Good evening everyone. I hope you are having a wonderful week thus far. We have been quite busy; packing, cleaning, laundry, etc. I must say those tasks have not been going well. McKayla woke up last night with a fever of 101.6. I am not sure what is causing it; she doesn’t seem to have any other symptoms. We are going to see the ENT for a post-surgery check so I am hoping she might be able to help.
I have been getting tons of messages and emails asking about the weaning process. I want to start out by saying I am by no means a professional, I am simply a mom who has breastfed and successfully weaned four daughters. So, here it goes.
First, you must know technically weaning begins whenever you introduce solid foods into your baby’s diet. But, today I am going to talk more about weaning completely from breastfeeding around 12 months of age.
For us, I began slowly spacing out their feedings as we added in more meals. We added in a third meal right around 9-10 months, so I dropped a feeding. But, I was still nursing quite a bit. Then at about 11 months I dropped another feeding. So, we were down to three nursing sessions a day at 11 months. As you are dropping feedings make sure you are feeding your baby enough solids. I found that if I gave them a snack at the time they used to nurse it made the transition much easier.
Once, McKenzie and McKayla turned one we decided it was time to drop another feeding (I am not sure I am ready for this yet, but I know it’s time). They are now nursing twice a day. I am going to keep this for awhile because I am not ready to drop another one yet and I don’t think McKenzie and McKayla are either. During the time they were getting that third nursing session I now snuggle them and give them milk in a sippy cup. It has been tough for McKenzie but she is now catching one.
If you want the weaning process to go quicker you can drop a feeding every 3-5 days (you will be able to tell what your breasts can handle). You don’t want to drop too quickly because you could end up getting mastitis and that is no fun; trust me.
A few helpful hints:
- When you are dropping nursing sessions is helps to have someone else snuggle your baby during that time, this helps to distract them.
- Make sure you don’t drop sessions too quick. This is a big one.
- I like to drop the nursing session before bed last. This is my favorite one. I love to cuddle and nurse them as they are going to sleep.
In the Comments Below:
- I hope that helps. Let me know if you have any questions.
- How do/did you wean your baby?
Very interesting!! My little one is 4 month old and soon we start the adventures of solid foods 🙂
So exciting, but so crazy how fast they grow!!
Wow sounds so easy haha! My daughters 10 mnths and eats three meals and some snacks but my dr said she should get at least 12oz of milk when weaned and I am lucky if she drinks 2oz at a meal…any ideas on that? She dictates how much she wants to eat too so hard to know if she’s getting enough of everything. Do u watch how much milk they get or just however much they’ll take? Any easy snack ideas?
I don’t worry too much about making sure they get enough milk. I always offer about 2-4 oz per meal and typically they will drink it. Sometimes I will offer some throughout the day if I think they need a little extra. I would say the key is to simple keep offering it to her and she will so just fine. Don’t worry too much about it as long and she is a healthy eater and growing nicely. I will write a post on snack idea next week. But right now we love fruit, strawberries, blueberries, bananas, grape (cut in 4), and baby food pouches are all winners with my girls. I hope that helped.
Oh boy sorry I have more questions…how did u make sure thy diet wake at night hungry? Did u push dinner back closer to bedtime? And we nurse in the morning and then have breakfast before the first nap so she isn’t hungry would u feed breakfast earlier and then snack before nap—thanks sooo much :-/
Oh I love to help other moms. I know the first time around I had so many questions and loved asking other moms. We, moms, need to stick together. 🙂
I always worry about my girls being hungry at night, even my big girls. So, I keep dinner at the normal time, but I offer a snack right before bed. They may have a banana, toast with peanut butter, yogurt, something healthy. Right now McKenzie and McKayla still nurse before bed so I think that helps too. I do think snacks are great before naps and bedtime. I would play around with your routine and see what works best for you.