HELP!!!!! I try to wean my son from nursing, and he seems to want it more! How do i get him to stop wanting me? He will try to pull down my shirt and have a complete breakdown. He does drink out of a sippy so he knows how to get a drink. its so hard!
Give that boy something to put in his mouth:)My girls were the same way.They need to be distracted and offered milk from a tippie.I know its not much to go on but I hope this helps.Distraction is the key:)
Hi J.,
I weaned my son at about the same age. He was getting to the point of pulling on my shirt, too. Have you tried pumping and putting the breast milk in a sippie cup for him? It might help to give that to him every once in a while as well as other things like milk/juice/water, etc... Many people tend to dry up quicker if they pump, so if you do this and you dry up, he will most likely lose interest sooner if he's not getting anything from you (and he's getting more from his sippie cup).
Hope this helps!
Hi J.,
While I didn't have to wean my child from breast-feeding, I did have to wean from binkies, so here's some ideas.
I would think offering him in a sippy cup of whole milk or diluted Choc milk would taste good enough for him to want the sippy cup more often.
Other alternatives besides bribing (!) are:
- Build up to it. Start talking about how he's a big boy and only needs sippy cups now. Go shopping and have him pick out some big boy cups so he sees how special they are.
- Maybe he's not a cold-turkey type of kid. So talk to him about how he's a big boy and it's only for bedtime from now on.
- He may still want to nurse because it's a comfort to him. So instead of cuddling with him while nursing, the next time he wants to nurse just say "it's not bedtime" but cuddle with him anyway. Some quiet rocking time may be all he really wanted. If you have a special song that sooths him, go ahead and sing!
- You may need to plan when you're going to start doing this because if you say 'not now' and he starts a breakdown, then you need the time and the privacy to deal with a screaming kid. But you have to be tough because if you give in after 20 minutes of screaming, then he'll know he needs to scream that long the NEXT time to get what he wants. So once you create the rules, you have to stick with it. Then after the first couple of breakdowns, he'll realize you mean it and will stop or at least decrease the tantrums - especially if he still gets to cuddle with you while drinking chocolate milk out of his big boy sippy cup!
Good Luck
J.
Try to diminish your supply (no nursing, no pumping unless you're uncomfortable, keep your front away from the warm water in the shower etc). Both of my got tired of not getting much and not being satisfied so it was much easier to wean onto sippy cups etc. My son liked the comfort of it too, so it was harder. I don't necessary agree with the chocolate milk thing just because he may begin to prefer that to regular whole milk and that's no good. Definitely try the cuddle thing and pick your own cup thing for "big boys". Just be consistent and don't give in no matter what. Try to stay in for the first couple of days or so in case he has a melt down you will at least be able to handle it privately. Just remember no one ever died from crying! Good luck!
