I want to go on a medication that they say is ok with breastfeeding, but I would rather not have her receive through my breastmilk. Plus, I have reached my breaking point, I'm exhausted!
I need to wean my 17 month old !
my question is HOW?! Do I drop one session at a time? How do I keep from getting engorged at night?
here is our nursing schedule as of now -
she nurses to sleep at night. She has one or two 'wake-ups' during the night that I usually nurse her back to sleep. (hence the exhaustion)
3 days a week she attends daycare and just has regular milk with her meals, does not get a bottle or anything when she is put down for nap. (I pump at work but I have been freezing the milk for her use in case of future sicknesses).
On all other days I nurse her to sleep for her nap. I could probably drop this session easiest.
Any tips or advice would be great. I am a little emotional about it because this is my last baby, BUT I think it will be in her best interest (and mine! and the whole family's!) to wean. And I am ready. And really, it's been SEVENTEEN MONTHS! right?!
Here's a link with a method that really helped me. (The comments section is helpful too.) Good luck!!!
http://drjaygordon.com/attachment/sleeppattern.html
One at a time and tackle the night nursing last.
Weaning is a very personal thing. If you want to step down and not go cold turkey, I suggest the following:
1. Tell everyone that when she has her last nursing session is between you and her. 17 months is longer than the US average but not unheard of by any means. But this should keep them at bay during your personal transition. If they want to help, tell them to babysit so you can get a nap.
2. I would start with a nursing session during the day. Like if she wants to nurse at lunch or any other daytime session when you are around. Distract her. She's already taking regular milk during the day at daycare.
3. I would try to find another routine - books, songs, rocking - for the nap. The nap is probably not as hard as bedtime, since she does not nurse to sleep at daycare.
4. I would offer a light snack before bed and rock her or treat it like a nap session in the night. Make sure she is not hungry or hurting from teething.
5. Slowly cut back on the amount of time you nurse her to bed and instill a new routine. I looked back in my DD's book the other day and at about that age we really hunkered down in the bath/book/bed routine and it helped. At the end, over a period of a few months, I nursed DD a few mins less and less and finally it was just "a little bit" and then we were done. At no time did I feel painfully engorge or get blocked ducts. Be aware also that for some women weaning can cause a hormonal shift. So take care of yourself and try to think of it as a little bit of PMS. I did experience a little irritability when DD finally weaned, but it was not bad and it evened out fairly quickly.
You'll be alright. Take care of yourself and your little one.
I weaned both my kids about 15 months because I was ready. They seemed to use me as a human pacifier and I wanted more freedom.
I started cutting out feedings, especially middle of the night because I didn't want to be a pacifier. It took discipline in the middle of the night for a few nights because I just wanted to get them back to sleep so I could to...pay attention to feedings. If there is a schedule then wake up before hand and do shorter than normal feedings. Or be strong and just eliminate. I had to go in with a sweatshirt on so it wasn't so easy to just lift the shirt to nurse. Soothe the child and then hope they fall asleep by themselves. this worked to eliminate a few night feedings, but I think I finally did a modified cry it out at bedtime and then was consistent during the night and those were eliminated.
With this method I didn't have much engorgement (maybe one time).
This may sound backward, but I like to tackle the night nursing first. I just find other ways to help the little one relax and go to sleep that do not involve any kind of food or drink; ie: stories, rocking, soft music. If he/she wakes in the middle of the night (this is where it gets tough) I will rock baby to sleep, even if it takes hours. Experience tells me (I have already weaned 10 children) it may take several days, but it is my preferred method.
You've gotten some good advice. I just want to add that I am currently starting to wean my 15 month old son. He was nursing before bed, then at midnight, 3am, at wakeup and then before nap. I decided to start with the midnight one. At his 15 month doctor's appt this week, the doctor was saying that it is not healthy for his metabolism and insulin levels to be eating through the night like that....so that was what is helping me stick to my guns. Telling myself that it's not good for him. It's only been two nights but so far it hasn't been too bad. First night when he woke at midnight, I picked him up (also wore a sweatshirt like one other poster said) and just said "no more milk...all done" and rocked, walked, sang.. He cried for about 20 minutes (really just whimpers, not a loud cry) and took another hour to settle back to sleep and slept until 5am. The second night (last night) he was up at midnight but only cried for about 5 minutes and was back asleep in about a half hour until 4:30am. I'm hoping he stops waking up eventually and maybe in a few weeks I'll try to cut out another one. good luck to you. i too and so ready!!
Yes, drop one at a time, and not more than one per week. Usually the nursing right before bed at night is the last to go. Ones during the day when you can easily distract her are usually the first to go.
For me, once I quit pumping at work, my supply went down pretty quickly and my babies self-weaned, because they weren't getting enough milk to make it worth the effort. If you stop pumping at work and start dropping the daytime sessions when you are home (GRADUALLY!), then this may happen to you too.
I nursed my first for 14 months, my second for 30 months, and have been nursing #3 for 18 months now...and when weaning, I've never had problems with engorgement. I will say, though, that I've had milk available (if I were to hand-express) for YEARS. It doesn't sound, to me, like you've been nursing so much that it's been an issue. I will say that it's going to be hardest to drop the night time nursing sessions, so it might work best to work on those first? Then again, YOU know what will work best for you and your kiddo. When I weaned #2, I took out one nursing session a month (we were tryign to get pregnant, and honestly, he was nursing too much for my comfort--abougt 5-6 times a day). I found that my kids nursed a little more at the sessions they did have when I dropped one, and that slowly tapered off. The other thing? Making the decision is hard. Doing it was, for me, a lot easier. I can't decide whether I'm sad about this or not, but I can't remember the day I last nursed my first two, because it was gradual and not physically or emotionally very painful. Best of luck reclaiming your body!!!! :)
