When did you wean your child?

[anjie]

To start with, I am still breast feeding my son usually at bedtime and if he cries for it.  I have started getting comments like are you still breast feeding?  My son has never been bottle fed, as he strongly dislikes it.  He is having normal food and activities.  By next June he will be joining school.  So when should I wean? I was just wondering how old was your child when you weaned him/her off breast milk?  How you dealt with the situation? Help me. 

[zoe22]

hello there! I have a 5year old and a 3month old that I'm still breast feeding exclusively at the moment. i b-fed my 5year old exclusively for 4months and then went on to formula till he was 6months and then solid foods after that. I continued breast feeding till he was 10months in this time, I was restricting his breast feeding to only night time and evevntually cut off.It was hard for both of us, he would just cry for a long time and I was getting engorged, but I just let him cry for a while and after 3 days he got the message and he stopped crying for it. I plan to do the same with my daughter as well. Hopefully I would get some good advice here as well on how best to do it.
Hope it all goes well for both of you.

[nhockaday]

I am still breastfeeding my 16 month old, and I think we'll stop when he is 2. It is definitely a personal choice that should be made based on your preferences and lifestyle choices. You don't have to let anyone know that you are still doing it, especially if it's only once a day. It sounds like it is a great bonding experience for you and your son, as well as a soothing way to relax before he goes to bed. Here is a thread that may help. http://forum.brillkids.com/coffee-corner/breastfeeding-not-more-than-2-years/

[anjie]

Thank you zoe 22 and nhockaday.
I found the forum thread really helpful.

[norcalmommy]

Hi There,

Yes, long term breastfeeding has often been resorted to a family secret to avoid the judgmental comments by those who don't.

I breastfed my son until he weaned at 19.5 months.  I encouraged him to wean by providing other options when he asked for 'na-na'.  The hardest part for us was at bedtime or if he woke up in the middle of the night.  I tried to change the routine by cutting the nursing short & changing the routine to (nursing - stories - then bed). It made it easier for us to drop it. For naps, I brought up a cup of milk, but didn't for bedtime because he would pee too much.  During the middle of the night was a tougher one. He would wake and cry for me, then ask for 'na-na' when I went in. I would nurse him for only a minute, then tell him we were going to cuddle and rock.  Then one day, I just told him we were going to cuddle and rock. He protested for a moment, then was fine.  

Sometimes he still mentions it during the day. I just tell him it's all gone and let's go get some cold milk.

For the child - It's really about replacing the routine/habit. You have to give them something to substitiute. For us its cold milk during the day and rocking/cuddling at night.

For the Mommy - well this is a difficult one. Honestly, there are some days I really still WANT to nurse him. The last month, I offered it to him several times out of my own desire to have that again. I missed (and still do) the closeness and the quiet time together. But it really makes it too confusing for them.  You have to have a personal resolve to NOT offer it and not give in when he asks or cries a bit - but to continue giving him the wonderful replacements you've established.

Hopefully this was helpful to you in someway.

Best of luck to you during this transition for both of you.

[Twinergy]

My sister and cousin both practiced child led weaning.  Most of the kids self-weaned between 2 and 3 years old, but my cousin’s oldest weaned after he turned 5 years.  He is in his mid 20’s now and I just found out he has Autism Spectrum Disorder.  He is so well adjusted; I really think the extended BF helped him cope with it all.  I have 17 month old twins who still BF and I haven’t yet decided when to wean.  I guess I am just hoping they will decide to do it on their own before it becomes an issue for me. 
Here is forum specifically about breastfeeding beyond infancy http://www.mothering.com/discussions/forumdisplay.php?f=310.  You might also find some good advice there.

[babybaby]

All my kids were self led weaned...this worked for both of us but engorement can be an issue when going cold turkey...

[varshak]

It is completely up to u when u want to stop breastfeeding.I have 5.5month baby im exclusively breastfeeding him.When i asked my Doc abt it he told me to breastfeed exclusively till 6 months n then start solids but have to continue breastfeeding till he becomes 2 years of age.But after the age of 2 years u want to breastfeed it is up to u.I know few mothers who breastfed their children up to the age of 8 yrs .It is more emotional than physical.

[PY]

Hi there,
I have a 14 months old baby, I  just cut breastfeeding her last week, she will not be interested anymore, I really wanted to giving her breastmilk until to years old, but I guess she is a big girl now..and she perefers bottle...Kids are so different, don't worry your son will stop whenever he feels like.

[KUAngie]

I weaned at 12 months.  My supply was really droppping because I stopped pumping at work.  I was doing milk when I was out of the house, and nursing in the morning and at night.  My left breast totally dried up.  My right dwindled.  My son would have kept on comfort nursing, but sessions were stetching on over 30-45minutes.  So we just stopped.  It really is a personal issue for everyone.

Angie

[ketty rain]

the best time is two years.for me  i struggeled to make it 6 month!!!!!but i wish if i could give more!!!!!!most kid are weaned at 2 years old.

[rose08]

I am breastfeeding my 12 month old and have no intentions of stopping any time soon. My daughter is still getting all her nutrients from my breastmilk as she wont eat much due to having 6 teeth coming through at the same time, with 3 of them molars I will breastfeed as long as I can and as long as my daughter wants to. I want to breastfeed until she is at least 2 years old and then after that we will see.

[staceycanada]

All my children are self weaners. So far all have weaned between 2 and 3. Ydd is still nursing at 17months and likely won't be stopping any time soon.

[ketty rain]

this is the bitter fact that most baby are self weaners!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[jsmonton]

its always up to your choice depending on your lifestyle as mentioned by nhockaday. i wanted to bfed my baby as much as possible but because i had to resumed work when he was only 3months old, the schedule of feeding became impossible for both of us. plus the fact that my milk did not come soon, so from day 1 he had to feed on formula. even when i had my milk coming, it was not flowing enough had eaten things which makes the milk flow but still no luck, my milk has became just the supplement when my son needs more. by 5months he is totally on formula. the s-26 formula claims to be as close as the mother's milk!

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