when to wean my son from breastfeeding?

Question

My son is 14 months old. I am breastfeeding him but am torn on weaning him or continuing.

Reasons I want to continue:
-better for his health
=more natural - humans aren't meant to drink cows milk

Reasons I want to wean:
-his latch is correct (have got it checked by a LC) but he is leaving teeth imprints and it hurts
-so he can start going for sleepovers with his grandparents. Oldest DS started sleepovers when he was 11 months old.
-I've just been feeling weirded out by it.

He takes a sippy cup fine, but he is still very dependant on breastfeeding. Seems to really enjoy it. I nurse him usually around 4-6 times during the day and 3 times at night. Not sure if I would wean during the day first or night.

I know that it's not possible to make a child breastfeed....but I wonder if I'm more attached than he is. He's my last baby and I get sad at all of the new milestones he accomplishes.

Any advice?

And if you suggest I wean...how do i do it? He doesn't nurse at the same times every day.

To the person who said I was selfish...give me a break! It would be selfish if I wanted to wean so tha I could go out and do things on my own etc. I am NOT selfish because I put my children's needs and wants before my own.

I won't do formula because he's already 14 months old....and I won't do a bottle because I don't want to have to wean from the bottle. I would want to go from breast to cup.

Answer 1

I commend you on your decision to breast feed and "great job Mom". Whoever said you are selfish is "CRAZY" I breast fed my daughter until she was 14 months and she was a very healthy child (never overweight but not extremely skinny either), just normal.
I will tell you my grandson loved the time (as did my daughter) they were breast feeding. My daughter decided to stop at 18 months and the time was right, even though my grandson wanted to continue. You have given your child an advantage health wise and bonding/security that bottle fed children never have. Yes, it is time for you to have some freedom, even for your child's mental health he should be given the freedom to be with grandparents or some hours away from you in a Mother's day out program. YOU NEED SOME TIME TO YOURSELF!
Wean him by first stopping the night feedings!! GOT TO STOP THOSE. He is much too old to be having night feedings. Then, in the day when he is wanting to feed, every three days drop off one of the feedings (if now feeding 5-6 times /day, then drop to 4 and 3 days later drop to 3..etc. Give him liquids or milk in a sippy cup that he can continue the sucking to get his drink.
You are wonderful for giving this additional boost to your child's immune system and bonding time with you.

Answer 2

IT sounds like the feedings, especially the night ones are more a comfort thing than a nutrition thing, so the nutrition stuff is kinda out. Most 14 month olds don't eat 3 times at night. I would try to wean the two night feedings after bedtime first, but you need to find a new comfort mechanism for him. And it is really not expecting alot for him to put himself back to sleep at 14 months old. I suggest if he wakes to still get him and sit with him, but offer a sippy for a while, then start to just check on him and offer the sippy , until he finally doesn't need you at night anymore. After that you can wean the day feedings one at a time. Just try to replace feedings with other comforting one on one time like reading to him in your lap and things like that.

Any time something starts to make you feel uncomfortable it is time to stop. He is 14 months old now and you did more than many mom, so there is no reason to feel guilty. You can't continue to feed him that way the rest of his life, so you just have to pick a starting point and work your way from there. Be prepared for resistance, because that is his job and will be until he is grown.

Good Luck.

Answer 3

I weaned my son when he was 14 months old. He was ready, I was ready. He went right to a sippy cup no problems. However he did and still doesn't like milk that much. So by our doctors recommendations I give him cheese or yogurt everyday for calcium. You can not give him breast milk forever, that is just not practical. And I was a little sad when we stopped because I felt like this will be the last time in his life he will need me that much. Start slowly during the day when he will notice it the least and skip another feeding and so on. I left the night feedings last because I knew that was his comfort time to go to bed, than I started reading to him and gave him a pacifier in place. Good luck, if they could only stay babies forever!

Answer 4

IT'S TIME! My husband and I have decided not to have anymore kids too and it's been hard, knowing that everything my daughter does is the last time it will happen for us. I just finished nursing about 3 weeks ago, I was really sad for a few days but then I was able to go out for New Years Eve with my husband for the first time in 3 years without a child attached to my hip, (it's was wonderful).
I think your doing this more for yourself and that was ok but it's time to wean him off for him!
Good for you for being able to do it this long! It's the best thing for him (as you already know) but he's old enough now to go on homo milk (the fat helps with brain development).
Best of luck and I hope you can enjoy your family and your husband once you've stoped nursing.

