How many of you are still b.feeding your 13mth?

Jennifer - posted on 08/02/2009

That was me with my first. I started pumping and mixing warm regular milk with the breastmilk in a sippy cup and started to ween him. At first he wasn't happy but eventually he got used to it (he wouldn't take a bottle) Once you start to decrease the milk they will eat more food. My Dr. said breastfed babies grow slower then the bottle fed babies but by 2 they are all the same. Hope that helps. (I just weened my second child at 14 months. Same way, pumped and put in a sippy cup, 1/2 warm milk) Good luck!

Joanne - posted on 07/31/2009

Thanx to all you ladies for your kind and funny replies.My little one is 15mths now and we are still going strong! To be honest I don't mind feeding him during the day but the nighttime waking is beginning to wear me down.Will have to be strong and try and leave him to settle himself,but it's so difficult when he gets so upset in the middle of night and I know a couple of minutes on the boob will comfort him back to sleep!Really must try in the next week or so....will keep you posted:)

Christine - posted on 07/31/2009

my friend had had enough at about 13 months, but he would not take a bottle, his whole life he wouldnt, but when he was old enough for the s26 toddler milk he took to it within days, i think it tastes realy sweet, also make sure to to wear clothes that make your breasts hard to get to, i only breast fed for two weeks to m only advising on what ive seen that has worked.

Amy - posted on 07/24/2009

I just weaned my son last month because he really wasn't eating as much food as he should have (or gaining as much weight as he should have). I tried to wean gradually, but it made him want to nurse even more! As soon as I stopped, he began eating very well and sleeping through the night, so though I miss it, I know it was the right decision. Good luck!

Lindsey - posted on 07/24/2009

I am currently still BF my son. He currently gets it right before nap time, and then again before bed.. He was waking up several times in the middle of the night to feed (if thats what you want to call it) It was more of waking up to make sure I was there then getting his comfort boobie. I had to stop doing that because I was just exhausted waking up several times. We are still working on not getting it in the middle of the night, but I know one day he will not need it.

Julianne - posted on 07/22/2009

Wow, you have gotten a lot of responses!!
As for the night wakings, my 15-month still wakes up most nights, but not all. We weaned at 13 months, gradually eliminated 1 feeding at a time, and believe me, the night feeding was the first to go. My husband was very helpful and would go in at night to comfort him until he was no longer expecting to be nursed-- I was afraid if the baby saw/smelled me, he would insist on nursing.
But, he still wakes up at night, usually, so I can't really give advice!

Jamie - posted on 07/22/2009

22, July 2009
I was planning on bfeeding my daughter until she was 18 months old. We were doing well, and she always had plenty of milk. At 13 months, she starting tweaking at my nipples. I had to remove her hand and just say a firm, not loud, "No." Well, then she started sucking then biting, OUCH!! Again I tried the firm, "NO" a few times. She stopped for about a week. Then her bites were worse. My no's were not having an effect. So I had to stop and introduce the bottle. She had never used a bottle,but became acclimated quickly. I don't like the idea of whole milk so we use soy. She still loves soy milk, and is now 28 months. She has a great appetite, and has always tried anything new, most of which she likes.

Kelly - posted on 07/17/2009

Hi mummies, I am still BF my son who is going to be 15 months in a week time. I tried to wean him but he seems like cant accept formula milk. He cry out loud and non stop. At last i "surrender" and offer him BF again. After few days i tried give him formula again he just reject straight away. In the mid night he still wake up look for milk. I really do not know how to wean him.

And he not really eat solid food as i found that he is a picky eater. At his age now, he just weight 9kg.. look so skinny to me. worry him underweight.

