Weaning My 16Mo

my son is almost 2 he weaned fully by 14 months. he has always had milk within an hour of going bed if it wasn't breast milk it was cow milk. my son weaned himself in a backwards order. he got rid of night time nursing first at 9 months i simply pumped and gave him the milk in a sippy cup. depending what time she goes to bed (my son is down by 7pm so milk with dinner is the norm) she will probably want a drink of something, water or milk shortly before bed

Ok so I know this was a little while ago, but I had another idea for you. If she really feels like she needs something before bed try just giving her water at bed time. Warm or room temp (not cold) plain old water. Lots of kids "require" a drink before bed. It may not matter to her what she is drinking as long as she gets to. Plus then you won't have to worry about having to brush her teeth again. Just a thought!

I'm sure you'll get lots of advice on this one and as a Peds nurse is all I can say is it's whatever works for you and your daughter. When I stopped with breast feeding neither one of my girls had anything before bed time. My youngest was 13 months when I stopped. Now that your daughter is older she can get the nutrition she needs during the day. We do 3 small meals and 2 snacks. Again, it's whatever works in your routine. And don't let anyone make you feel bad with BF... you've done wonderfully!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A couple of friends of mine, put band-aids over their nipples and explained that Mommy had a boo-boo or that their milk was broken.
They said this worked for them, totally.

Your child is only nursing 1 time a day. So she is really actually self-weaning.
But yes, try giving her a cup of milk before bed instead.... many kids do like that even at older ages. Nothing wrong with that.
But the thing is, she may or may not like milk from a sippy cup.

Or, since she only nurses that 1 time a day, out of "routine"... then switch up the routine. Meaning, unless she blatantly asks you to nurse, then don't... or, make like you are busy and just say "one minute, Mommy is busy..." then make yourself busy. My daughter self-weaned at about 2.5 years old... and that is what I would do, to change up the "routine." And she was fine with that. Then the child usually gets distracted with something else and "forgets" they asked to nurse.

Just some ideas,
All the best,
Susan

I weaned my twins at 15 months. We were able to cut out the feeding before bed, and then the final one in the morning. When we cut out each one, we didn't need to replace it with anything. My boys both transitioned very well, and there was no trouble getting them to sleep without breastfeeding. We did everything else exactly the same, and we had no troubles at all. So, I would say no to the milk.

Good luck, and way to go for breastfeeding that long!

I weaned mine at about 12 or 13 months. If you're only nursing at bed times then it won't be too hard. If you are during the day, wean her off those times first by replacing the nursing with holding, rocking or other close to you activity. Don't give in when she grabs at or lifts your shirt. She's probably not far off from speaking, so talk to her when she does grab/lift and just let her know that you don't want her grabbing at your shirt please. Once she's past that, then move to the nighttime. Again, replace nursing with holding and rocking or story reading on the lap and then just put her to bed. Your really should not give cows milk at bedtime, ever. It's very bad for the teeth and will likely cause cavities. If she's hungry then add a small, heavy but healthy snack as the first step to a bedtime routine. I used yogurt, apple sauce, banana, oatmeal or graham crackers and milk. Then brush the teeth, pjs and move on to stories then bed (I'm sure bathing will fit in there somewhere too). Once you start the new routine stick to it like glue. Do it exactly the same no matter the day of the week and keep to the same time of day like a religion. In 10-14 days you're done and the nursing bras go in the garbage or to the thrift shop if they're newish.
Good Luck and good job at giving your daughter a healthy beginning to life.
K.

Good for you for continuing so long! I stopped at 2 months with my son and 2 weeks with my daughter. I weened my son and my daughter from the bottle cold turkey. I did give them a cup of milk before bedtime but not because they need it but because it was comforting to them. I don't think that your 16 mo old needs the milk because she should be eating table foods or something else for nutrition by now. It would merely be for comfort. That is my opinion. I would also not be afraid to check with my doctor, too. They usually have good advice for those kind of things, too.

The only "issue" with the sippy is that you'll want to brush her teeth afterward to get the sugars off. Otherwise, I'd do it at least for a while for the comfort. I would give the sippy, then brush the teeth right in the rocker - became part of the routine... Good luck for making it 16 mos w/ BF. You DO know what it's time to stop... and that is the right answer about when to stop BF.