Answer 5

at 14 months weaning would be ok. I would start by pumping the breast milk ( a hand pump is realatively inexpensive for this purpose) and giving in sippy cup so that the flavor is familiar. Slowly change out to whole or soy milk one oz at a time until flavor changes gradually. the difficult part will be the comfort he finds from breastfeeding will be difficult for him to part with. reassure him with lots of hugs and closness but do not let him get at your breast. be prepared for lots of tears and frustration just be patient as much as possible and you'll both be ok.

Answer 6

A fantastic book for you to read: "The Nursing Mother's Guide to Weaning" by Kathleen Huggins and Linda Ziedrich. My advice to you... if you are thinking about doing something because someone else says that you should do it, then you are doing it for the wrong reasons. My baby is now 15 months old and is still breastfeeding, but he has naturally reduced how much he feeds already. He probably started to do that in the last couple of months. In short, start to offer him water in a sipper cup with every meal to reduce your day time feeds. You will probably find that he will start to become more active and won't have time to breastfeed so much in the daytime because there are much more interesting things to do! So his reliance on you during the day will reduce over the next few months. Now that he is one, you can also start to substitute some cows milk in a cup instead of a breastfeed and this might assist you to cut out some of the day time feeds - if you really want to move away from feeding then... but if he asks for it or wants it, give it to him. Weaning should be a slow process for both him AND your boobs! Note that with reduced feeding, your body actually consolidates the immunity given to him through the milk as you slowly wean. How cool is that?! My little fella now feeds first thing in the morning, then before dinner sometimes (not all the time), then what is left before bed. Then perhaps 11:30pm before I go to bed and maybe once more if he is having an unsettled night. So the average in a day is now about four times - but he has only got down to that in the last couple of months, and more because he can last now and is so busy that he doesn't ask for it. If I compare this to him as a one year old, he was still grizzling for milk in the late afternoon - so they do grow out of it, and so fast. Follow your heart... it won't be long for me until he is only drinking morning and night - which won't offend anyone (because they won't know) AND that will be all he wants and needs. Then if you still want to step it up, we can start replacing with cows milk before bed. Re your friend's comments, my son is and always has been extremely independant. And there is a point to continuing past a year - for a start, at one year old only 60% of their immunity is actually functioning. The rest they gain from the 100 million human cells they ingest daily in breast milk. Why would one bottle feed formula, knowing this fact?! Honestly, I don't know how long I will continue to feed him, and it probably won't be past two, but I figure we should both enjoy providing for our sons. We have a really great trump card that bottle feeding mothers should be jealous of. We can 'drug' our babies to sleep with breastmilk when they are scratchy (oxytocin makes them relaxed and sleepy), we can comfort a baby who has sore teeth with skin on skin contact, and we know that they are getting everything they need when a tummy bug strikes, IF one strikes (because our babies have much better immunity), because they can always revert back to breastmilk only for a couple of days whilst they can't stomach food - it is the perfect food - even for an adult, I am told - except that no mother would breastfeed an adult! So go with your heart... and know that you have not chosen the easy route, you have chosen the best route, and it will all be finished before you know it. Sure, we can start to slowly work down the weaning path, but make it gradual... the next few months will change a lot anyway as baby is more confident with food - so don't rush. And it sounds like you are doing a great job! :-) Good luck!

Answer 7

I breastfed my three children, and let them decide when to stop. As long as they did not mind, there was no reason to stop giving them the best nutrition they will ever have for the rest of their life. I have not heard any child going to college with their mother's breast in their backpack! At 14 months thought, nightime feeding should be stopped so both of you can get a good night sleep, and if he does not have a weight problem there is no need to keep this schedule. Keep up the wonderful work during the day, it is well worth it.

Answer 8

First you need to decide if you want to wean. The WHO reccomends breastfeeding for at least two years and LLL recommends continuing breastfeeding until one party or the other is uncomfortable.

If it were me I would just let him wean when he is ready. They are only little once.

Answer 9

Get the child a bottle fast or u wont have nibbles left.
Just put some vitamin formula in a bottle and give the child instead of your breast, hold the child at your breast with the bottle.
simple stuff

Answer 10

14