How to Wean My One Year Old

there is a bottle that acts like a boob now, I used it with my now 3 year old, Ithink they even sell it at bbsrus now. That was the only way I could wean my 2nd child, he was so attached to me.... I forget the name of it but I think I heard that it is now sold everywhere there is baby stuff, I bought mine through a specialty website but can not remember the name of it. I wish you well! I know how tough that is!! However, i did this when he was like 15 months old... best of luck

Remember that breast milk is sweeter than cow's milk. My son drank rice milk for awhile when I was weaning him. When I did give him cows milk he would only drink it warm w/ a little bit of sugar in it. I would put a tiny bit of organic sugar & vanilla in it & he would drink it.

Try Soy milk. Both my daughters did not like regular milk but love soy milk. Also, you might want to try letting her play with a real cup. Once she likes the soy milk, put it in a sippy cup.

My son would not make the switch to cows milk either so our pediatrician suggested soy milk which he easily transitioned to. The "very vanilla" flavor is sweeter than regular, much like breast milk, and full of extra vitamins.

Hi, Hope I can help. My son weaned himhelf @14 months, I was blessed, everyone kept telling me that he would eventually but all I could imagine was a 5 year old nursing!! One day he just decided that he was much too interested in playing and drinking from a cup on the go. After about a week of every other day nursing he kicked the habit for good!! So my advise ...... be patient, offer a pacifier while you hold her in a nursing position, keep her busy!!!! And finally my golden ticket ------- Honey! yes .. honey, completely aproved by my ped. about 1 teaspoon of honey to a sippy cup of whole milk (we liked the Nuby brand in the early days it is soft and a good transition "cup") warmed up. Honey can be given after 1 year. It is not an allergy concern but in early developmet can expose infants to botchalizim(ms) but after a year it is clear to give. Try it, it might work and help w/ weaning!! Now we are just trying to wean from the "sweet milk" :)

Hey, there! Just wondering if you've tried to pump breast milk and put it in the sippy cup. Also, have you tried giving the sippy cup without the valve? I've read that little ones just starting out with the sippy get frustrated at how much they have to work to get something out of the cup. If you take the valve out so your daughter gets a taste of what's in there and it's not so difficult at first, then she should be more likely to keep drinking from the cup. Hopefully this helps...good luck!
P. O.

All of my children were different. My first one weaned himself at a year. He was a hungry baby and he wanted more milk than he was getting nursing. He is a hungry teenager now. I weaned my second one at a year and it was a smooth transition. My third one was a "nursey baby." I switched her to a cup during the day at a year and then nursed her before she went to bed and first thing in the morning until she was 2 years old. I had to talk to her about being a "big girl" and not nursing to get her to stop. We transitioned to snuggling up to mommy with a cup of milk at bedtime and first thing in the morning and she was fine. I think nursing was all about getting "mommy time" for my daughter. She is 11 now and she still calls it "Mommy Kate time." Only now we go out to lunch, shopping, or to chick flicks. I weaned my fourth child at a year because I needed to be taking some medication that you cannot take when you are pregnant or nursing.

She may not be ready. You do not have to stop weaning exactly at a year. She does need to be off the bottle, and formula at a year though. When I weaned my son, he had to go cold turkey. Do not start halfway through the day. Start first thing in the morning. Do not nurse from the getgo. My daughter was not too keen on cows milk either. She loved goat milk though. Goat milk is not hard to find. I think I got mine at Bi-Lo.

Hi, L.!

One weaning suggestion is to keep a sippy with water available at all times. Another is to pump and then put breast milk into a sippy to get her started. Both help a lot.

I like what Alison had to say. Be sure you are weaning for the right reason- that you really want to. Please don't feel forced to wean or not to wean; that is such a personal choice. My 3rd child nursed until past her 2nd birthday, and was very hard to wean then. I admit I mostly weaned her to shut others up. <=( I joke that she would have been nursing on her way down the aisle if left to her own decision. My sister nursed so long that one of her kids used to say, "Want boobie!" But my other 2 children nursed only about 6 months each, and each way is fine.

All that to say, feel comfortable about your decision before you do it. It's really up to you. God bless.

You've had lots of great advice on how to wean her- my question is why?

Do you have to go back to work full-time and you are worried she will get dehydrated in daycare?

Are you trying to get your cycle to return so you can conceive?

Are you preparing for a medical or dental procedure where you will have to wean her for a few weeks or indefinitely?

I'm sure there are many other situations that would apply!

But one more situation- do you feel you have to wean because to continue to nurse her would make you a cultural rebel, at odds with your family, husband, friends, church??

