Time to Wean?

Thats just about how my kiddos let me know that they are ready to move on and give the portable milk jugs a rest. :-)
I would suggest doing a trial and only nursing if he asks for it...

I am going through the same thing with my 9mo old son. He will nurse for 3-5 min and then cry if I try to make him nurse longer. I then pump and give him the extra in a bottle which he eats quickly and then wants more. I can still pump extra off myself so I don;t think it is a milk supply problem. He just is to active and busy to work at it from me. I decided this week to pump and give bottles and nurse only before bedtime. Hopefully I can keep up with him.

My daughter had that reaction when I drank apple juice.. it was too acidic for her. So have you changed your diet at all?

Hi,
My name is E.. I only have one daughter and am still nursing her, but from what I hear from other moms I would say that it is time to move on probably due to milk supply. Good for you to have nursed him for so long!

S. -

Since you've been successful at weaning him down to just two feedings, your milk supply is certainly winding itself down, too. This is probably why he gets upset in the evenings, hungry for a pre-bed snack. It sounds like if your son is fine with a bottle and "rejecting" the nipple, it is probably the optimum time to wean him completely. From what I've read, babies get the most benefit from breast-feeding in the first year, and after that it's more of a comfort thing, as they get all the nutrition they need from solid foods. His timing is perfect. Also from what I've read and heard from other moms, if you "force" your child to continue breastfeeding after the first year, it becomes a much more difficult habit to break.

I'm curious about your comment on morning and night feedings as meals. Is this all he is getting at these times? I suggest feeding him solid foods with his milk in the morning and giving him a snack with his bottle at night. Beginning around your sons age, my boys were always starving just before bedtime, even if they ate a good dinner (and still are that way at 21mos).

I commend you on being successful for this long. My boys pretty much weaned themselves around 8 mos. They all began biting me, which was very uncomfortable, and because I have triplets, it was easier for me not to try to breast-feed one while the other two fumbled with their bottles.

Good luck
Dana

I'd say if you can nurse him for comfort occasionally.. enough to produce enough, then do it! It's going to help him from getting sick as often. My son has the flu (he's 15 months and nursing) and the only thing that worked for him while he was sick was nursing. I'm so glad that I was able to help him in some way. Pacifier, cuddling.. nothing was as comforting for him as nursing. So I'd say if you keep it up then you'll be able to in emergencies. : )

I nursed both my sons. My first son for 13 months and my second son only for 10 1/2 months. He just lost interest and my breasts stopped producing enough milk. Your body and your son know better then anyone when time is up. Listen to them, it is probably much harder for you then them. It was for me, especially with the second. With the second they seem to progress so much faster because they want to keep up with their siblings. I would try a sippy cup too. If he is 11 1/2 months I would say milk is Okay for him, but consult your doctor first. I used soy milk because both my kids didn't like the formula or cows milk. My first son also has a mild milk allergy. The soy milk is sweeter, and tastes more like breast milk. It made the transition really easy for me and the kids.

It sound as if your milk supply isn't sufficient to be a meal for your child. It is the natural order of supply and demand. But congratulations on your success with nursing!

It sounds like you are starting to lose your milk, from lack of nursing.That crying hes doing is probably because hes expecting a huge elt down or something, and when he doesnt get it, it makes him mad. With my son, I lost my milk at one year, because I fell pregnant. We did continue to latch as needed, but none of the classic "milk boosting" fixes were working for me. My daughter weaned herself last month at 14 months old. Unlike my son, she has no interest in continuing.

If he doesnt seem like he's ready to stop yet, I would suggest eating oatmeal during the day as a way to boost your supply, and try to latch him as often as possible. Your milk at this point is a supply and demand deal, so you are only making enough to feed him when he wants it. There are things you can try like mothers milk tea, eating oatmeal, fenugreek (i've never used this one, but i understand that you know if you are taking enough if your skin smells like syrup :P). Another option is Lactation cookies, which has lots of milk boosting ingrediants in it.
Heres is a link to that recipe: http://www.recipezaar.com/192346

Every mom i know who has tried them has had good luck. The joke is you can feel your supply go up as you are eating them.

yup, sounds like it to me! is he getting any other liquids during the day? he is close to being able to have whole milk, etc. if he's getting plenty of liquids from other sources and is happy doing so then just go with it!

Hi S., My name is M.. I am a mother of 3 and breastfed all of them. My middle child weaned on his own at 9 months. He did to me the same thing your baby is doing to you. I was devastated that he wanted to wean so early because I had nursed my first son for 2 years. Once I put David on solid foods at 6 months , he started nursing less, liked drinking from a sippy cup. For 3 days he would suck, pull his head back and cry like there was no milk for him. I was able to express milk from my breasts so I know that I wasn't dried up. I realized David was ready to move on from nursing so I started him on soy formula in a bottle and he was happy again. Because he wsn't a year old yet is why I gave him the bottle. If your baby is almost a year you probably could skip the bottles completely and go to a sippy cup. That would make taking the bottle away even easier. Commend your self for nursing so long. You did a great job and offered your baby something that will benefit him for the rest of his life. Take Care, M.

is your milk supply low??? my son was having a growth spurt and complaining (by fussing) that the milk wasnt enough..

I started taking fenugreek an herbal supplement to increase mysupply-- he started nursing like a champ again.

He may nurse better if he is very sleepy, you could try nursing when he is drowsy.

My son is 11 months old (6/11/07) he is nursing 4 times a day.. before nap, before bedtime, middle of thenight, and early morning..

He is still up once anight to nurse.. i will not wean him until he gives up his middle of he night feeding.. I would rather nurse him than have to go down and warm up a bottle.

All kids wean themselves differently, so this could be his way of letting you know--sure sounds like it.

Both my kids weaned themselves very abruptly. I got them down to only nursing at night and then all of a sudden one night they didn't want it, and even acted like they had no idea what the heck I was trying to get them to do--wierd, huh?

It might make you a bit sad, but consentrate on all the other things you can do at that time still:)

It clearly sounds like your milk supply has diminished. If your son is happy with solid food and bottles, I would go with that. If he wants to nurse for comfort, let him do that, too. He will probably stop on his own when he realizes that there isn't enough milk to satisfy him.

It sounds like your boy is ready to move on. I'm going through the exact thing with my son, but he's only 5 months old! We started supplementing him with an extra bottle every now and then, and now he refuses to eat from me and gets really mad. We decided he's finding it easier to get his milk from the bottle. That's great that you made it almost to a year! It's hard for us to let go of the bonding time, but it sounds like he wants to. :) Good luck!