my daughter is 21 months and still breastfeeding.?

Question

she won't take a bottle at all and refuses to stop. how do i stop my milk production and dry up the milk or make it taste nasty so she won't want it? It is really getting ridiculous and it seems the longer she feeds the bigger my breasts are getting. it is a joke and right now i am willing to try almost anything. i am sick of the comments made at the fact that i'm still breastfeeding and the jokes about the size of my chest. i hate the attention and am beginning to wish i never breastfed at all. so woe betide my next baby, if i have one. im really desperate for a solution that works. help me.

Answer 1

My daughter is 22 months old now and we're nearly done weaning and it is going very smoothly. At this point, I only nurse her before bedtime and naptime. I have never had any engorgement problems through this process, and feel that a gradual weaning process is the way to go. COld turkey would be painful for you (think mastitis) and traumatic for her. Breastfeeding is something beautiful you have shared together and should be ended in a loving way.

Here is how we're doing... we began weaning when she was 18 months old. I started by eliminating all middle of the night feedings. When she would wake up crying, I simply went to her and said "no more mamas" (replace "mamas" with whatever term you use with your daughter). She wasn't happy at first but quickly adjusted and it went really smoothly. Seems like once we cut out the night feedings, the daytime feedings began thinning out on their own. I did not offer but I did not refuse if she wanted it. Gradually, she just stopped requesting altogether.

Now we're down to our final stage in the weaning process... only at bedtime/naptime. And she barely nurses for 5 minutes before she's ready to go to sleep. It has been a wonderful experience and I highly recommend going slow like we did. Best of luck!

P.S. Bravo to you for being such a great mommy!!! 21 months of nursing your daughter is extraordinary! What a wonderful gift to her. It may seem difficult right now but you'll never regret this special time.

Answer 2

Breastfeeding is the best possible thing you can do for your child and I commend you for that !! Some cultures b.f until 5 yes may sound strange( not that I agree w that but that's another topic lol) I breastfed my little one also. I'm sure you have the nursing bras? Well I got the nipples closes to breast nipples I think playtex puts them out so what I would do is pump the milk into one of the plastic bags put it in a bottle then w out her seeing me I would fix the bottle hide it then I would put the blanket over her stick the bottle in my bra and she began using that ( make sure it's a nipple that milk flows quickly but not to quickthen when she got use to the nipple I would pump and mix the breast milk with whole milk only once she got accustomed to that I switched overto 100% whole milk It took a good week I think for my milk to dry up the less there used the less milk is produced and will help the milk dry.Make sure you get the nursing pads if you don't already have them helps with leaks My chest went back to the same size I was before once all the milk dried up etc. My thinking is to discourage you from making the milk taste funny may discourage regular milk drinking etc. Babys love the closeness and comfort of the mothers breast. By using the bottle tech. they still have the allusion of the whole breastfeeding thing then as she gets more comfortable w the bottle you can restraeagize. Good Luck and keep up the great work!! I also remember using these websites below they hav helpful info.

Answer 3

Don't feel bad that you breast fed you child, even though, in my opinion, it is way too long to breast feed her. It is hard to stop breast feeding sometimes, because it is so fimiliar to you and your daughter. Nursing mother have a special bond with their babies, that non-breast feeding mothers don't have. The only way to dry up you milk is to STOP BREAST FEEDING HER!! I know it is easier said then done, but she has to stop, and you have to stop her. Plus, don't you feel awkward nursing her. She has to be huge! I felt like I was commiting a crime breast feeding my 1 year old son. He was getting too big! I stopped nursing at the age of one, although I knew he didn't want it that way.

You daughter might not take a bottle, but that is no reason to keep breast feeding her. Neither of my kids took a bottle. Give her a sippy cup, or sippy straw or something, just not any more of the boob!

YOU need your freedom back! Take charge and take control. You have to be consistent and remain calm. I first couple of nights will be bad, but she will be okay. Just remember she is fine and she isn't hurting. Spend other types of mommy and daughter time together. Hold her while you give her whole milk. Put on her favorite song and wrap her in her favorite blanky or something. Make sure you still give her the attention with you that she was getting from you being a nursing mother. Let her be involved in the weening process. Take her to the store with you to pick out her favorite sippy cup. Tell her to pick out a name for it, and heck, she can even decorate the cup if she wants to! Like I said before, make it easy on the both of you. BE CONSISTENT AND TAKE CHARGE. TAKE THOSE BOOBS BACK! lol Good luck.............

