I need tips on how to stop breastfeeding!

[rluey29]

We are headed to Disney in 3 months and I have a 21 month old that just adores the "breast". Now I am not opposed to anyone breastfeeding their child for as long as they want, but I am ready to stop and he is not. I'm sure I'll be sad when he does stop though...

Last time we went to Disney, the baby care stations were great but I spent alot of time in there and missed out on alot of time with my DH and DS8. On this trip, I'd rather it be over where we could all do everything together.

I've cut him down to having it only at naptime and at bedtime. He gets very upset when he can't have it. He will lovingly walk up to me, tilt his head, and ask for it in the sweetest voice. When I say no, he often throws the Boppy Pillow at me, LOL. It's not a big fit, just sad. I can see it being very miserable when we try to stop it completely because it seems like he's using it for comfort to go to sleep. He also wants it when he gets hurt.

Another thing is he won't drink milk. I've tried white and chocolate, but he doesn't like it. Will he get enough Calcium without it?

Any advice is appreciated!!

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

Have you asked your pediatrician for ideas? They usually have great ones.

I was lucky - both my kids suddenly decided they were done nursing at about 10 months. It was nice they quit on their own.

Then I did formula in a bottle for a while, then changed to water only in the bottle when it was time to wean them off the bottle. It worked great for us especially when they caught on that they could have a bit of juice in a sippy cup but not a bottle.

 

[CCCNSmom]

In terms of the weaning I don't know that I have many suggestions. If it is only at bedtime you could try having someone else put him to bed. It will not be easy, but might be the best way to go.

My boys took a while to really start drinking milk. They liked oatmeal and cream of wheat so I would make those with milk. Yogurt is also a good option, my kids went through a stage after weaning where they had a smoothie or drinkable yogurt before bed. That went better than milk. Finally, although I did not try it at the time (because it sounds yucky to me) my oldest likes vanilla milk now. Maybe you could cut some vanilla milk with regular milk. It might taste closer to breast milk as breast milk is sweeter I think than cows milk. I think there is even a Disney shelf stable vanilla milk, if not Horizon's has an organic vanilla milk.

 

[snoopy5386]

I am currently in the process of weaning my almost 3 year old. She was also nursing at naptime and night and also once in the morning. I have since cut out bedtime and naptime here is how I did it. I made a bedtime chart for bedtime. I took pictures of her doing all the things we do at bedtime, jammies, brushing teeth, stories, getting a cup of water, rocking in the rocking chair and going in her crib and had them printed and glued them on a poster board and hung it on her door. I showed it to her the day before and told her that we were only going to have "nee" (what she calls it) one more time at bedtime, that night. Then the next day we would do what the chart says. It worked really well! She has only asked to nurse a few times at bedtime since then and only once did I need to get DH to put her down because she kept asking. For naptime we waited a couple of weeks then one day we nursed and then read books with flashlights in her room, cuddled and I told her a story and then put her in her crib. Since then I have offered her either nursing in my bed or stories with flashlights and cuddling in her room. She has chosen flashlights and cuddling every day. I was going to do a chart for naptime too, but now I think I don't have to. For the morning, I am hoping just to phase it out with fun activities instead, since she already doesn't nurse every morning. It is going really well, much better than I thought it would.
My toddler doesn't really like milk either, but I have noticed she is asking for it more now that her nursing has really slowed down. We do chocolate and white milk here, her choice. You could try a special cup? But if your DS eats cheese and yogurt I wouldn't worry. There is also calcium fortified OJ and I agree with the others who cook with milk, my DD loves cream of tomato soup!
Good Luck!

 

[RN01]

I would just stop the nap nursing first for about a week or so then cut out the bedtime nursing. It will be very hard but kids get over things fast. Replace something with the nursing, a special blanket or something like that. You can also try things to distract him. Just stick with what you want and don't give in if he cries. I know this sounds harsh, but he'll get over it. By the way... CONGRATS for nursing that long. Also, it's okay if he doesn't drink much milk. Just give cheese and yogert to make up the dairy.

