How to wean off toddler

[flyaway]

My boy is coming to 2 and still not ready to wean off. He always ask for neh neh as a form of comfort at least 2-3 times during night. I tried to wean him off by sleeping in different room and getting my hubby to sleep with him. He will wake up in the middle of night and cries for me, in then end I need to pacify him through latching on.

It's became very tiring for me to run to his room every night so I gave up. Checked with my mil when he slept over with her for 2 nights due to traveling overseas. She said he slept soundly. Arghhh, I never have sleep soundly with me; always asking for my boobies. :nah:

Any mummy with similiar issue and solution to this?

 

[ast0212]

I weaned off my boy from night feeds just after he turned 1 (I wanted to conceive again). Got hubby to go in and settle him whenever he woke up during the night... he cried for me but after a week or two while he got the message and decided dad was good enough. During the day I let him have them as often as he liked...which reduced greatly when I got pregnant and he eventually weaned himself at 18 months after I dried up completely.

It was hard hearing him cry for me as I know that boobies is the fastest and easiest way to settle him back to sleep... but also we really wanted another baby and those night feeds were stopping the return of my period.

 

[whitecatz]

Is there any difference in his day time food intake when you were overseas? Could he be genuinely hungry?

Reason I asked is cos there was a period my daughter was doing that then I fed her more during the day and she began sleeping through better. When I'm not around, she gets more milk (breast supply is variable sometime mah ) and food.

 

[l0r3tTa]

I have the exact same issue with my 16month old son. In the night he will cry 2-5x to ask for neh neh. If I refuse to latch him on or turn my back to him,he will cry louder, and that would wake my husband up.

In the day time when he ask for neh neh, I say wait I will make milk then he would stop asking for it. At times he will just demand for it, and for convenience sake I will just latch him on.

And same issue that when he slept over at mil place, he sleep soundly just asking for milk 1-2x in the night.

How to wean him off? By letting him sleep in a different room? He has been sleeping next to me since birth. He never even use his cot. I think it's time to do something about it..

Help!!!

Thanks all mummies..

Cheers,
Loretta

 

[Button]

ooo... I have the same thing going on in my bed too! I too co-sleep with my 18 month old girl and she would ask for "milk milk" few times at night as well. It does get on my nerves sometimes but I've not thought of weaning her yet - because she doesn't want to eat much in the day still and I'm afraid she's hungry, that's why I can't bear to withhold her main source of nutrition from her.

A friend with 5 kids who breastfed them all till 2.5 years laughed when I told her my plight and she said my girl was just used to having a big, nice pacifier and that it was very normal that they do what they do... UNTIL they are weaned from the breast. In the meantime, I'm praying the day will come real soon that she will sleep through.

 

[blackpiggy]

I have this same issue, but the worse thing is even during the day I offer milk to him in the bottle or cup he still wants to latch on. He totally refuses anything except my breasts...I wanted to wean him off the day latching but really no idea how to wean him like that :embarrassed:

 

[Button]

I think I read somewhere that it's easier to wean the night feeds than the day feeds. I can see why babies prefer to latch directly, because there's so much more to milk. There's the cradling, loving attention, familiar smell and cushy boob. I wouldn't want to wean if I were the kid either! haha

 

[blackpiggy]

I see... ya can understand why he doesn't want to wean but I really need to wean him off the day feed. He's starting childcare and I'm starting work next year, getting a bit desperate now. lol... I'm thinking just continue till he starts childcare and let the routine force him to wean... but there's a high possibility he won't drink any milk in the day.

 

[cn211279]

I see... ya can understand why he doesn't want to wean but I really need to wean him off the day feed. He's starting childcare and I'm starting work next year, getting a bit desperate now. lol... I'm thinking just continue till he starts childcare and let the routine force him to wean... but there's a high possibility he won't drink any milk in the day.

Hi Black Piggy,
I think you need not worry too much about weaning him off the day feed. As long as he is ok with drinking off the bottle or cup, he will realise that mummy is not available in the childcare and adapt accordingly. When I was breastfeeding my son, he was the same as well. If he knows I'm at home, he will make a fuss, but when I'm not around he is happy with his Dad and drinking off the bottle.

 

[blackpiggy]

Hi Black Piggy,
I think you need not worry too much about weaning him off the day feed. As long as he is ok with drinking off the bottle or cup, he will realise that mummy is not available in the childcare and adapt accordingly. When I was breastfeeding my son, he was the same as well. If he knows I'm at home, he will make a fuss, but when I'm not around he is happy with his Dad and drinking off the bottle.

Thanks for comforting . Ya he knows how to drink from straw and sippy. However, like what you did, I've tried before putting him at my parents' home for the weekend the whole day (daddy, mommy not around) but he still refuses to drink his milk when my mom feed him... Does your son need to try this a lot of times before he is willing to drink his milk w/o you around?

