Weaning advice needed!!!

cookiemum

Registered User
Hi, i would like to wean my 11 month old mostly BF baby but am finding it extremely difficult. I've always nursed her to sleep if i was at home at home(night and for naps) and recently if I happened to be out during her naptime she would take formula and fall asleep in her stroller but suddenly she has started refusing the bottle completely and waits to come back home so that I can nurse her to sleep on her bed, even if that means waiting for 7 hours in a stretch without a feed. so many times i'm feeding her milk only 3 times a day . i feed her solids 3 times a day but not too much. is that enough for a 11 month old? she is co sleeping with us and has been waking up often during the night and will not go back to sleep unless she is nursed. i would like to wean her off the breast as it's very difficult for me to go anywhere at night because the only way she would sleep is by being nursed and also because i don't want her to go through the restlessness she feels when she is outside and can't sleep. I have read that the best way to wean a baby is to let them self wean, but what if they don't? i've also heard that the later you wean a child the more difficult it gets. have any of you had similar experiences. pls advice.. thanks
 
In LLL the most usual suggestion we give is "don't offer - don't refuse". As the babies grow older they get interested in other things and will forget to ask to nurse and using this method it allows you to gently reduce the breastfeeding without any tears. This method works well BUT usually takes a long time (and I mean years not months).

Book about weaning:
How Weaning Happens by Diane Bengson
Nursing Mothers Guide to Weaning by Kathleen Huggins
Mothering your Nursing Toddler by Norma Jane Bumgarner
These books can be borrowed from our library - Please contact Maggie on 2817-7475 or [email protected]

The book I like best about weaning is, The Nursing Mother's Guide to Weaning, by Kathleen Huggins. It must be quite an old book because it was the one I read when I was interested in weaning (and my children range from 21 to 8).

Each chapter has the same format and the book is split by age group - as different strategies work with different ages. First it explains about breastfeeding at the age and why this might not be the time to wean (how to cope with pressure from others etc.) and then at the end of the chapter it has suggestions that might work to help your child wean.

Best wishes,
SARAH
 
Another book that you might be interested in is Good Nights by Dr. Jay Gordon. This is a book about how to get more sleep when you are co-sleeping.
 
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