 

[bumbershoot]

I know nothing about purposely stopping a child from nursing.


But your calcium concern is not valid. Dairy has calcium added to it. Dairy TAKES calcium in order to digest the protein. Dairy protein takes MORE calcium to digest it than it has added to it. With each glass of milk we drink, we are at a LOSS in terms of calcium.

So look for other sources of calcium. And lastly, if you think baby is too old for mama's milk, WHY introduce a cow mama's milk? There's nothing in it that is good for humans, there's just no point. Many other foods have the things that are *added* to dairy milk, find those!

 

[Carlyzmom]

I have no breastfeeding advice - BUT my daughter is lactose intolerant and I found these little gummy bears at Target that are just for calcium. She loves them and it makes up for the fact that she can't drink milk.

 

[Scurvy]

Dairy is actually a great source of calcium but so are leafy greens. (And yes, humans do get calcium from consuming dairy products!) Your son can get plenty of calcium without drinking milk if you try to increase his intake of leafy greens and other dairy products like cheese or yogurt. And as a previous poster mentioned, you can use milk in other things like oatmeal or cereal. Plus there are multivitamins if necessary. I agree with a previous poster that you should ask your pediatrician for suggestions.

As far as weaning, if you think he's mostly doing it for comfort, then it should be easier to do. You can still cuddle with him or spend time with him during the times that you would have been nursing him. It might help if you could find something to redirect him with - something that he would enjoy like picking a book for you to read to him, or telling stories. Maybe it would also help if you also made a big deal of him becoming a big boy and talking about the different naptime/bedtime routines big boys have. Good luck!

 

[Belchers1]

I nursed by DS until he was 14 months and went back to work. What worked for us was to get him down to as few feedings as possible and then my mom kept him for the entire weekend and offered these cool juice boxes (which were not nearly as popular now so he thought they were awesome!) each time he was thirsty or a bit before. They just told him that he was a big boy now and that he got to drink out of the boxes (or whatever would excite your child). After that weekend we just told him he was a big boy and he went on! (Recruiting someone to help is good for you and the child - he won't cry after it and you can suffer the engorgement and glass of wine with peace! Good luck.

 

[peytonsmomie]

My daughter contracted thrush at 6 months. Passed it to me. Effectively worked to stop us both from nursing. My son's thyroid stopped producing growth hormone at 7 months. Until it was figured out (which took nearly 4 months) our doctor wanted him on formula so he could be 100% certain that he was getting all his nutrients and measure it.

So I'm no use. But I'd love to have your "problem" with this 3rd child! It'd be nice to be able to nurse until WE wanted to stop, rather than having to stop early. Fortunately both of mine have turned out to be just fine, normal, healthy kiddos.

So goodluck, and hope you get it all resolved!

 

[peytonsmomie]

Darn it, I totally forgot to mention the one thing I started my post to say!

Try getting your boy onto soymilk from Silk. They have a wide variety of flavors and nutrient values. Soymilk also makes incredible smoothies when blended with fruits. A "spoonable" glass of milk.

 

[Deb & Bill]

You are the grownup in the scenerio, correct? Time for baby boy to grow up. When he throws the Boppy pillow at you, you discipline him. After a while, I'd bet he'll drink any kind of milk.

 

[snoopy5386]

You are the grownup in the scenerio, correct? Time for baby boy to grow up. When he throws the Boppy pillow at you, you discipline him. After a while, I'd bet he'll drink any kind of milk.

Really, how inappropriate! This child is not even two years old! And we are talking about ending something that he has been doing his whole life. Would you apply the same tactic to toilet training? That's it little guy, you've been using diapers for your whole life but now it is time to grow up and be a big boy. Oops you peed yourself, time for "discipline". Ridiculous!

 

[Trixie15]

I am probably one of the "cruel" parents, but I just told mine that it was all gone. They could have (insert something else) instead, but that the nursies were all gone. Be consistent and don't give in.

