Weaning

Briana - posted on 12/11/2008

Honestly I am jealous of you. lol. I would have nursed my daughter for a lot longer than I did but she rejected me. lol. Enjoy those precious moments! Before you know it they will be gone

Paulette - posted on 12/11/2008

Unless there is a important reason to stop nursing I would wait until two years. It sound like you're down to 2 times a day. I would say to just enjoy that time with her. It sounds like she is hungry before morning though. Why not give her some solid foods before bed so her tummy is full? My son had heart issues and acid reflux in his first year and I nursed him. He was hungry at an early hour too. So I fed him before bed once he was on solids and it helped a lot.

TNell - posted on 12/11/2008

I agree with Cassie. I have a son with a medical condition so I understan how hard it is to not give in, but our kids still need to learn that we mean what we say. When my husband wasn't at work he was the one to get them to eat from the bottle. However, he had a night job so it was usually up to me. What I did with my kids is just offered a bottle, and eventually they were hungry enough they took it. I held them simalerly at first too so they would feel more comfortable. You might consider mixing the formula with breastmilk to help them get used to the flavor too and gradually just make it formula.

Frances - posted on 12/11/2008

Easy when you've got a dad to share the load. My girl is 14 months and I always said I'd wean her at 18 but I can't even imagine doing it, I still feed her at least 6 times a day and she spends most of the night in my bad (we are working on that though). So I've basically decided she won't be weaned until about 2 but I love feeding her, I just get so much enjoyment from it.

Shannon - posted on 12/10/2008

I totally agree with Stephanie... And she will ony be a babe for such a tiny amount of you lives....hang in there.

Cassie - posted on 12/10/2008

If you say it is time, then it is! Rule of thumb...it takes babies about 5 days for something to become routine. Let dad go in at night and soothe her. Also try switching up her bedtime routine as well. If you change her bedtime routine (with dad included) then a new routine should be easier on her by the end of the week. This worked with both of my boys. They just got used to dad doing the night duty and after it became routine they didn't fuss when I did bedtime. Just don't give in until it has been 5 days or you will have to start all over again. Hope this helps.

Tami - posted on 12/10/2008

Since she is over 1 year old, she should be able to drink whole milk now. I always warmed it up a tad to remind my son of the warm milk and the rest was history. Do that for one feeding (in the morning is probably better so they don't get angry before bed) if it doesn't work, you still have nursing to fall back on if needed. Good luck! Let me know how it goes!

Stephanie - posted on 12/10/2008

You may find it helpful to put off complete weaning for a little while. It's just really hard to wean when they are old enough to know what they want, but too young to understand the meaning of "later". I have a 15 month old too, and weaning him right now would be tough for that reason. I can totally understand wanting to night-wean, however! We had our son sleep with Dad alone for a while and that worked pretty well. (We did the same with our older son when we night-weaned him.) He now sleeps through the night without nursing. He still nurses a couple of times during the day and before bed.

Another advantage to putting off total weaning for a while is that they get sick a lot less while they are still nursing, and what they do get tends to be milder and of shorter duration -- a real plus in cold and flu season!

Sarah - posted on 12/10/2008

My daughter was the same way. She was about the same age and was down to just the bedtime and wake-up sessions. We gave her a small snack and a sippy cup of milk before bed. Then my husband put her down to bed the first few days. She didn't want to nurse if she didn't see me. Then he woke up with her at night. In the AM we had a cup of milk waiting for her in the fridge and again my husband would give it to her.