Ready to wean and need help

holley79 wrote: Well Annika is offically 18 months old now. We have been nursing strong even through hospital stays and vacations away from one another. I am ready to wean though. When I walk through the door the first thing she wants is "nin nin". I have offered the sippy cup but I don't know how to wean. Nothing deflects her.

Any suggestions would be greatful!

TIA

moped replied: Well you could do the cold turkey approach - I am not really sure.......I bet Karen would know!

holley79 replied:
Well I thought for sure she would have been over it when I was in the hospital for 5 days without seeing her then two weeks later on vacation for 5 days without seeing her. OH NO not her.

moped replied: Well I am not really sure. Does she use a sippy cup at all?

Boo&BugsMom replied: What did she do while you were in the hospital without you there?

holley79 replied:
She primarily drinks from a sippy. I have no clue. I offer it up to her with milk or whatever and she still wants to nurse.

holley79 replied:
She drank cow's milk from a sippy.

amynicole21 replied: I think it's all about changing her nursing cues. Maybe when you walk in you could pick her up and take her outside for a few minutes of running and saying your hellos. If her schedule is shaken up, it may make her forget about her "regular" nursing times. You can also start to explain that Nin nins are for night time or something, and simply tell her no when you get home from work. You can also tell her that you can have snuggle time, and that you will cuddle her when she drinks from her sippy so that she isn't missing out on the mommy time. Gradually taking away sessions is usually the easiest way to go about it. Good luck!

boyohboyohboy replied: I stopped bfing jake at 13 months and when he would ask just distracted him for longer periods of time, and as the times got longer between nursings, it kinda just fizzled out itself, it took alittle while though to complete the process, I just let him lead the way, and the more I distracted him, the less he nursed.
good luck.

holley79 replied: Thanks ladies. I really appreciate it. I didn't think this would be that hard but I guess it is. This too shall pass. I will try the going outside right when I get home technique. Normally that is after I change out of my work clothes and nursing.

momof3boys replied: i am too trying to wean our little guy. he is now 17 months and i woudl like to stop at 18 months. he is so attached to me though. won't stay with anyone. i think it is def the BF though b/c i didn;t for this long with our other two boys and they were attached but would stay with family. but not this one, cries constantly which makes it hard to leave him, but sometimes we have to. i have basically weaned the daytime by keeping him busy. but if we are home all day and i sit down he comes right over and wants to nurse. some say they wean themselves whne they are ready but i do not want him to be 2 and still nursing. it's for soem but not for me. the nighttime weaning i heard is the hardest. does the baby still sleep in your room and get up in the middle of the night> our does both, so i have heard to put him in his own room to start off the night even if he needs to come in our room in the middle of the night. but he will get used to sleeping in his own room and also i have been told when he gets up in the middle of the night, to try to hold him and maybe give him a sippy or bottle of milk close to you. i have yet to try it and will be very soon so i will let you know how it goes. in the meantime try teh busy thing during the day and just narrow it down to the bed at night. good luck

kimberley replied: distraction!! i am trying to wean too. my 4th nursling, working and on my own... i am beat lol. i will still nurse her on occasion if she really won't stop about it or if she hurt herself or is overtired but not for more than a few minutes. she asks for "snuggle" all the time and i just tickle her and laugh and tell her she's a big girl and that we can "cuddle" and kiss her all over. it usually works. it is a long process tho. think of it like a smoker trying to quit... they still have cravings for a while lol.
keep us posted on how it's going

holley79 replied:

Annika is still "nursing". It's pretty much in short bursts though so that is much easier. She has been in her own room since her first birthday. We do nurse at nap time on the weekends. We have cut out the morning, after work and night time nurse during the week but she does like her nurse time when I get home from work. On the weekends it is harder because I am w/ her 24/2. I don't nurse her after teeth brushing though so we have knocked out the before bed nurse. Don't know what I'm going to do with this kid.

momtoMegan&Alyxandria replied: I never had any trouble weaning. With Meg I had surgery when she was 3 months and it dried up my milk. Then with Alyx at 6 months it was just too difficult to continue to pump at work and she was already getting fomula supplements so it was a breeze.

My girlfriend finally broke her daughter by telling her they were broken and she couldn't nurse anymore. She had a very difficult time trying to wean her. Everytime she got close Nancy would get sick and want to nurse. I think she was almost 3 when she finally weaned her completely. Granted from the time she was 2 (and I think even younger) she only nursed every so often. Not even everyday.