Weaning off Breast - San Antonio,TX

I started giving my daughter a sippy cup of apple juice she liked it so much she much perfered seeing the cup come at her than me. it was all down hill from there. The rule was she could have her sippy up until an hour before bed time. this worked out for potty training to as time went by. We had very few accidents.

alternating days is a good next step, when you're ready. keep that up for a week or two, and gradually feed fewer days each week. it's hard to wean and avoid at least a day or two of engorgement, but i think that's how your body knows to stop producing milk.

I would second what Karen said. When I was weaning my oldest, I tried to stop cold turkey at 19 months and was miserably engorged, so we went to just once before bedtime for another month and a half. He would nurse 15 minutes on each side at first, but then I got him down to about 7-8 minutes on each side, and when he stopped entirely, I had no engorgement at all.

B.--

Is there a favorite toy or something he likes to snuggle with before bed? Is it possible for someone else in the home to give him a bit of milk in a sippy cup with a dash of Ovaltine in it? That's what my husband and I did when we decided it was time to wean the oldest from breastfeeding. He'd sit on his daddy's lap and have a little "shocka mooka" (chocolate milk) and go to sleep that way with his favorite dinosaur.

Good luck.

If you're down to once per day you probably won't have too much difficulty dropping nursing altogether. However, it depends on how much he's nursing. Is this a quick bite for comfort, or a major marathon session? If you think he's getting quite a bit of milk you can start by limiting the time he nurses - try and cut it down to just a couple minutes. I'm trying to do this with my 19 month old daughter now (she probably puts up much more of a fight than a 13 month old does!) - I usually let her nurse for a couple minutes and then tell her nummies are done and it's time to sing songs or read a book or snuggle or tickle her or whatever. Sometimes popping a pacifier in her mouth is the only thing that will do it, though we try to avoid that. Once you're to a point where you have just a short session you can start having your husband put him down. I would have him do this for a few nights in a row and see how you feel. If you feel engorged you can always put him down that night and let him nurse if he asks for it. (if he doesn't, I would probably pump a little just until you're comfortable).

It's good to see you have kept up the breastfeeding! Good job!

I'm not sure what you are referring to about getting another infection. Plugged ducts infections are no fun and certainly serious. From what I understand, you watch that you don't let the breast milk build up. I had to do some hand expression to relieve pressure when my baby was weaning. It wasn't that I had to do it a lot or for a long time.

The only other thing, that I want to comment on, is to be patient, use your motherly instincts, and let your baby lead the way. I was able to mention that there might be "any left" or that "mama's milk was empty". Snuggling became kind of a substitute. Oh, and don't hesitate to mention that you are getting sore at breastfeeding time (if you are) but don't scare him about it. Someone told me to just say something like "hmmm, I'm not comfortable, would you hold me tight for a bit?"

Good luck!

I have 4 children (25, 19, 7 & 5) I breastfed all of mine until 14 months. I gradually started weaning a feeding for 2/3 days at a time until there were no more. I did give a sippy cup instead of the breast. My kiddos went from breast to cup with no problems. I never had any problems with infection or engorging. How ever stay away from beer the yeast will cause you to produce more milk and you'll get engorged. It was wonderful not having to deal with bottles. Try not to get frustrated or stressed during the process, it will go better that you think. Good Luck