Almost 6 month old starting to wean off breast. more.

Kylie - posted on 03/09/2011

Hey I'm just wondering what ended up happening? My 6 month old is starting to do the same :(

Erica - posted on 03/06/2009

Thank you everyone for all of your help! I am not giving her the bottle anymore and am just making her breast feed. She isn't peeing as much yet, but she will eat when she is hungry. I am trying to offer my breast to her atleast every 2 hours during the day to get my supply back up, if not more.

Gelaine - posted on 03/06/2009

Adding on to Dina's advice. Some of it could be that you could be losing your supply, especially if she is not wanting it anymore. (i've heard of people not having as much around 6 months) I would pump, to make sure she gets proper nutrition, even through a bottle, and to make sure that you don't lose your milk supply too early.

Dina - posted on 03/06/2009

If you want your child to have breast milk, but she is to distracted to feed from the breast, but she will drink for a bottle fine, why dont you pump your breast milk, i know breastfeeding is a bonding thing between mother and child, but if the child is not eating well from the breast, then pump your breast milk and give it to her by bottle.

Katie - posted on 03/06/2009

Unless you are working and are having trouble pumping then I would cut out the formula. Your milk is more then efficient and in a day or two your supply will cover the formula supplement. Feed her on demand and she'll eat as she's hungry. When you introduce solids, just make sure you nurse her before and after her food to keep breastmilk her main nutrition.

By the way, good for you. I see so many moms looking for help for the exact opposite reason and I think it's great you are wanting to breastfeed for a year or more. Keep it up!

Carly - posted on 03/06/2009

Getting back to your original question, Erica, you stop her from weaning prematurely by offering the breast more often and trying to cut back on the amount of formula you are giving her.  The more often you breastfeed, the more messages your breasts get telling them to make more milk.

6 months is a tricky time.  Bubs is getting more active and more interested in the world and finds it harder to concentrate on feeding.  I second what another mum said about feeding in a quiet place with as little distraction as possible.

If you have started on solids, you should always offer breast first, then some solids just for tasting and experimentation.  Feeding solids first just fills up their tummies and doesn't leave enough room for the good stuff.  Babies' main source of nutrition for the first 12 months should be milk.  Solids are for fun and learning.

You are doing a brilliant job making it to 6 months and you can keep it going.  Have faith in your body and the wonderful gift you are giving your daughter.  Good luck :-)

Kate CP - posted on 03/05/2009

My daughter started weaning herself off at 7 months. She was just so frustrated because I couldn't produce enough milk fast enough for her any more. I started pumping and bottle feeding just so she could have a faster flow. But eventually she got tired of the whole bottle/nursing thing and wanted solids. Ya gotta go with what the baby and your body are telling you. Would it have been nice to nurse my daughter for a full year? Yea, but it just didn't happen that way. I would go with the flow of things and follow Baby's lead.

Tess - posted on 03/05/2009

I breastfed my son till he was 11months or so but when he started on solids he no longer needed as many feeds the more food he ate the less times a day he fed until eventually he was only having one a day. I wouldn't worry if she's just feeding less but if she's not interested in breastfeeding but wants the bottle it might be because your breasts are drying up a little which can happen if you supplement with formula unfortunately. If you need to be able to feed her on the bottle try expressing some for her instead to keep your milk going. When my milk was drying up with my second baby my midwife prescribed some tablets to stimulate my milk flow. anyway I hope that helps. ...dont worry it's ok if she weans herself anyway as long as shes happy and healthy and gets all the nutrients she needs in her diet and it doesn't make you a failure if she goes onto formula... I dried up after 2 months I felt terrible! Like I had failed him, of course that's rubbish!

Melanie - posted on 03/05/2009

My fist baby I breatfed for 1year and decided to take her off. For her it was fine but i got the wrong perscription from the doctor to dry the milk and got mastitis. I almost died from the pain in my oversized swolen breasts. I could not let my arms hang beside me. I had hudge lumps under my arms and fever. I was horrible. My second baby will be 1 year in a week. She started weaning herself at 9 months. I just alowed her to and started giving bottle feeds inbetween. And by 10 months she was off the breast, I was fine and didnt have to use any drugs to take the milk away. I found that way to be best for both of us. Good luck! Dont worry to much. Trust your instincts and read your baby. They comunicate much better than we give them credit for!

Whitney - posted on 03/04/2009

I was the same way with my daughter....i wanted to breast feed her for at least 1 year.  But she started to teeth early and wasnt really wanting to eat.  But when I fed her formula she did just fine.  I had a really hard time with it, but i just came to realize that she was gonna decide when she was ready to stop with the breast milk.  Sure you want to keep her on it because of all the benefits but if she's just not into it, maybe you should just consider weaning her or just letting her wean herself. 

I know how hard this can be.  But be strong! 

Treacy - posted on 03/04/2009

I have been nursing for six and half months, and it has gotten a lot more difficult. My daughter is easily distracted during a feeding and constantly stops to look around. I can only feed her now when it is quiet and no one else is in the room to distract her. I had only planned to nurse her for six months, and it seems as though she is ready to wean.