Anyone can give me a good way to wean him? The main reason I want to wean him is i plan to have second baby. :)

Halona - posted on 07/16/2009

My son is now 15 months and I'm still breastfeeding him, but only 3 times a day (wake up, nap, bedtime). My milk has been very low for about a month now, but I still see what he can get out since he still really wants to nurse. It is nutritional and healthy for their immune system until around 2 years of age and then it just becomes comfort. If your son is having a hard time adjusting to cow's milk, try it different ways: 1) luke warm, 2) cold, 3) add to rice/oatmeal baby cereal instead of water, 4) add to scrambled eggs, 5) try different sippy cups (mine didn't drink it much, but now loves to drink it out of the Nuby insulated cups with straws). Make sure he's eating plenty of cheeses and yogurts to make up for the lack of nutrients cow's milk now provides him. After they start cruising and walking, they aren't going to put on much weight at all. My son hasn't really gained anything from his 12 month (actually it was more like 13 mo.) to 15 month visit. I wouldn't worry about that as long as he's following his normal growth chart curve. As the quote goes "baby steps"!

Tracy - posted on 07/15/2009

I'm still nursing my 15 month old girl! And she shows no signs of slowing down either. she nurses about 4-5xs a day (no middle-of-the-night feedings though). She's not eating solids too great and is only in the 8% of weight. The doc's worried about her weight (not even 20 lbs yet & 31" tall) and has even suggested adding choc. or straw. syrup to entice her to drink more whole milk to gain weight. So, I know how you feel!!! But I'm going to let her decide to wean. I'm trying to get pregnant so I've been told that once that happens, it changes the taste of the milk and many babies wean themselves. So, I'll see if that happens if I get preggo!!! Good luck!

Melissa - posted on 07/15/2009

I'm still nursing my 15 month old daughter. I read that it is healthier than whole milk and it prevents so many reproductive cancers for you too. I plan to nurse her until she is at least 2. She seems to enjoy nursing more now than ever! She still wakes up during the night to nurse too. I've tried giving water and patting her back to sleep but nursing is the only thing that works and it is the quickest thing to put her back to sleep. I know she won't do it forever but I can't wait until she sleeps through the night. By that time I'll probably have another baby. I guess I'll just sleep when they're older. :)

Amy - posted on 07/09/2009

I used to have the same problem. My LO loves to nurse and would do so around the clock if I let her. We are now down to three times a day (at 15 months, before nap and bed and once early morning. She doesn't nurse from hunger just comfort now. It's very important to her to nurse before bed so not sure when we'll get to wean completely. Now that she is getting older I didn't want her nursing for meals instead of solids nor did I want her to nurse in public. I decided to start nursing her ONLY in her room in a rocking chair. Nowhere else. At first she still asked when I was on the couch, but I was firm. Now she knows and doesn't ask throughout the day or when we are out anymore. When we are in her room, she'll point to the chair to let me know want she wants. If it's not bedtime, I say no, and she gets upset once in awhile, but overall it works really well. I don't have to worry about her pulling up my shirt in public and she eats solids really well at mealtimes. As for phasing out the night feeding, that was a little harder. I did a lot a reading on it and this is what worked for me: if my daughter woke up before 5am I tried everything other than nursing her. Patting and rubbing her back worked the best. She would stand up and I would place her back down. I had to do this several times before she got the hint. Some night I would have to leave the room for 5-10 and let her cry so she could understand that I was not going to give in. Soon she was only waking up twice, once around 2 and once around 6am. For the 2am waking, I still did not feed her cuz she was sleepy enough to pat back to sleep. Eventually, I had my husband go in and pat her back to sleep. After about 4 days, she stopped waking up then and now rarely does. The 6am one has been harder tho. If I don't nurse her then, she won't go back to sleep and then is tired the rest of the day. Still working on that one. Hope that helps! Good luck!

Ali - posted on 07/06/2009

Waking up during the night is not necessary and your lack of sleep can start to effect your daily life (ie driving while too tired). We had the same issue, so I let him feed as often as he wanted during the day, and I went from 2 nursings a night, to one to none. When I wasn't going to nurse him I got his father to go in there and rock him back to sleep, or I would sit in his room with him, but not pick him up and stay with him until he went back to sleep. Sometimes I needed to rub his back, but not picking him up is what helped to be able to break the night feedings. By all means, I plan to feed Dylan as long as he wants(he's 15 mo now), which will probably increase now that his baby brother will be here any day, but at your child's age, I would try to ween from the night feedings only. If not for you, then your child also needs 12 hr. uninterupted sleep for his development too.