Well I have to say I sympathize there too! I have been through so much flak at church for continuing to nurse my kids. But my dh and family are supportive and my mother was a LLL leader! After over 3 years of intermittent hassling I finally ended up switching churches. But who knows how I would have decided if I hadn't had a LLL background, supportive dh and friends?

For a medical need, have you gotten a second opinion? If so I'm sure all those tricks will work fine!

For a personal need, it's your business. But I'd like to encourage you not to let becoming a cultural rebel keep you from breastfeeding your daughter as long as you'd both like!!

There are many physical as well as emotional benefits in continuing to nurse until she self weans. You are well into the process of weaning, and it can be a long process. There is support for allowing weaning to be a process rather than an event, through LLL and online. Husbands do come around and families that don't can be ignored or kept at arms length.

My kids all drink water from a standard cup or the old kind of leaky sippy starting around 10-12 months. Since I plan to continue to nurse them through their second year (it's rare for a child to self-wean before then) I don't like sippies with valves or straws as they can alter the babes latch and make nursing uncomfortable. But again, I'm coming from a supportive family, supportive dh, and I'm a bit of a rebel at heart!

I hope you find a solution that feels right in your heart and with your daughter.

They say their are benifits of nursing up to two years old . Your child loves the closeness of breast feeding . I have 4 kids and nursed all of them . I broke the first 3 becouse of everyone saying are you going to nurse them till 5 years . So I broke them @ 15 mo.---18mo. my last at 2yrs. Make sure the sippy cup is all ways there kids will drink when thirsty . Try water it does not spoil if left out.

Sounds like she may not be ready to wean but if you are ready for her to wean, continue offering her a sippy cup at every meal. Remember she needs whole milk now. She will start using the sippy cup. Try to get a sippy cup with a soft spout to start with (I think Gerber makes a nice one). And don't put the spout in at first. Just put a little milk in and put it in her mouth. She will get a little taste of it and soon will be drinking from a sippy cup. I started my nurser on a sippy cup at 6 months with just a little formula each day, so when she turns a year old it won't be such a shocker to her that she is not nursing anymore!Good Luck!

Having nursed two children at about the same age you are talking about, remember that the sippy cup is a new experience, so adding a new drink to that and maybe it is too much change for her at one time. I had one go to sippy cup no problem, the other one balked for a while. Try expressing some breast milk and putting it into the sippy cup, that way the cup is new but the drink is the same. If she seems to become a little more comfortable with the cup, then start switching out the drink every other time with water or cow's milk.

I am by no means an expert, just giving you one mom's opinion. Best of luck!

I have 3 children under 6. My oldest was still nursing at 13 months. She would not take a sippy cup or bottle and also hated milk and juice!!! Best advice ever...cut out one breast-feeding session at a time. Wait a week or 2, then cut out another session. Don't try to go cold turkey whatever you do!! She will adjust gradually. And believe me, she will get thirsty eventually and drink something! My oldest still will not touch milk or juice, only water. (We just eat our dairy instead)

Here's another trick that worked for me. I picked up a vanilla milk-shake at a fast-food place. I sucked some up in the straw so she could taste it. OH MY GOSH...she almost burst a vessel in her head trying to suck that stuff up!!! I kept repeating "Milkshake! Yea!" Later, I picked up Vanilla Pediasure and put in in a cup and said, "Milkshake." She is now six years old and drinks one every morning still. It has enough vitamins and minerals and calcium for a child to get through a whole day. (They taste REALLY gross to me, though!)
Good luck. And just remember, she won't be breast-feeding forever. Enjoy it while it lasts.
God bless.
J.

Okay so my first was addicted to the nursing, and my second was such a eater that he would go too fast. Every baby is different. I found that there are these sippys that have a softer top. It made it very easy for transition. They are for 9mth olds or something but it gets the child used to that form of sucking and into cups.

I would just go ahead down to morning and night and then work on it from there. She will eventually take something when she is not getting anything during the day from you. Both of my children did this and I nursed for about a year and a half each. Both times, within a week or two of stopping they were drinking like pro's from a cup. There is no real need to stop nursing yet---unless you are just ready. I also gave my little one sippy cups with soft spouts and took out the stopper inside of it so that it was free-flowing. That seemed to help.
Good Luck

I nursed my now two year old until he was 15 or 16 months. I had to just stop him cold turkey or he would probably otherwise still be nursing. It was hard the first two nights, but he caught on very quickly. Now, I'm trying to wean the sippie cup in the late night and early morning so that I can potty train him. Good luck!

