Stopping Breast Feeding

I dont have any advice, I just wanted to say great job for lasting this long! 17 months is a long time for BF, and I would hope no one would make you feel guilty! I wasnt lucky enough to last a week, so I'm kind of jealous. :-)

I stopped breastfeeding my daughter at 16.5 months. I had been thinking about doing it for a little bit and needed to stop in a few months as I was going on a trip and wanted her weaned before then. I cut the morning nursings for a couple days by getting up immediately when she woke (instead of putting her into bed with me) and then we went downstairs and got in her high chair right away.... I gave her breakfast asap and then I just kept her busy... We went shopping and on a walk... and then luckily I had a friend in town so I went to dinner and a movie with her and my hubby was forced to put her to sleep (without nursing) I came home and we did the same thing for the next couple of days... She didn't even really seem to mind much, she pulled at my shirt a couple times but I distracted her immediately and that seemed to help a ton. So basically we did it cold turkey and it worked for us. I pretty much was dreading it for nothing(my DD is a little Mommy clingy) I think you just hav to pick the day and do it, I think it's harder on us then them (most of the time)...

I agree, you are awesome!!!! I just weaned at couple weeks ago and mine was only 11.5 months, so go girl!! I know my baby is younger but he was like your girl, am and pm and some days in the afternoon and really mostly for comfort, we both enjoyed it so much. What I did was just replace the afternoon with a sippy of milk. Then morning with a sippy of milk. Actually what I do is when I go to get him up, I take a sippy of slightly warm milk and he drinks it while I get him changed. Then I cuddle with him and his older brother a bit. If she starts like dive bombing the breasts, maybe a sweet little lovey right on your chest that she can burrow in. I have this little stuffed Tigger that I give my baby to cuddle and love on, it's really cute. Then once he is happy, content with his milk and snuggles I put him on the floor and he starts the day happy, then breakfast isn't too far behind. You just have to give a little more cuddle time and make the time where she would have been breastfeeding special in a different way. At night the last thing he gets is a sippy of slightly warm milk. I lay him by me on the sofa bc he is a bit tired at that point and just rub his belly while he drinks it. Then I brush his teeth, take him around to say nighty nite to everyone and I lay him down in his bed. I use a sound machine on white noise in his room and that has helped that transition from nursing to sleep to just going to bed so much! He knows that when we go in the room and the noise is on, it's bedtime. He just goes right down, no prob. He fussed a little at first, like 5 min, but now not at all. Mine can be set to run for 90min so that is what I do so that when he starts to cycle in and out of deep sleep it won't disturb him later in the night. Anyway, that is how I handled it. Good luck, I so understand being done! I was!! I think you will do well if you just ease her out of it and fill the time with other special things. Take care :D

Try to cut out the mid-day feedings first, then the morning ones, then the nighttime ones. That's what I did with my daughter, and I found that nursing just at night was much more tolerable.

Instead of nursing, start a new ritual: read a book, snuggle, rub her back; twiddle her hair. I suspect you will both miss the physical bonding so replacing it with something physical is nice.

If she having a hard time with it, bring your huband into the routine to take the focus off of you.

My first baby self weened before a year and I have to say I was disappointed. I intended to nurse her longer. My husband and I agreed on 18 months for our second baby, but I had to go in the hospital and stop him cold turkey at 15 months. It couldn't be helped. He wasn't thrilled about it by any means, but when I got home from the hospital 4 days later, he was completely over it.
I don't have a lot of advice on the subject, but you've done a great job nursing this long.
Maybe try doing only the night time nursing and then slowly drop that too.
It might be easy to distract her with other things in the morning and she'll take to her sippy cup instead. Try putting ice cubes in it. My son liked the sound of them rattling, in fact, he wouldn't even drink milk without ice cubes.

Best wishes!

I have five kids and nursed all of them, and for different amounts of time. Breastfeeding is a two-way relationship, and if it's not working for one of you, then it's time to adjust or stop, so I feel where you are coming from.

Which feeding are you most anxious to be freed from? I would start there, because the process of weaning is best when it's slow--most comfort for both of you during the transition.

I would start by nursing for a shorter time at that feeding, and gradually lessen that over several days or a week, replacing the nursing with what you feel is a better substitute-ie a cup, bottle, snack, game, nap, teddy bear, or ideally Snuggle Time. At this age, she wants time with you more than the nutrition it offers. So, a few minutes hugging, snuggling, and quietly chatting should go a long way in maintaining the bond while freeing your body. ;)

Then, pick the next feeding and work on that the same way, lessening each time, while replacing it with whatever activity or nutrition is going to replace it, along with lots of snuggling.

After several weeks, she may give up nursing all together on her own, or you can just continue the same way with the third feeding.

Make sure you start with her least necessary feeding and end with her most cherished feeding time, so she can have that one the longest. All in all expect to take up to six weeks to finally be done.

With one of mine, I was weaning, but decided that the one night time feeding was still fine for me, and cherished by her, so we maintained that one feeding for another few months, then she stopped on her own one day. But that is what worked for us.

Good luck! Enjoy the rest of this time, as it never comes again, but still more adventures await you in child rearing!

:)
~A.

I weaned my son at 17 months also, and it was hard. I was 5 months pregnant with my daughter at the time so my milk had dried up a lot so I know it was just a comfort thing for him (only way he would go to sleep for naps and bed, and the first thing he asked for when he woke up). What I did was put band-aids over them adn told him Mommy's "beeboos" were sick and would taste gross. The first time it didn't seem to bother him--then my husband had the idea to put vinegar on them, and that worked! haha...i'll never forget his face when he went to latch on and tasted vinegar haha

It took a few days, and we started a new bedtime routine that involved Daddy doing the "finishing touches". Bathtime, jammies, books then dad rocks him and sings to him for a little bit in the dark then puts him in bed and sings one more verse. Then it's "night night buddy, love you" and he walks out. I don't think introducing a sippy cup with milk is a good idea--making him rely on any food or drink to fall asleep will just create another habit that you will have to wean her of later on. It is hard, but she is actually still young enough that she will probably forget about it after a little while. And be prepared for the hormone-induced mood swings that usually occur after you quit breastfeeding

Best of luck!