Gillian - posted on 07/05/2009

Hi. I am still breastfeeding my almost 15 month old daughter. She has a feed during the day before bed if I am not working but then feeds about every 3-4 hours during the night. She is only little..just on 10kgs so I don't like to stop the night feeds. It is so hard knowing what to do but in my heart I don't mind it so I will stick with it for the time being!! I feed my eldest daughter for 2 years so we still have a bit to go. Enjoy it while you can, it doesn't go on forever. Gillian.

Karla - posted on 07/05/2009

I just weaned my 15 mo old about a week ago! She was exactly the same...didn't want to drink cows milk and was very attached to nursing - but i actually started giving her cows milk with all her meals (even if she didn't touch it) and played around with different flavored milks as well until we found one she would drink just a little of - which of course was chocolate. at the same time i began weaning one feed a week beginning with the easiest ones in the middle of the day. as time went on... i gradually started mixing chocolate and regular whole milk together in decreasing quantities of chocolate. It just so happened that we weaned the last and hardest nursing session (wake up feed) and weaned the milk to full regular milk at about the same time! Now she just drinks regular milk and never asks to nurse at all - and never had a tear about it It took about 6 weeks altogether.

Hayley - posted on 07/04/2009

My son's still breastfeeding too. He becomes hysterical if I won't and I am going with it. He's still my baby and until he makes a comment about my bra, I'm going to stick with it!

Just FYI - the American Academy of Pediatrics encourages breastfeeding for 2 years if possible. I don't think I'll make it that long. I guess it will depend on his vocabulary! ;-)

LUCY - posted on 07/04/2009

My daughter is still breastfeeding too. I had planned to stop when she turned 1 but it is a comfort to her. I just got out of school so im at home with her alot now, and she is eating even more than before. But it is very good for her so im not really complaining that much:))

Amanda - posted on 07/04/2009

I did have this problem too my daughter always fed to go to sleep until she was 8 months old and i started feeding her but as soon as she started to fall asleep i would stop feeding her. We would then play for a little while before she went to sleep so that she did not associate feeding with sleeping. It did take a little while but eventually i got her out of that habit and she would go to sleep by herself when we decided it was bed time.

Amanda - posted on 07/04/2009

Hi Joanne,

I was the same, I planned to stop feeding when my daughter turned one but she was still having 3 feeds a day and I couldn't do it. Instead I cut out the lunch time feed on her birthday. then a month later I cut out the breakfast feed. A month later I cut back to night feeds every second night for a week, then every third night for a week, then one feed a week and then cut them out altogether by the time she turned 14 months. I found she was a bit grumpy at first and really missed her feeds but after a couple of days she got used to it and was quite happy without it. I found that when i stopped offering a feed she would eat more of the solids and if she was going to have a feed I always gave her the solids first so she wasn't filling up on milk. I ended up stopping feeding because I started a job 5 days a week but if you are happy to keep breast feeding stick with it and you will probably find that your child will wean himself. also with regards to the weight issue my daughter was quite light for her 12 month check up to but she had become a lot more active so was burning a lot more energy. I was told as long as she was her usual happy, energetic self not to worry too much. Hope that helps :)

Bethany - posted on 07/02/2009

Oh that's not good Joanne! I mean about the night waking; it's wonderful you're still breastfeeding! But still having to get up at night must be hard. My daughter does that once in a while if we mess up her routine too much for too long. If you nurse him during the day, maybe you could try nursing him when he gets up from a nap, instead of right before. That's what I've done and it's helped Natalie not associate milk with sleeping. Someone I was talking to said when her son woke at night, she'd let him cry for a couple minutes to see if he'd go back to sleep, then if not she'd pick him up, rock him or cuddle a bit, and try other things before nursing. After a while it worked and now he can self-soothe when he does wake up.