Answer 4

I would start weaning her off one feeding at a time. For her AND for you. If you stop cold turkey you're gonna be HURTIN'. But the more you feed her, the more milk you'll produce. Try breastfeeding her just after she's had a meal so that she is already full, then maybe you can just cuddle with her instead of feeding her. I'd say most of what she needs is that closeness with you, not just the breastmilk. I only breastfed my son for a couple of months, so I am NOT a professional at this.

Answer 5

I nursed my son till he was 2..and he didn't want to give it up either, but I felt 2 was old enough and made up my mind that I was going to quit.
First of all, by the age your daughter is, just forget trying to get her to take a bottle and go to a sippy cup. Let her help you pick one out and try by giving her strawberry milk instead of plain milk, or some juice. Let her see that yummy things come from the cup.
My son mostly wanted to nurse for comfort..by 21 months and above most of their diet and nutrician should be from food. and milk and fluids from a cup. My son wanted to nurse for nap time and nighttime and it was HARD the first week to just hand him a binky and say no. He cried a lot and had a fit, but it just took about a week of being firm and telling him he was a big boy..and the next thing ya know, I was done!
I did have to pump some still for a while, as my breasts got engorged, so going at it gradually may be easier in that regard..I just didn't want to drag it out personally..as he was mostly just nursing here and there anyway.

Answer 6

I am a mom of three and a strong believer in extended breastfeeding ~ for the health of the child and for the mom. But if you are sure you want to stop, do it gradually. My suggestion is to skip one nursing during the day ~ offering a sippy cup instead ~ and gradually reduce until you are only nursing right before bed. Do not give her a bottle ~ you are just introducing another habit you will need to break. You may find that the one nursing session a day is do-able ~ and a comfort to both you and your little one. If not, you will already be down to just one nursing session, and it won't be so difficult to stop.

Congratulations on your original decision to nurse your child. It is not always easy ~ but you have done what is in the best interest of your child.

Answer 7

you can always just stop. it's painful for a bit, but when it's time to put your foot down, it's time. she doesn't need a bottle at this age. she should be on a sippy cup. my suggestion would be to simply refuse her the breast. if you'd like you can pump your milk whenever you get too full to be comfortable and offer her that-- in the sippy cup. if she's not nursing, and you're not pumping too too much, your milk production will slow, and eventually just taper off.if she deosn't want it, she doesn't get it. after a few days, she'll catch on. she also may be old enough to understand that mommy's breasts are for babies, and she's a big girl now. try explaining to her, calmly, and offer her that exciting new cup.

good luck!

Answer 8

momma2mingbu has some fantastic suggestions for you, but I would like to add my own opinion that there is NOTHING wrong with continuing to breastfeed your daughter as long as you are both comfortable with it. It sounds like your daughter really needs to continue if she is refusing to stop. Todders' immune systems are not fully developed until sometime after 24 months, so she is definitely benefiting from the immunities in your milk, besides the calories and comfort she is receiving from breastfeeding.

People, especially in this country, are simply ignorant about the benefits of breastfeeding. And for those posters who aren't aware, human milk IS "real" milk. Educate yourselves.

Answer 9

There is a lot of good info at the link below.

You DO NOT want to wean cold turkey. That is hard on your body and stressful for your child. Cold turkey weaning can lead to painful engorgement, plugged ducts and mastitis. No medical or lactation professional would recommend you wean in this manner.

Know that you have NOT done a bad thing nursing for this long. You've given her an AMAZING start in life and it's NORMAL for her to still nurse this long. The people who make comments or joke are either uncomfortable or uneducated.....THEY have the problem, not you.

If you are truely ready to wean, distraction and substitution can work well at this age. I wouldn't offer a bottle at this age.

Try "heading her off at the pass" by offering an alternative snack or activity BEFORE she asks to nurse.

Keep her really busy.....plan outings away from how and this will help distract her a wear her out.

You can start putting time limits on how long you'll nurse. "OK, we'll nurse until Mommy finishes singing the ABC song/counting to 10 and then we'll do (insert some fun activity)." You can begin to control how long the nursing sessions are this way and how fast or slow you sing will help you begin to gradually shorten the sessions. Sometimes they'll pop off to sing or count with you instead!

Set limits. If you haven't yet, you could limit nursing to just at home or just at naptime/bedtime.

Hope something here helps!

Answer 10

I'm sorry that you are going through this. In other cultures it is quite normal to breast feed children into their 5th year. For children, breast milk is the best. It provides many nutrients, and it's natural.

You could try using different bottle nipples, one that more resembles the real thing. Hold your child as if you were going to breast feed. Also, try to find a formula that tastes like breast milk. Don't give in. When your child is hungry enough she will eat.