Sunday, March 13, 2011
Weaning
Ok, so I really don't have any knowledge in this area. I wasn't able to nurse my oldest very long. However, my baby is 10 months and I would like to be finished around his 1st b-day! He loves to nurse, and I generally nurse before naps/bed and early morning/mid night time. So like 3-4 times a day. Any knowledge you have about this is welcome!!!
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Levi LOVED nursing! He fell off the charts around his first birthday because he only wanted to nurse! He had little interest in food. After his first birthday I handed him a cup of milk when I would usually nurse, and would go until I was about to cry from pain, then I would nurse him until it didn't hurt anymore. Because he did nurse a lot it took about a month to fully wean him off. I don't know of any other way; my sisters all did the same thing. GOOD LUCK! I'm excited to hear other options!!!
ReplyDeleteI didn't set a time to quit nursing, but by the time they were each 9 or 10 months they were eating more solid foods and less mom milk. With my first, I just held her like I was about to nurse but gave her a bottle of milk instead. She never went back. My second missed mom more, so we just gradually went from multiple times a day to morning and bed time, then just once a day (morning or night), and then to a sippy cup. Even then I wasn't ready, but he seemed fine. With #3 I nursed for 16 months, but the last few months were really just at night briefly. I didn't have a problem with too much milk when I went from once a day to none. Just a little sore maybe for a short time and then it went away. In all cases I didn't actually wean until right about a year, so mom milk just got traded for cow milk when we made the switch.
ReplyDeleteMonte also loved to nurse. He would never take a bottle, even if it was my milk. When I first started nursing, I always had set ideas of when I would stop: when he got teeth (which he got at 4 months, so not really a good option), at six months or a year. But each time, I felt like he wasn't ready. So we weaned super gradually. Around ten months, when he was enjoying eating solid foods, I replaced breast feedings with solid food. So by a year he was nursing first thing in the morning, before his nap and bed time. Then I replaced morning with a sippy cup of milk. Since he didn't like bottles, we went straight to sippy cups and cows milk. I also found it worked better if he was in his high chair, sitting by himself, or if Daddy gave him the cup of milk. If I was holding him, he wanted to nurse. Eventually, before nap nursing was also replaced, so I only nursed before bed. I completely stopped around 14 months when I would try to nurse and Monte would start laughing. That told me that he was done. Because it was gradual, I never had any problem with too much milk. Demand was down and so was supply. That is what worked for me. But it is my only experience, and I know every baby and mom is different.
ReplyDeleteWeaning is a tough one. I personally don't put a timeline on when I wean my babies. I really love nursing! I nursed my oldest until until he was almost 2, and I only weaned him because I couldn't get pregnant again while nursing. To wean, I just cut back a feeding gradually until I was only nursing him before bed and when he woke up, and then I eventually cut those both out. It was hard for both of for a few days after that, but we both got use to it.
ReplyDeleteDon't rush it though!
I don't know if this is too late for you now but I talked to some other mothers and asked about cabbage leaves... I have never tried it but one of the mothers had- she had to stop nursing cold turkey at a few months old due to medication. She said that it doesn't dry you up (like I thought I had once heard...) but some how takes the pain away. You just put a cabbage leaf on- it doesn't have to be wet or cold or anything, just put it on. If you do it let me know!
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