Good luck!

Joanne - posted on 07/02/2009

Well done all you ladies who are still b.feeding,thanx for the lovely replies and comments.My little boy is now 14mths old and still shows no sign of wanting to give up! He still wakes up at least twice in the night and wants milk,not for hunger I know but because unfortunatly he has got into the BAD habit of using it to get back to sleep!Do any of you have little ones that still wake up in the night?! Thanx all

Bethany - posted on 07/01/2009

Yep, still going strong! We're at about 4 nursing sessions a day, but I've planned to BF for at least two years so it's not a surprise. :)

Bridget - posted on 07/01/2009

I am on the 5th day of no breastmilk for my daughter.
Bedtime is a bit rough for her. First I stopped feeding during the day,
then I stopped the morning... when she nursed the night of her third day with no morning feeding, I had a feeling she wasn't getting any milk, and she just wanted the comfort.
So we find other ways to comfort.
But it went really well for 14 months!

Ali - posted on 06/29/2009

My son's almost 15 months, and I'm still breastfeeding 2-3 times a day. I am going to let him self ween. It has been hard though b/c I'm pregnant with our second child, and it is SO painful to breastfeed!!! He eats very well during the day, and I nurse first thing in the morning and before bed. I can't express milk right now b/c or pregnancy, so his only option at day care was whole milk. At first he hated it, but now he chugs it down. I was told that the hardest thing to ween him from would be the night feeding, but since I will be in the hospital soon, I have had his dad put him to bed half the week, and I do the otehr half. Not only will he go down for his dad w/out nursing, but he has also gone down for me by just rocking him. Even though it's painful, and my dr said I should stop b/c of pregnancy (wrong!!!), it is what my son wants and needs from me, and I'm going to make sure he gets it!

Guinevere - posted on 06/03/2009

I am still breastfeeding my little girl and she also loves it! I cant be naked around her or she starts grabbing at my boobs. Sometimes when I hold her in my arms she will strat pulling my top donw to get at them. I am trying to wean her and still breastfeed at night only. She has her bottle with formula during the day. She exclusively breastfed untill she was 4 months old. I have LOVED the bonding experience of breastfeeding and get such crap from quite a few people who tell me I should not be breastfeeding her anymore. I know what is best my little girl and she will stop when she is good and ready! I say thumbs up to all us moms who persevered and got it right...we are doing the best for our little ones!

Susie - posted on 06/02/2009

Yep, still breastfeeding too and planning to continue for however long my son wants to! The WHO (World Health Organisation) recommends to breastfeed babies to 2 years and beyond so rather than worrying, ladies, give yourself a pat on the back and feel proud that you are giving your bubbas the best a mother can give to her child!!:-) My son is a bit slimmer than the other boys in our Mothers Group but he eats heaps of solids and is one of the most active and early in reaching developmental stages (first to crawl, first to walk) so I'm not worried. We are down to 4-5 breast feeds in total and my boobies are back to semi-normal (thank goodness!!) so I can miss the occasional feed and still be OK. Thankfully my son also likes goat's milk and normal cow's milk, so if I'm not with him, someone else can just give him a cup of those rather than having to mess around with frozen expressed milk (which we did at the beginning). As for cups, he has just started drinking unassistedly from a normal, uncovered plastic cup but he also loves his straw-cup, as he can help himself to however much he wants to. Good luck and don't worry - the babies know what they need and if that is your boobies, well, no worries! They are not going to be breastfed when they start school, anyways!;-P

Erin - posted on 06/02/2009

I'm still breastfeeding my twins, but I have them down to 3 feedings now. They don't drink that much from sippy cups, but they have started to drink some milk in them. I'm concerned that when I stop nursing they won't have enough milk intake. I think it will be a slow process to wean them. I'm tired of breastfeeding though so I'm going to slowly but surely wean them off of me and onto cow's milk.

