What Is Going On??

My son (who was also exclusively breastfed) refused at 11 months...I was perfectly fine with it, I wanted to stop at a year anyway, and he took charge. I pumped for a month (which I would not do again, it is a pain, but he was the first) although the ped. said 11 months was fine to switch to milk...so, unless you are upset by it (which you don't seem to be, seeing as you were planning on stopping soon anyway) I would be happy that she did it on her own time.

I would take a pregnancy test to see if that is the answer. If not, I would also consider if there is something you're eating that could be changing the flavor of the milk and/or your daughter may be reacting to it (spitting up can sometimes be a sign of a food sensitivity/intolerance--especially if the baby is so close to a year old). Another idea might be if she seems sick at all, she may have hand, foot and mouth, which causes sores in the mouth, hands and feet. Lastly, some kids seem to refuse nursing more during the one-year mark because they are so busy with milestones like talking and walking. I had a baby who seemed like she was going to wean at almost a year, but then we got past those milestones and she came back to nursing well again. If you keep offering, she may eventually take a stronger interest again.

I had a friend whos little girl about that age, weaned herself. she had been sensitive to when mom ate cheese, and one night mom had cheesecake. the next day baby would try to nurse but just wouldn't. mom tried for a week or so and baby was done. So mom ended up giving her goats milk..think it took a bit till baby would take a bottle, but when she got hungry enough...she did. Good luck!

Any chance you are pregnant? Breastmilk can change taste when you are pregnant

Since your date to stop breastfeeding is so close - I wouldn't worry too much about it and go with the change.

Is it possible that you're pregnant? The taste of breast milk can change when you get pregnant.
Also~my first child quit on her own on the day of her first birthday. No cutting back or anything! One day she nursed, the next day (her first birthday) she didn't.

It sounds like you are pregnant! At this stage of breastfeeding, not too much is going to make a difference to her, since she is well established and almost a year. I'm assuming that she eats baby/table food? But you should take a pregnancy test to see if that is the cause. The same thing happened to my mom...two of my brothers are only 15 months apart. Good luck!!

Hi K.,

The same thing happened to my son when he was about 10 months. I learned that your milk supply can get pretty low when the babies get older and start eating other foods--it's supply and demand, right? Anyway, when a baby is used to getting a lot of milk, and then the milk supply starts lessening, the baby doesn't want to wait for it to come in and gets impatient. Especially when they're so active at this age.

Since you're so close to weaning anyway, you might just switch her over to milk now.

I would also check inside her mouth and make sure she doesn't have thrush. If she has that there would be white patches that look like cottage cheese. It is painfull for them to eat with that. If she has that she needs to go to the doctor. If there is nothing there it may be she doesn't like something you ate or is just ready to wean before you are.

Are you pregnant? That is the most common reason for your milk to change flavor. Also, if you're eating new things, especially strong flavored ones, they can flavor your milk also.

My son did the same thing about a month before his first birthday. I recently found out I'm pregnant so that may have been the cause!!! However, I did research and found that they sometimes just wean themselves and don't like the taste anymore. I would recommend trying to nurse her like you normally would have for a few more days (and pump when she doesn't take) just so you make sure she is done. And then just slowly taper off pumping till you are all dried up if she is really done. It's great when they decide they are done on their own!

She could be sensitive to something you are eating - try eliminating various things :)
Liz

There are some flu's going around right now. She may just be sick and wanting to nurse for comfort, but then throwing it up because she's sick. It might be a good idea to ask a doctor, or you could just call the nurses line at Evergreen. ###-###-#### x2.

Good luck!

My son did this when he had thrush, it hurt his mouth. If your hospital/pediatric clinic has an advice nurse, or a lactation consultant available for phone calls, I'd try there. Better than assuming it's just time to stop nursing.
Good luck,
Colleen

Did you start eating something different this past week?

When one of my children was young, he didn't want to nurse. It was before he was on solid food, so I needed to feed him, but he just wouldn't eat very much. I figured out that I had eaten a banana for the first time since his birth. I stopped eating bananas and once they were out of my system, he nursed just like before.

I have also heard of kids who self-wean. They just decide they don't want to nurse anymore. Since you were planning to wean her soon, you might just stop now when it is easy to do.

I can only speak from experience. When my first son was just a few days older than 12 months, he started refusing to nurse and was biting me to boot. Come to find out a week later... I was pregnant. So my hormones must've changed my milk.

It's easiest to quick while she is asking you to... whatever her reasons are.