 

[Tiger926]

Really, how inappropriate! This child is not even two years old! And we are talking about ending something that he has been doing his whole life. Would you apply the same tactic to toilet training? That's it little guy, you've been using diapers for your whole life but now it is time to grow up and be a big boy. Oops you peed yourself, time for "discipline". Ridiculous!

ITA! I'm not sure why people come into threads and offer advice when they really don't have any good advice to offer?

My son is almost 19 months old, and beyond infatuated with Momma's breasts - LOL! I am a full time teacher, so he goes to Montessori school with his sister all day long, so he gets breastmilk after school and before bed. We cut out nighttime feedings as they, along with all of his meds for asthma/bronchitis/pneumonia/ear infections, disintegrated a few of his teeth. We also co-sleep, so nighttime is hard as he cries for "milk" and "Momma" and starts to tap my breast. It is very sad, so I just cuddle him and he eventually falls back to sleep. If my hubby cuddles him, he gets very upset. He is a very senstive baby, and I think he takes offence to me not giving him the milk, but we can't do it at night as he just had dental surgery and his teeth look great!

I love breastfeeding - breastfed daughter until 14 months, when she pulled herself off one day. With my son, he drinks formula in a bottle (he has lactose/milk issues, so we supplement breast and formula) and water, no juice at all, so he is slowly weaning himself, as he drinks no mik during the day at school (I do not pump). I wish that my extended breastfeeding would have had more of a positive effect on his immune system though as he is a sickly boy.

I don't believe in forcing weaning, but it sounds like you are ready, and so your needs are important too. I joke that I'll be breastfeeding my son until he's 12 years old at the rate we are going!

Best of luck to you and your sweet boy, Tiger

 

[peytonsmomie]

It disintegrated his teeth? Wow oh wow, that's scary!

I must admit, the concept of nursing or bottle feeding beyond 12 months is a completely new concept for me. When my first two were young, you had them off the bottle/breast/formula by their first birthday. That's just the way it was done (at least around here, to the best of my knowledge).

Then again, I suppose with all the scary news out there about additives and formula scares, nursing for as long as possible makes a certain sense.

 

[Tiger926]

It disintegrated his teeth? Wow oh wow, that's scary!

I must admit, the concept of nursing or bottle feeding beyond 12 months is a completely new concept for me. When my first two were young, you had them off the bottle/breast/formula by their first birthday. That's just the way it was done (at least around here, to the best of my knowledge).

Then again, I suppose with all the scary news out there about additives and formula scares, nursing for as long as possible makes a certain sense.

It disintegrated 2 of his teeth (eye teeth). We lost one, and the other one has been fixed and looks great! We found out from a specialist that some kids with his respiratory problems carry something in their genetics that predisposes them to soft teeth, so with the combination of meds (especially his puffers - we brush each time right after, but they are still tough on teeth), and nighttime feedings, the poor boy didn't have a chance. He has been very sick, so breastmilk was the only thing he'd drink many a night. We started formula a few months ago as he also has issues with whole milk.

Tiger

 

[peytonsmomie]

Not to threadjack, but that explains so much about my own dental history. I had /have asthma as a child (very mild now). I had to use inhalers a lot as a kid, and dentists have remarked dozens of times about what a train wreck my mouth is. I wonder now if the respiratory problems are to blame.

Gosh, ya learn something new everyday. Thanks! Glad your son got his 2nd one fixed, and best of all, you know the possibility of the meds, so you can better protect him from the ill effects.

 

[AustinTink]

I agree with the poster who recommended soy milk. My son didn't like the taste of cow's milk, just wouldn't drink it. Tried soy and he drank it for years. One weird thing, he wouldn't take a sippy cup and we didn't want him to have the bottle anymore. So, he drank it out of a water bottle with a sport top. He wouldn't touch it any other way.

 

[mjmoon]

I imagine weaning a child off of the breast is very much like weaning them off of a bottle, or pacifier. So it slowly.. you may have a struggle for a couple of days but it won't take long for him to adjust to the new situation.

You certainly can wait until he is ready, but by doing that you may end up with a 5 year old breastfeeding when we gets off of the school bus. Sometimes they need a little nudge..