Wean Baby
Can you give support for Jacqui about how to wean baby? She asks, “for those that chose to, how did you wean baby off breastfeeding and when?” Our facebook community group have shared their responses below.
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Weaned my son at 7 months old because he was starting day-care at 9months old. I started with 1x formula bottle for his lunch feed. After about 2 weeks I started every alternate day for his morning feed too. By 8months he was off the boob (a lot quicker than I thought) and milk dried up about a week or two after his last feed.
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Weaned my son at 3yo, first night was the hardest, tantrums and crying. I had to keep talking to him about why he couldn’t have booby (baby was coming, and I didn’t want to tandem – also was over feeding a toddler) I also bought him a bottle for his cow milk…
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I weaned my little one at 19 months, I was down to morning and night feeds only.
I stopped morning first then a week later stopped evening. I did lots of talking about it too to prepare him. It turns out I should’ve dropped nights first as there were plenty of other ‘sleep cues’ to settle him whereas when he woke he wanted to feed right away. ??♀️
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Just offer everything else first – Water, Food, Bottle – then Boob that way they fill up first & want less boob! Also, where possible get someone else to feed them or get them to feed themselves so they start disconnecting your milk smell with food ?
Start during the day – they usually sort the nights themselves ?
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I’m doing a very slow process of weaning my 13-month-old. Basically, once he got to about 10 months we went down to 3-4 feeds a day and I just increased food and slowly reduced feeds. The middle of day feed was dropped so fed after breakfast, one in the afternoon then one before bed for the night. Then I increased food again and dropped the afternoon feed, so he was having a big breakfast (2weetbix with milk) then a breastfeed up to an hour after. Then a snack at about 10ish. Lunch around 12, snack around 3, dinner at 5 then 6ish breastfeed before bed. Then I dropped the morning feed in last couple of weeks and offered cow’s milk instead. He only drinks around 50-80ml of that. And it seems he’s now only having a short breastfeed before bed, so I’d say he may completely wean himself soon! It’s been an easy process for us but obviously all babies are different and have different feeding wants and needs and behaviours so how I have done it may not work at all for others!
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Slowly & gently…I started reducing feeds at 10 months in prep for going back to work at 12 months. Cut down to 2-day feeds morning & night then cut night feeds then dropped morning feed & finally bedtime feed at 15 months. Each time I dropped a feed I just fed for less & less time until I no longer offered & she never once protested not getting any. It took longer than I expected but I wanted to do it gently.
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Wean baby at 2yo because I was pregnant and because he was becoming very upset and throwing tantrum when I was saying no. It took 4.5 weeks total. Stopped in stages. First the middle of the night feed, then the go to bedtime feed, then the morning feed and then the afternoon feed during nap time over the weekend. Each phase took about 3 days. Took a lot of crying but then that was it done.
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Wow, I feel like a bit of a mean mum reading the comments above! With my first my milk stopped at 10 months (pregnant again and working full time, something had to give!) the second I switched to a bottle at the same age cause I needed my body back after nearly four years of pregnancy and feeding.
I went back to work when they were 4 months old (expressing in your lunch break sucks!) so night feeds stopped then. By 10 months I was only boobing morning and night and hubby gave them a formula top up as well as solids during the day, so it was easy for us to switch them across to formula. The youngest was 13 months. We went straight to cold cow’s milk with him and no trouble. He has always been a super easy, sunny little kid though. I don’t think he ever needed the boob for attachment, he’s got two older siblings that dote on him as well as his parents, he gets plenty of cuddles!
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Weaned my first at 16mths- hit 2nd trimester and feeding was painful!! He was down to only 2 feeds a day by that stage. Don’t offer, don’t refuse worked with him except for the night feed. Then it was over to Dad for 3 nights and he stopped asking.
2nd born weaned at 2-year 2mths…he always demanded!! Lol so had to start refusing him. Mornings he could be distracted by his brother so that went first. Nights dropped back to 1 side only, then 1 night his nana put him to sleep and he never asked for boob for I took that point to start telling him it had all gone. No milk left. He kept asking for a week or so after that.
I always explained to my boys that they wouldn’t always have milk from mama leading up to transitioning off
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Not much help here I had insufficient supply despite doing everything we could so my son was bottle and breast fed from 3 weeks old by 4 months he was totally on the bottle because he was lucky to be getting 20-40 mls from me at any 1 time from both boobs. you guys are amazing.
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Weaned my eldest at 15 months he was down to one feed before bed only like 5 min feed so just said one night boob all gone and he was happy with cuddles have just weaned my youngest at 3 years 1 week she was also only having bedtime feed I told her the milk is all gone 2 weeks later and she’s only asked like twice
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I’ve just weaned at 11mo, cut down one feed at a time each week & replaced w bottle. That stopped any super fullness! Then once down to one feed per day, which coincidentally was the overnight one (easiest to pop a boob out than a bottle) if she fed ? but if she went through the night then she would get morning boob (time extended out) then if I wasn’t full I started doing every other night/am and then only if I was uncomfortable. One boob dried up first, so I only fed off one side in this process too. I just guessed how full I was & if I needed to empty it off a little. I only had x1 night of being really full & she refused to dream feed so had to hand express (on holiday-no pump) till I was comfortable. Good luck xx
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My girl self-weaned around 14 months (I was pregnant with my son at the time) and my son got the chop at 16 months. Cold turkey. It was a tough few weeks, but we made it.
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9 months I gradually replaced a breastfeed with a bottle over a few weeks.
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14 weeks exclusive my wee lass didn’t have a strong suck and even with suction exercise it didn’t improve so I had to be full all the time for her to get milk meaning a fed every hour. With going back to fulltime work at 18wks I part fed as long as I could made it to 22 weeks. I’m proud of my accomplishment! Go mummas!