Caroline - posted on 06/01/2009

Mine is still breastfeeding too. I had planned to breastfeed for a good long time so I'm OK with it. I just wish I didn't have to pump on the 3 days I work. I hadn't planned on doing that past a year but every time I try to skip I get in a bad situation and have pain for days after. My baby is 95% for age/height and about 90% age/weight so his weight for height is just about perfect according to the pediatrician. I think it is normal for babies to eat bunch one day and scale back the next. Even non-breastfed kids I know do this. I suppose teething plays a part at times too.

Anyway, its great for their little brain development to be getting breast milk still. My pediatrician is all for it and says it is the most natural nutrition baby can get. My cousin weaned her baby at 13months due to her pediatrician pressuring her to quit (the practice is not BF friendly IMO) and her baby lost a good bit of weight and then developed diarrhea for nearly 3wks. I think things would have gone better if she hadn't weaned him. My son spent time at their house, even playing with his toys, and didn't catch it.
My older sister and I did not wean until later toddlers (2-3+) and we always had a much easier time in school and with interpersonal relationships that my younger 2 sisters (both weaned at 1 year). Our situation is anecdotal but research does suggest higher IQs correlated with length of breastfeeding. Some days I feel I need every IQ point I can get! For me at least, breastfeeding feels like more work but I want to pass on the good deed.

Kat - posted on 06/01/2009

WOW... I have actually stopped breast feeding a couple days before Brodie turned 13months but i was in the same boat... I had to ween him as he was putting much weight on at all.. i had to express and give him the bottle so he would get used to the bottle....

Crystal - posted on 06/01/2009

I had the same sort of problem (baby loves to nurse over other foods) and the nurse reassured me that this is a "good problem" to have - rest assured that you have done very well with your decision to breastfeed!
I began a slow process of weaning her a few weeks ago after that visit, just by taking one feeding a day out and filling her with food - if she was hungry enough, she ate what I gave her.
I too found that she did not like whole milk, but I pumped my own milk and mixed it in for the first few cups and now she'll drink it plain.
Night feedings will slow up once your babies are eating more in the day! But again, awesome job breastfeeding, you can go for however long you want. My baby is now down to 3 feeds (nights and mornings).

LaKisha - posted on 05/31/2009

Sure am, only my daughter hasn't had her one year old check up yet, so I don't know if her weight will be an issue. Not too worried though she's my third child and if I suspected something I would have acted on it right away. Anyway I tried just like you to give her whole milk...she hates it. What I have found to work is Carnation condensed canned milk. It's the closest thing to breast milk there is and it still gives the child the fat their brain needs to develop. Safe if you're weening, and especially good during the day. As far as the night time feeding, no one can say when it is best to stop nursing if it keeps you and the baby happy and he's not like 12 and what not, so nurse on. Some people stop at one completely, and some people continue to nurse and supplement with food until the child is two, which is reasonable as well, so if one didn't work maybe you can shoot for two and if you stop somewhere in between then you've met your goal. Whatever you decide, don't beat up on yourself...this is your baby, your body, you make the decisions that are comfortable for you.

Chloe - posted on 05/31/2009

Oh my goodness I am exactly the same with my little girl. She loves her milk and feeds quite alot. I am also at home with her full time and she shows no signs of cutting down. It is like she prefer breastmilk to solids aswell. I have also tried her with cows milk in her feeding cup but she spits it down herself. The only thing she doesnt do it with is the cow and gate year plus growing up milk but she will only take a little then she wants breastmilk. So i gave up with that. I am constantly worrying about her weight beceuse she is so petite for her age and i always think it is because of the breastmilk. The last time I had her weighed was at 10 months and she was 16Ib 3oz and I havent had her weighed since because I asways think she wont have put on much weight I think she weighs about 18Ib if that now but I dont know for sure. How much does your son weigh? I also have trouble at night withe my little girl. I will get her to sleep at about 9pm with breastfeeding her and put her in her cot, then she will be up at about 2am wanting to get in bed with me and feed til the morning. I am also struggling with what to do.