My son liked Vanilla Soy Milk or Vanilla Rice milk to start and then after weaned he eventually took to cow's milk. Also, as long as she is eating pretty well just start cutting out the daytime nursing then the morning and lastly the night. I continued the nighttime one for a few months because it was a special time of day and I felt helped them fall asleep faster.

First, you don't need to wean her unless you're hating to nurse or you have to for work. I nursed my youngest until she was nearly 2 and quit so I could go out of town without her. The middle one I quit when I got pregnant and my nipples were too sore. Longer nursing is common in other countries and was in the US until the last 50 years or so.

Now, try pumping your milk and putting it in the cup. Since she likes your milk, she may drink it and get used to the cup and be more willing to take it. Next, try several brands of cups. Some are harder to use than others, have different handles or thicknesses, etc,and she may just not like the ones you have. Try giving her a cup with a straw and red juice. Some kids love to watch the juice come up through the straw. Try warming whatever you put in the cup. It's not necessary, but she's used to warm milk and may not like cold stuff. Or, try putting ice in it! Try giving her something in the cup while you hold and cuddle her like you were nursing, but with your shirt on. I actually weaned my youngest of her last nursing (mornings) by giving her a bottle--she'd never really taken one, but a babysitter gave her one and she loved it, so I'd put her in bed with me, cuddle up and stick the bottle in her mouth. I think I did it for about a week and then she got bored with it and was willing to just cuddle.

Whatever you do, make sure she's getting enough liquid (keep an eye on her to be sure she pees the same amount as normal.) And DON'T resort to putting Coke or Koolaid or milk with sugar added in her cup. Teaching her to want added sugar won't help anything!

You might try cutting out the most inconvenient nursing time by giving her the cup and when she wants to nurse say "Not right now, Mommy's busy, or we're playing a game, or it's time for us to drink a cup drink (you, too.)" Just put her off for as long as you can until she really has a fit, and try to make her wait longer each time, so that you back the nursing time up 15 or 20 minutes a day for a couple of weeks, and it'll eventually back up and run into the later time, and you'll have cut out one time. Then work on another one. Hate to say it, but the last one is the hardest to get her to give up, and its the hardest for you, too. You'll probably cry if you've loved nursing her. My youngest is 14 and I want to cry thinking about it! It's the end of a very sweet, close time, but there will be other things to take its place.

Also, maybe she'll get a spring cold. My oldest caught a cold when he was 13 months old and had trouble nursing and breathing at the same time, and just decided to quit. After three or four days with the cold, he just wasn't interested and wanted his cup.

Good luck!

Have you tried putting breast milk in the sippy cup? My little one was breastfed for 1 yr. then went ot Meyenburg goats milk and loves it. We are starting the sippy w/ only H2O. If I pretend to take a sip and make it look fun he generally will pick it up if I just leave him to do it. We started in the highchair so he would not be temped by other toys. Experimenting w/ different cups helped too.
Good Luck.

This is a quick answer as I'm at work have little time today but my first thought was to refer you to kellymom.com (I'm like a broken record on here, always refering other moms to kellymom.com). From there, you can search keywords "sippy cup" and "weaning" and will get tons of info. Or check out the forum section where moms talk to each other. There is a board specific for your baby's age. You'll find others are dealing with the same thing. The #1 reason I like kellymom.com is that it is moderated. So harmful, outdated, or stupid advice from other moms is labled so. Not true of the other mommy boards I visit.
Good luck to you and congrats on a nice long successful year of breasfeeding!

Offer her brest milk in the bottle or sippy cup. Switch over from breast to bottle, then go to formula or other milk.

Will require a little effort on your psrt, but may make the switch easier. I wouldnt force the sippy cup on her, go with a bottle for a few months, the sucking is soothing for her. May make the transition a little easier on her.

You're in the tough situation where she knows that you're still willing to nurse her. Four times a day is plenty to satisfy her needs. Our sweet little ones are very smart, and they know that there is no reason to take the cup if they can still get the nursing. Some people will say to not worry about it - just keep nursing her. If that's what you want to do, then go right ahead! If you're like I was, you're probably still enjoying it yourself, but at the same time wanting to move on from there.

There are several things to try. Express milk and put it in the cup so that just the cup is new, not the flavor as well. That worked for my oldest (of course, she loved the cup from early on). Another option is to just make a decision to wean totally. Drop gradually and steadily to a night-time only nursing, and then drop that as well. She will still fight the cup for a while, but she'll eventually just pick it up one day. THat's what I had to do with my youngest - my only son. He did not want to wean. I also added just a touch of Nestle strawberry flavoring to his milk (recommended by our doctor) and offered it to him in a plain cup (he preferred that to a sippy at first). Once he realized it tasted good, I let him watch me pour it into his sippy, and he was willing to drink. I gradually reduced the flavoring until it was nothing but color, and then I removed the flavoring altogether. Now he's a milk-aholic.