 

[Ekari]

I think I read somewhere that it's easier to wean the night feeds than the day feeds. I can see why babies prefer to latch directly, because there's so much more to milk. There's the cradling, loving attention, familiar smell and cushy boob. I wouldn't want to wean if I were the kid either! haha

How true. haha

 

[pillowhugger01]

I am facing the same problem as well son is 12 months old and I'm trying to wean him off the night feeds. He just loves my boobies more than anything else.. In the day he will latch for comfort which I don't mind for now or for another 1 year.. I just wanna sleep through the night so that I can survive my insomnia nights if they come he will cry for my breast when I'm about to finally fall asleep during my insomnia night and it's frustrating !! T.T

 

[Mummy to Baby V]

My boy is now 3 years old, used to fuss up to 10 times a night for suckling, and I finally weaned him off completely at 18 months old, to plan for new baby.

He eats well during the day. I introduced fresh milk and yoghurt to him at 14 months old, and gradually replaced more feeds over a few months.

After 12 months old, toddler needs about 500ml of dairy, can be milk, yoghurt or cheese. So for e.g. My boy can get 1 cup of milk and 1 cup of yoghurt in the day. The rest of nutrition comes from food.
More info at http://www.mummysreviews.com/2010/05/31/which-milk-is-better-part-1/

He adjusted well and was easy to wean off in the day.

I comforted him with hugs and kisses, so he didn't latch on for comfort in the day. For nap time, I tried to carry / bounce / pat instead of feeding him to sleep. He then learnt to sleep through nap without fussing to suckle.

At night, when he fussed, I tried to use carry / patting. If it doesn't work, then latch on for a short while. Before he falls asleep, say "no more milk", unlatch and carry / pat. Gradually, it worked more often. Eventually, at 18 months old, he slept through without any suckling. I felt amazed that morning that we did it!

It was a slow and gradual process. The month he was weaned off, my menses finally returned and we successfully got a new baby soon after. All the best!

 

[pillowhugger01]

Wow very good info here ^^ I shall try that.. And congrats on new baby!!

My boy is now 3 years old, used to fuss up to 10 times a night for suckling, and I finally weaned him off completely at 18 months old, to plan for new baby.

He eats well during the day. I introduced fresh milk and yoghurt to him at 14 months old, and gradually replaced more feeds over a few months.

After 12 months old, toddler needs about 500ml of dairy, can be milk, yoghurt or cheese. So for e.g. My boy can get 1 cup of milk and 1 cup of yoghurt in the day. The rest of nutrition comes from food.
More info at Which Milk is Better for Toddler? (Part 1) | Mummy's Reviews

He adjusted well and was easy to wean off in the day.

I comforted him with hugs and kisses, so he didn't latch on for comfort in the day. For nap time, I tried to carry / bounce / pat instead of feeding him to sleep. He then learnt to sleep through nap without fussing to suckle.

At night, when he fussed, I tried to use carry / patting. If it doesn't work, then latch on for a short while. Before he falls asleep, say "no more milk", unlatch and carry / pat. Gradually, it worked more often. Eventually, at 18 months old, he slept through without any suckling. I felt amazed that morning that we did it!

It was a slow and gradual process. The month he was weaned off, my menses finally returned and we successfully got a new baby soon after. All the best!

 

[whitecatz]

Hi Mummy to Baby very,

Did you feel any side effects when you drop the feeds? I found that I seemed to have a bit or hormonal swing when my dd latched less. It's as if I'm suffering from withdrawal symptoms from the oxcytonin released during letdown, so my mood was down.

haha.. turned out it was harder to wean mummy, rather than baby. so at the moment the decision is to let my dd lead to when she want to wean.

My boy is now 3 years old, used to fuss up to 10 times a night for suckling, and I finally weaned him off completely at 18 months old, to plan for new baby.

He eats well during the day. I introduced fresh milk and yoghurt to him at 14 months old, and gradually replaced more feeds over a few months.

After 12 months old, toddler needs about 500ml of dairy, can be milk, yoghurt or cheese. So for e.g. My boy can get 1 cup of milk and 1 cup of yoghurt in the day. The rest of nutrition comes from food.
More info at Which Milk is Better for Toddler? (Part 1) | Mummy's Reviews

He adjusted well and was easy to wean off in the day.

I comforted him with hugs and kisses, so he didn't latch on for comfort in the day. For nap time, I tried to carry / bounce / pat instead of feeding him to sleep. He then learnt to sleep through nap without fussing to suckle.

At night, when he fussed, I tried to use carry / patting. If it doesn't work, then latch on for a short while. Before he falls asleep, say "no more milk", unlatch and carry / pat. Gradually, it worked more often. Eventually, at 18 months old, he slept through without any suckling. I felt amazed that morning that we did it!