Wow! Awesome job for lasting as long as you did! and might I add SHAME ON YOU "Pamela, Raven & More" for your response which is exactly what K. asked you not to do . . . is it really so hard to keep your opinions to yourself? Anyway, K., I think if you have the right mindset and a helpful hubby you can get through this with as little unhappiness as possible. Don't feel guilty, she'll catch on to your attitude - make this a happy time, celebrate her becoming a big girl and your freedom. I know its hard to let go, trust me we've all been there, but don't dwell on it. You've made your decision, it's ok to "be ok" with it. If you worry, she'll worry . . . you've gotten some great responses on the "how to" so use what works best for you and please don't feel guilty - you've done a great job! Good luck!

Great job nursing for so long!! You have gotten some great responses, so I am going to only add a little bit. I took the gradual approach, cutting out 1 session at a time, and shortening it each time. By the time we cut the last session, she was only nursing for about 30-45 seconds. I replaced it with lots of cuddling, which we still do. :) Whatever approach you decide, good luck and I hope it goes well for you!

Hi! I totally understand! I stopped nursing at about 19 months, and I felt soooooo guilty! I was about 60 pounds overweight and HAD to lose the weight, so I stopped nursing to go on weight-loss drugs. Despite everyone saying, "You nursed a long time! Don't worry about it!" I still felt bad. ;o( She is now two and I still miss it. She's my last baby (my first one is turning 22 this week!), and it's sad that I'll never nurse again.

However, what I did is just hold her a lot. She would cry and pull at my shirt, and I would keep whispering, "I know...I know..." and hold her, even when she would get mad. It took about two weeks -- some days okay and some days she was really upset -- until she quit wanting to nurse. It was the right decision for me, as I have now -- five months later -- lost 51 pounds and am healthier FOR HER and for myself. I walk and we play together far more. Focus on the positives of stopping breastfeeding, and you'll get though it. Good luck!

I don't remember the time frame of how I gradually dropped the feedings, but I got to the point where I only nursed at night. I started doing other things at nighttime to creat a ritual that did not involve nursing. Then, at 18 months because this is the time frame I set, I just stopped. I quite cold turkey. One of my daughters cried and was upset, but nothing too extreme. My other daughter was mad. She yelled and screamed at me all night. I rolled over and slept on my belly to keep her away from my breast. She pulled at me and scratched my back trying to get me to turn over. I just didn't budge. It was hard that first night, but then I was done. I never nursed them again. Believe it or not my daughter didn't even give me trouble the following night. We were done just like that.

I had a friend whose husband did not want her to quite nursing. Her twins were nearly 2 1/2 and she just wanted to be done with it. Her husband had this idea though that she needed to nurse whenever the kids wanted. Since he wasn't supportive of her decision she went a little extreme. One day when her husband was at work she put jalepeno juice on her breast (yes she said it stung), the kids tried one time.

My son stopped @ 18 1/2 months. It was around the time of Christmas so my husband helped a bunch. By that time, he was only nursing when he woke up, so my husband would go get him and take a sippy cup with his rice milk in it (we're allergic to dairy, so if your daughter takes cows milk, then I would try that). After about a week, my son knew the drill and so when I got him, I would make sure I had a cup before I went in his room. I would do a similiar tactic when trying to cut out your child's afternoon snacking. I would definitely not put anything on your nipple, regardless of what anyone says. That's just plain mean and a cruel way to make your child adjust. I don't care what anyone else says. Remember, you might have to express so you don't block up, it's still possible. And, be patient. Remember, your daughter has known nursing as a way to feed her, comfort her, and soothe her for 1 1/2 years. Patience goes a long way. Hope this helps.

I found it easiest to cut the morning feed first. I would just have breakfast ready as soon as DD woke up, so she didn't really have an opportunity to ask in the morning. Then after the am session was cut, I would only nurse in the pm when she asked, and it slowly got cut out

Start with removing the one that seems to be least necessary - the afternoon weekend one. Gradually remove the others. Less chance of painful breasts. Tell her what is going on - I did this with my son - told him that nursing was for young babies and now that he was little boy and eating food, etc. Also said I was running out of milk, cause it's for growing babies, and he's getting older, etc. I thin it helped to be honest with him about how things work.

I liked gradual weaning cause cold turkey = engorgement, which hurts. Good luck! You did a great job going for more than a year.

I weaned my daughter at 20 months and it actually went much easier than I thought so there is hope for a smooth transition. The biggest thing that helped with my dd was distraction. If she would ask to nurse I would distract her with something else. Like "in just a minute honey. As soon as mommy finishes x." and then I'd get her busy with something or if we were at the library and she'd ask i'd tell her "when we leave" and she would often forget by the time we got to the car. Sometimes it worked and other times she was more persistent. If she remembered ok, if not ok. If she was more persistent, I'd let her nurse her normal way-not trying to cut the session short or anything. That way I felt like I was being kind and gentle about it. . It took about 2 weeks of this and she gradually asked to nurse less and then and then didn't ask anymore. She was like your little one. Wasn't nursing too often.

It was def harder on me than her. We moms are more conscious of the bond and such and it's hard to let go. I know exactly how you feel but same as you, it was time to wean. Mommy jobs are hard! (((hugs)))