Hope that helps!

It really depends on the type cup you are trying to use with her. I nursed and it took pumping and letting my boys use the cup. It's the unfamiliar that makes the cup undesirable. Try it for a few days during the day time, only nursing at night. Once she becomes comfortable with the cup she may be more willing to accept a different type of drink. Goodluck!

Have you tried putting breastmilk in her sippy cup? That might at least tell you whether her problem is with the beverage or the route that it's given. You could also see if someone besides you could get her to drink something other than breastmilk. If she associates the comfort of nursing with you, she may not be as resistant to someone else giving her new alternatives. It's worth a shot . . .

Just like anything else.... don't give it to her. Again like everything else, if she gets thirsty she will take the cup. If you keep giving the breast, she'll keep taking it. If you keep giving a bottle, she'll keep taking it. If you keep putting diapers on, she'll always potty in it. Same with breast. "JUST SAY NO"

There is nothing written that you have to stop at 1 yr. My daughter wasn't ready. I breast fed until 17 months mostly only mornings and when she was sick. She used sippy cups but didn't drink a lot except with meals. When you do stop add a snack and sippy instead of nursing. She'll catch on. Gradually wean so you don't get engorged and have pain. We nursed mornings only for a month or so before we quit. (I didn't have pain or engorgement at all) I have heard weaning can be very painful. Good luck! T.

Try giving her Plain Organic Soy Milk instead of cow's milk. It's a little more similar in taste to breast milk. My daughter loved the soy milk, but didn't really have any interest in cow's milk, so we used soy milk for the weaning process and then after about a month of being weaned, I started to mix some cow's milk in until she finally just took the cow's milk. Maybe try giving it to her at times other than nursing times right now and see how that goes. Contrary to popular opinion which says to leave the morning and evening nurses for the last to go, we dropped the morning nurse first. I figured she was well rested with a fresh diaper and hungry from sleeping all night and therefore thirsty, so it just seemed logical to me that that would be the easiest nurse to drop first and it was, for us, anyway. I did save the night nurse for last, though and by the time we weaned that nurse it was no problem. I also kept our routine exactly the same with the exception that we were having our milk from a sippy cup instead of mommy. Good luck.

try introducing her to a regular cup. sippy cups require a sucking that a breast fed baby is not used to. get a few reusable plastic cups that are made for kids. they need to hold like 6 oz so the cup wont be to big to hold. just put a very small amount of liquid in it and show her how to tip it up and take a drink. she will spill it all over her many times, but they really get the hang of it so fast. my daughter could drink a full glass of milk from a regular cup by 18 months old. just remember to start with a very small amount of drink.

I had the same problem with my daughter too. At 9 months she wasn't getting enough breast milk to make her gain weight like she should. She was strictly breast, no cups nothing. So my ped said take her off the breast cold turkey, she will take a bottle if she's hungry. It took a day before she would take a bottle, but she finally did. I took her to a cup from there on out.

Unless theres some important reason my you need to wean now, your best bet is to let her wean herself when SHE is ready. My son stopped when he was 15months old and my friends son is 3 years old and still breastfeeding. Each wean at different times depending on the child and there is absolutely nothing wrong with a child over 1 breastfeeding so dont let anyone try and tell you otherwise just try and do what you feel is right for your situation Hope this helps.

A lot of time the sippy cups are harder than nursing and they don't like the transition. Have you ever tried a sippy cup with the stopper in? it takes a lot to get something out of them. Try them without the stopper and see what reaction you get. I know mine did best with the "take n toss" b/c they didn't have stoppers.
Good Luck to you!

Are you feeding him solid foods? If so do you give him a sippy cup with his meals? Cut out 1 more feeding and offer the solids and cup. If he refuses then offer later. When he gets hungry he will eat and drink for the cup.
Why are you stopping breast feeding?
Good luck.

try putting the breast milk in the sippy, then slowly add in cows milk until you are all the way off breast milk good luck! it can be tricky!

My daughter hated sippy cups with the spouts. About when she turned 1 we skipped them in favor of a sippy cup with a straw.

One day my husband and I were drinking smoothies through a clear straw. She was pretty interested in watching the liquid go up the straw. Since she likes to try whatever we're having, we popped the straw in her mouth and she started to suck on it. She got really wide eyed at first and we made sure to make a big deal out of it by cheering for her. Ever since she's taken milk from a straw. It might be worth a shot.

She still nurses 2X a day (she's now 14 months) but the rest of her intake is with a cup & straw.