished.
Trust me, eventually, a child WILL self-wean if you allow them to. No child has ever gone to high school or college still nursing! By then, your son will be far more interested in another womans breasts! lol
Hope this helps some! Congratulations again! You should be very proud of your accompishment!!!
It will be easier than you think. I also thought I was going to be so sad and I did cry when I initially began the weaning process (those were my last 2 times to stop as well) but it did get easier! I gave up one at a time. I did morning first. Once i got my daughter out of her crib in the morning, I immediately brought her downstairs and offered her a sippy cup. She still sat on my lap and we cuddled but she had her cup instead of the breast. She would (and still does) cuddle with me for about 15 minutes and then get down to go play. I think seeing her toys helped take her mind off of nursing. I did that for one month and then eliminated the bed time nursing as well. Being that this was the only time she nursed and we had given up all others she didn't fuss. I DID NOT sit in her chair in her room and rock as we did when nursing. I simply went through the bedtime routine as usual: books, light out, sing songs while standing/cuddling/swaying, kiss, and put into her crib. She shocked me and went right down. Good luck and know that just because you gave up daily nursing doesn't mean you have to completely wean right now. If both you and your son want to continue then why not continue and complete the weaning process when one of you is ready? It took me 4 months to completely wean my daughter because that was what was right for us. You need to do what you feel is right for you and your son.
you don't have to stop! Keep those feedings, the yare very beneficial to his health at his age. The milk meets his needs and changes to match what his growing body needs. At two nursings a day, the milk you are making is very thick rich, and full of vitamins, fats, and antibodies he needs very much.
You don't have to stop! Keep going ,at least through cold and flu season! Its great for both of you!
Once we were down to 2 nursings a day (morning and night) I kept it at that for a few months. Then, I was just nursing at nighttime. After a month of nursing once a day my daughter just said no one night., she was 16 1/2 mos old. If you don't mind continuing to nurse past one year your son will probably wean himself. Good Luck!
I thought it was going to be really tough on him too, but it was harder on me! I stopped the morning feeding first and brought a sippy of warm milk to him when i got him in the mornings. He didn't mind at all, and we used the time to play and take longer to get dressed with games. I kept the evening feeding for a long time, just because it was so easy for him to sleep, and I liked that! He was great at falling asleep himself, but I just loved the drowsy baby I had before putting him down. When I did stop that, I kept the rest of the routine before bed, and he never had a problem!
If it is going so nicely - why stop these two nursing sessions?
-H.
Is there a reason you feel you need to wean right now? You could, as others have mentioned, keep just those two feeds until he lets you know he's ready to stop. The AAP recommends a minimum of 1 year of breastfeeding and the continuation until it is mutually decided to stop. The WHO recommends a minimum of 2 years and continuing as long as mutually desired.
If you're looking for IRL support, there are several nursing friendly groups in the area. It's been a great source of comofort to me to have these resources available. My daughter is still nursing at 28 months. Besides nutritionally, there are social and emotional benefits to continuting to nurse at this age.
I hope you can find a decision that works for you.
S.
I had the same problem. I seriously never thought my son would stop nursing but he was fully weaned by 13 months. I cut out the middle nursing first. Then I cut out the night nursing. I had previously seen a post on this on mamsource and used it's advice on this. When my son woke up to night nurse I said - you are a big boy now and you don't need to eat now. please go back to bed. He screamed at me but I did not give in. I did however hold him to make him feel secure. He used to night nurse a lot so this was hard but within 2-3 nights of doing this he was nightweaned. then i cut out the bedtime feed and finally I weaned him from the last nurse which was the morning feeding. It went really well since he was used to taking bottles of breastmilk/whole milk. The only real problem I had was with my body. I had read many books on how to wean but they really don't tell you about how to wean you. Make sure you continue to pump while weaning. when you drop the 1st feeding, pump for 5 mins during that feed the first day and decrease by 1 min each day until that pumping session is fully finished then move on to dropping the next feed the same way (this is what the lactation consultant advised when i experienced engorgement). If you still feel engorged you can put cabbage leaves on your breasts just remove them when they wilt. good luck and feel free to contact me with any questions.
Sorry but why are you weaning if you're not ready? it's still great for your child even if 1 yo
I agree with the other posters, when your son is ready he will let you know. For both of my kids, it kinda happened when we were traveling since we weren't in our regular routine anyway it just worked easier and they were more interested in the different surroundings than nursing. It wasn't something that you just wake up one day and say this is the last time. It kinda happened over a period of time so that I didn't even have problems with "drying up"
I guess my first question would be, do you have to wean right now? I thought I would stop at 1 year old too, just had it in my mind that it would be long enough. But when my son hit 1 year old, neither him or me were ready. Especially if it's only morning and bedtime, I think that's a wonderful bonding to continue if you can continue. I wasn't sure when I would wean my son and at around 1 1/2 he basically weaned himself. We went from the twice a day down to just in the morning and one morning he didn't want to nurse, I continued to try for another week and he was basically done. Although it was hard for me, b/c I didn't realize that last morning would be the last morning, but I was also glad that he did it on his own time. I am very glad that I waited until he was ready. Sorry I had no advice on how to stop, since I didn't choose to stop, but I still wanted to offer my thoughts.
Good luck!
Hi, S.:
Contact your local breast feeding consultant of the La Leche League in your area
at
Hope this helps. If not, please let me know. D.
If you're worried about losing the time together, why wean? That's not a snarky question, I'm sincerely asking. The WHO recommends breastfeeding until the age of 2.
