Weaning My Son - Sun Prairie,WI

Can you leave him with your husband during those times for a few days? If not, than you just have to be consistent and let him no that the boobies are not working, or that he is too old for the boobies (how ever you want to word it). He may get mad, but he will get over it. Give him a sippy of milk (you do not have to warm it), and maybe a small snack, and just stand your ground.

I weaned my daughter (my 3rd BF baby) a few months ago at 17 months. This is what I did:

Stop nursing the time that is EASIEST for you first. For me, that was our later afternoon pre-dinner nursing. She wasn't really hungry, just getting kind of worn down and it was more of a break for us... so I just started saying no when she asked and offering water.

Then we went to naptime. Yes, she cried. I rocked her. We made it through. Then came bedtime and last to go were the early a.m. wakings.

Try to go a week after dropping one before dropping the next.

Good luck!
Jessica

Here are some suggestions for weaning that might also be helpful for you to check out:

http://www.theskinnyscoop.com/search/wean?utm_campaign=th...

Good luck!

If you really want to wean him now, I think you're just going to have to put up with some fussing and "freaking out." He'll adjust. I would wean him very gradually one feeding at a time. Years ago, I made the mistake of weaning my 14-month-old too quickly because we were going on a short trip without him, and we were both miserable for about 4 nights. When I eliminated the nursings before nap and bedtime, I replaced it with playing music from one of those button battery song books that play music when the tab is pushed. I played the same book and the same songs every time so he learned to associate a particular book and particular music with sleep time. Good luck and congrats for nursing so long. In my case, although my son was pretty unhappy for about 4 days, he ended up adjusting to quitting breastfeeding more quickly than I did!

thank you for breastfeeding!!!! :) :) :) great job mom!!!

one thing that is good to do to wean is to rearrange the furnature and/or do not sit in normal spots that you nurse in.

since some of these are at night, its harder because you are in bed. i dont want you to stop responding to him at night!

nursing is one of those things though that they will not be doing in kindergarten, you know? i dont know your reasons for wanting to quit right now, but if you can take it slow that is preferred. try cutting one feeding out at a time, and do it slowly and gradually. you will notice a change in behavior if its the wrong time to cut one. its up to you to decide how to deal with that.

my son self weaned at 20 months after complete dont ask dont refuse methods and then we went on a trip (together as a family, he was with me) - he became too busy to nurse, and within 2 weeks it just gradually tapered off. theres nothing wrong with continuing, but theres no guarantee your son would self wean. :) know that he is getting good nutrition and boosts to his immune system by continuing.

i wouldnt start a bottle. :P you are right on that one.
i dont know about warm milk. hes likely to be smart enough to know the difference between that and breastmilk and throw a fit. :P

you can try playing, reading a book, watching a movie. but try not to do things or sit places you would normally nurse (if you have such a place).
we got rid of our couch and got a different one from a friend aroudn the time my son weaned as well, so i wasnt sitting in that spot on the couch either.

anyway , good luck. know that you dont have to be in a hurry. take it one nursing session at a time.

Really, I can't remember. My guy's 2.5 & I never thought he would quit nursing. I had no idea how I was going to wean him, but had heard it was good to nurse as long as possible,so wasn't worried. He ended up just weaning himself at 20 months.

That's a good idea to skip the afternoon one. Maybe if you skip one or two feedings,it will lower supply. And once that dwindles, he will start to lose interest, since it won't be as fulfilling. Then just drop it down to wake up & go to sleep time. Then just one or other, & I think he will eventually stop.

You may have to substitute bottle if you really want to quit quickly. My son would drink from a sippy, but not at night or morning,even after he stopped nursing. sucking seemed like a very important thing to him (he still has to have pacifier to fall asleep at night). I'm not sure if you just have never given him bottles or already got him off of them, but if he isn't used to them, he may not take one anyways.

I think you just have to follow your instincts & find something that's right for you & your son. Every child's different, so we can provide advice on our own experiences, but you must tailor them to suit your needs & do what you feel in your heart is right. Congrats for going this long! Good luck! Oh, and just wait for potty training. It's even more fun. You have quite a while 'til that, though.

I cut off night feedings at one year. We went cold turkey. One semi rough night - one mild - and then no more night waking. At 3 years old, my son was still nursing at wake up, before nap (on weekends), and at bedtime. For the nap one, he didn't ask one day so I didn't offer and it was dropped. Helps that he's 3 1/2. again though, basically cold turkey. Same with the before bed one which we cut about 2 months ago. He was a little upset the first couple of nights, but stories and cuddles work wonders. Definitely focus on one feeding at a time to drop.