It was a slow and gradual process. The month he was weaned off, my menses finally returned and we successfully got a new baby soon after. All the best!

 

[dujuanrosa]

I weaned my son off night feeds when he was about a year old. I would go to him when he woke but would tell him no milk and then pat him back to sleep. Took a week or so - and he would still wake up, but didn't ask for milk anymore. For the record, he's 3.5 years old and STILL wakes up asking to see me in his room before falling back to sleep... :wideeyed:

My daughter was weaned off night feeds a few months back, soon after i conceived the 3rd one. I moved her out of my room and would send my husband in when she woke. On some nights, she would cry so much my husband would bring her back to our room... But she eventually weaned off night feeds completely and she would sleep through the night AND sleep through her elder brother's waking and calling for mommy! haha! She still had to have one feed before going to bed but as I was getting a lot of contractions in my first tri, my gynae suggested I should wean her off completely - and she was already almost 2. So about a month ago, I explained to her why I couldn't breastfeed her anymore and her response - ok! and then she rolled off to bed! Haha! It was so much easier than I expected

 

[Mummy to Baby V]

Hi Mummy to Baby very,

Did you feel any side effects when you drop the feeds? I found that I seemed to have a bit or hormonal swing when my dd latched less. It's as if I'm suffering from withdrawal symptoms from the oxcytonin released during letdown, so my mood was down.

haha.. turned out it was harder to wean mummy, rather than baby. so at the moment the decision is to let my dd lead to when she want to wean.

I dropped 1 day feed for at least 2 weeks before dropping another. Guess the gradual process helped. I'd wanted to drop night feeds only at first, but my boy was so "addicted" that day feeds had to be dropped first.

We took 4 months to completely wean off...

 

[RamblingMummy]

I dropped 1 day feed for at least 2 weeks before dropping another. Guess the gradual process helped. I'd wanted to drop night feeds only at first, but my boy was so "addicted" that day feeds had to be dropped first.

We took 4 months to completely wean off...

I hope to completely wean off my toddler too. She's already 23mths. Managed to wean off day feeds but she still wakes up for nite feeds. I've tried carrying her and patting her but she will cry and ask for milk. She is also very attached to me so she does not want her daddy to carry her at nite.

I am 28weeks pregnant. Gynae asked me to stop bfeeding as she said it might induce contractions. At the same time, my nipples are also very sore now so I do want to stop these nite feeds. But it is so hard... And i feel so guilty every time she cries and refused to stop crying. In the end i still give...

 

[dujuanrosa]

I hope to completely wean off my toddler too. She's already 23mths. Managed to wean off day feeds but she still wakes up for nite feeds. I've tried carrying her and patting her but she will cry and ask for milk. She is also very attached to me so she does not want her daddy to carry her at nite.

I am 28weeks pregnant. Gynae asked me to stop bfeeding as she said it might induce contractions. At the same time, my nipples are also very sore now so I do want to stop these nite feeds. But it is so hard... And i feel so guilty every time she cries and refused to stop crying. In the end i still give...

I breastfed my son when I was expecting the 2nd one. My gynae gave the green light although I was losing weight in the first 20 weeks as the foetus was growing well. I breastfed until I was about 30-32 weeks along and stopped because that was when I was getting a lot more contractions and by 32 weeks, I started dilating. Eventually, I was monitored closely for the next 3 weeks and my 2nd kid was born at 35 weeks.

Not sure if the breastfeeding had to do with the preterm labour. My gynae didn't think so since it's true many moms breastfeed throughout their pregnancies with no problem. I was not eating very well for most part of the pregnancy which I thought probably contributed a larger part to the preterm labour.

With this 3rd pregnancy, I've been eating better and gaining weight more normally. But since my girl is 2 years old, it's really quite ok to wean her off - although I'm sure she would still like to latch on. But can still bond with her in other ways and like you said, it's no longer comfortable to keep it up. Can keep talking to your little girl My son helped to explain to the sister that mommy's having a baby so the doctor said no more milk! And she listened to him too! Haha!

 

[ast0212]

Many mothers breastfeed their babies or toddlers through pregnancy and it is safe to do so unless the mother has had miscarriages in the past. It doesn't induce labour because the levels of oxytocin released while breastfeeding is very little. Sexual intercourse actually releases a lot more oxytocin than breastfeeding, but does that stop women from doing it while pregnant?

Apparently the sore nipples ease off after a while for some women. I'm not sure because my son weaned himself halfway through pregnancy...I wish so much he could have continued up to today, and he would be helping me with my engorgement now!! I tried to get him to latch on but he has forgotten how...and that was only 4 months since he weaned!