Breast Feeding - Parker,CO

I loved breastfeeding and still miss it. It might be too soon for him to be weened. Some babies never have a bottle. Try a cup. Good luck!

There are already a lot of really great comments, I just wanted to add that if you are beginning to resent breastfeeding (I did at that time) then you could try pumping 2 or 3 times a day and offer him that with a soft-spout sippy. Maybe he just doesn't like the taste of formula? Also, if that doesn't work, have dad or another person close to him feed it to him. He has had 10 months of mommy feeding him from the breast, once he had become accostomed to the bottle or sippy with the other person (should be just a few days) then you can try to feed from the sippy or bottle.

Is there a particular reason you want to wean him already? Recommendations from the american academy of pediatrics suggest a full year of nursing, while the World Health Organization recommends 2 years for ALL children of the world. Of course we all have the personal side of things that doesn't just run on recommendation, but it's completely possible and okay to continue to nurse him. You may just need to listen to baby's cues and hold off, trying again in another few months, if you're comfortable with that, or letting him lead the weaning when he's ready. Good luck!!!

You are so close tot he one year mark, it would be best if you waited until then to start weaning. At one year old babies do not really need bottles anymore anyway (unless it is for comfort) so you can go straight to a sippy cup. Try the soft "nubby" cups, they are soft like bottle nipples. At one year he will not need expencive formula anymore either, whole cows milk is acceptable (but don't overdo it). Also, it is normal for both you and your baby to go through a kind of mourning when your son is weaned, you will miss the connection that you had while nursing and you will have to find other ways to stay connected. Cuddling him and singing to him and reading to him are good substitutions. Good luck!

Wait until he's a year. You don't want to have to wean him all over again from the bottle. Plus, breast milk is the best soure of nutrition for babies under 12 months. Everything else is just practice, really. When you do wean him, cut out one nursing at a time and replace it with something else. If he doesn't need to eat, then you can rock and sing to him, or play on the floor, or something like that. If it is a time when he really does need to eat, replace it with other food. Start now teaching him how to drink from a cup (I'd say skip the sippy) so that when you start giving him cow's milk, he can drink from a cup. Use juice, water, or your milk for now. Save bedtime and morning nursings for the last to be eliminated. And be patient. Some kids decide all at once that they're done, others probably would if we gave them enough time. My older son weaned himself at 11 months - he was too busy! My younger son I chose to wean at about 15 months so I could spend a night away.

I started very slowly weaning my son at about 9 1/2 to 10 months. I cut out one feeding at a time for about 2 weeks, and then cut out another one etc. until we were only doing the early morning (about 5:00 am) one. Then two days in a row he slept through that feeding, he was 11 months and he was done. My milk just gradually reduced on its own, so I didn't have to pump or have soreness or anything. We didn't use bottles at all, I just started letting him have a sippy cup, so there wasn't a second weaning. I did have to use formula for a couple of months, because he couldn't tolerate milk until he was about 15 months. The first feeding I cut out was the one during the day when we were usually out and about. Good luck!

I know it isn't the answer you are looking for, but it sounds like either of you are ready to wean. Maybe take a very gradual approach at this. Take away one feeding at home every few days or every week. It will be a slow process, but much easier that way.

Instead of weening him to a bottle you should ween him to a sippy cup. That way you won't have problems weening him to a sippy cup in a month or two. You need to ween him slowly and it will go a lot better. Pick one time that is a breast feeding time and only give him the sippy cup. Don't give in and soon he will choose the sippy cup. Then once he drinks the sippy cup for that feeding then choose another time and do the same thing. Soon you will find that all he wants is his sippy cup.

wear a one piece swimsuit under your clothes. It's like your breasts are just gone. It works great. Read him stories, cuddle with him...etc.

I had one breast fed baby that never took a bottle. By 10 months, I decided it wasn't worth trying to get her on a bottle only to take her off again in a few months. So I weaned directly to a sippy cup. It took her a minute to get the hang of it, but once she figured it out, she did fine. I would just start giving your baby a sippy cup with water in it during meal times just to get used to it. Then as you are serious about weaning, just replace one feeding with a sippy cup of formula or milk - whatever you are weaning to at the time. Do that for a few days until your body has had a chance to adjust to the missed feeding and then replace one more feeding. Repeat until you've completely weaned the baby. This worked well for me. For the first few days, I was a bit worried that she wasn't getting enough liquid, but after a few days, she was motivated to figure out that sippy cup and she did.

Hi C.,
I agree that if you feel that you are finding it hard to stop, it's because you yourself are not ready to stop. And your little man can only benefit from it. My advice is to at least carry on until 1 year old. Also if you atart to pump & let hubby feed him w/ Mommy's milk in a bottle he will get used to it now with something he likes in it. Enjoy this time to the fullest, it goes by so quick. Take care.

I'd say keep breastfeeding! It sounds like there's no main reason you're stopping besides just because...so I would feel great about where you are in your breastfeeding relationship and be excited to keep it up. It will continue to have so many benefits as your baby grows, both physically and emotionally as well. As he gets bigger and more mobile it will be a great way for him to reconnect to his "home base". Happy breastfeeding!

If I were you, I would continue breastfeeding. You only have two months left until you can introduce cows milk. Why wean now when you would have to buy formula. I had the same thing and desire when my daughter who is now 4 1/2 years old was 10 months. So, I bought formula, but ended up waisting money on formula, because she wouldn't drink it. And, she needed those nutrients. So, for my son, who is now 2 1/2, I stayed committed to nursing until he was a year old and it was so much easier to wean. Good luck.

Since he is so close to one, try just going straight to sippy cups. Pump breast milk and get him used to drinking from a cup. He can smell you so best if someone else tries to give it to him too. Kids don't need or shouldn't even have a bottle after the year mark so consider yourself ahead of the game by not having to break that habit. Find some fun strawed cups too, start with breast milk, then do half and half with whole milk to get him used to something else. Slowly reduce the amount of breast milk. It will take a good two weeks before the smell of breast milk is gone from you so you could have some issues if he uses breast feeding as a soother, but be patient. Find another way to give him that comfort and rocking him while having a sippy or something.
He should have some supplement so you can get formula too so he gets the added nutrition and iron he needs once the breast milk is over with. I weaned early for numerous reasons, so don't let anyone make you feel guilty, it is a personal decision and by one kids are just fine on mainly solids and drinking whole milk. My kids did great ridding the bottles at the year mark, going solely on solids and whole milk then at 2 I took it to 2% then now we all drink 1%.
Hang in there, it will just takes some time. VERY COOL your babies were born on the same day!!!!!!!

I had a couple of children who would not take the bottle when I tried to wean at this age....so I eliminated that step of weaning too and took them straight to a sippy cup. The easiest way that I found to wean was to take away the feedings that he/she was the least attached to....like the lunch time feeding (because they had just had a meal at the table). Then I would slowly work on others and eventually the others would follow. To seperate yourself from the feedings, try not to sit in the chair that you feed him in while you just cuddle or give him his sippy cup of milk. You don't want to eliminate the special times that you have with him, just what you do while you spend time with him---meaning the breast feeding. Take the time to cuddle with him, read him stories, rock him but do it in a place that he doesn't associate with feeding at it will make the process easier. Also go slow, but once you take a feeding out, don't go back as it defeats what you are trying to do. Breastfeeding is a supply and demand, if he demands you will make it....so you need to cut back on how much you let him demand and you body will cut back on your supply. I found it took me about 3-4 days after taking out one feeding to not feel engorged, and so I would take out a new feeding every 4-5 days. Good luck.
J.---SAHM of 6