How to Wean a 10 Month Old from Breastfeeding?

The only other suggestion I would give you is to try adding cereal in her last feeding. If you can get her to drink from a sippy cup or bottle, try to add some cereal or feed her cereal seperate. Maybe a little extra food in her belly at bedtime will help her sleep longer. Good Luck.

I suggest that you continue to breast feed her each morning and at night. She will enjoy the comfort and health wise, it is best if you can continue until she is two. By restricting it to morning and night, you should be able to accomodate her with ease with your teaching schedule. At 10 months, she does not need a middle of the night feeding; she is waking for comfort. I have 3 children, all who were breast fed (one for 3 years, one 21 months, and one is still nursing) and once solids are introduced and they reach the 6 month mark they are capable of sleeping through the night. They just don't want to because they want the comfort of you! You'll have to ignore her middle of the night cries. During the day, you'll need to introduce the bottle--she will eat when she is hungry. My little ones wouldn't take a bottle from me initially; they took one only from my husband or other family member. But eventually, they nursed and took a bottle without complaint. It's much easier to wean a child once they are ready! Blessings to you!

I sat down with my 3 year old and told him, look kid - you're a big boy now, we need to save the ninny for your 6 month old little brother. You think I'm kidding? HA With the little brother (who is now 2 and a half), I wear a back fastening bra ALL of the time, with a sports bra on top of it. The combination of NO, difficult access, and reduced visual appeal seem to get the message across.

You may have more luck sitting her in a chair and giving her a sippy cup while she has baby food or toddler snack or what have you.

S.

Mine is 9 1/2 months old, and we are starting to wean. But, my baby never took a bottle. We started her on the sippy when she was 5 months old, so she's a pro now. I still nurse her in the morning and in the evening. I'm only weaning b/c my milk supply is diminishing. Try getting her to take a sippy. Gerber makes a great starter cup thats called the fun grips.

I had to stop breastfeeding my daughter at 10 months (I was in my second trimester with my son). She never took a bottle not because of lack of trying. I tried using a sippy cup that didn't work. I then started giving her milk out of a straw that seemed to work a little bit, but she was not drinking very much. Finally I stopped it all and just offered her a bottle within 3 days she was drinking. The doctor told me she would be fine when she was thristy she would drink just don't offer her anything else. It worked! It was very hard on me because I felt like such a bad mother turned out it was harder on me than her :).

I didn't breastfeed for that long, but I wouldn't start giving her a bottle during the night. She should be sleeping through the night by now and certainly doesn't need it for nutritional purposes. It's probably just a habit she has gotten into and likes. I used to teach and know the energy it takes. You don't need to have to wake up at night, too. Maybe your husband could get up with her for the next couple of weeks. That way she won't see you, but it'll probably be hard on your husband for a few nights. Good luck and have a great school year!!

Hello! Way to go for breastfeeding for 10 months! That is fantastic! I nursed for 7 months exclusivly. My son had a really hard time taking a bottle from me too. What I had to do was have him latch on to nurse, get a bit of milk, take me out of his mouth and slide in a bottle. I held the bottle really close to me and I would switch back and forth between me and the bottle. I don't remember how long I had to do this but Ethan adapted really well and we only had to do this a few times. Good luck G.! I hope this helps!

The best thing I can tell you is to start her on a routine of less frequently of you. This may even be a good time to give her a cup instead of a bottle.

I'd NOT pump and only give her the breast in the morning, afternoon, and before bed. It can become your hubby's turn to get up in the night. Tell him to offer her a bottle of water. After a few nights of this, she may give it up. Just a thought.

Blessings,

P. <><

I think you should keep the morning, afternoon, and night feedings when you go back to work. You can pump during the day. She won't starve herself during the day, and is old enough to eat solids. She will likely take a bottle or sippy from your caregiver again.

Man, I am going through this same thing...what I finally was able to do (my little boy is going through the whole "I don't like formula" thing), was first try mixing formula and breastmilk together (so if that's the only way he'd take a bottle w/o me having to pump all the time, it's at least decreasing the amt. of milk I needed). Finally, what I was able to do is warm a bottle of formula that he would take and I dropped 1 feeding. The other feeding I will miss while he's at day care I am pumping before I go to bed. When I get enough milk saved up I'll start weaning him for good. Now, I don't have the issue with him not wanting to take a bottle from me or my husband, so I can't help you there. But, that's what I'm going to do once I go back to work.

Good luck!

K.

If your husband is home, pretend to leave the house when it's time to give her a bottle. Start your car or go outside for a walk or water your outside plants/sneak back into the house and stay in another room till she's finished... as long as she does not hear/see you. Also, give her cereal before she goes to sleep to get her to sleep through the night. If she is clean/out of harms way, place the bottle near her and walk out of the room. If she balks... let her... like I said if she's out of harms way/clean... It will be okay.

My daughter would not take a bottle from me as well at first. It was a struggle for the first few minutes b/c she smelled my milk. I remember one time I was trying to give her one at a restaraunt and she was screaming at the top of her lungs. I ended up going to the car to nurse her. She will eventually take the bottle from you, with a struggle. It may take 15-20 minutes or longer for her to finally take it. Just keep working with her and be patient. If she doesn't have a choice, she will give in eventually.

When you show a glass of something that is now empty and you say all gone, so point to your breast and say all gone, like there isn't any more. And then don't give in, or the next time she won't believe you. She may fuss and cry the first day or two, but if she is really hungry she will take the bottle.

I look forward to seeing the responses you get. My 14 month old is showing NO signs of weaning and still wants to nurse about 5 times a day....and has never taken a bottle from anyone :(

Good luck to you!

I had to ween my daughter at 5 months because she stopped gaining weight. Up to that point she had never taken a bottle from me. This was my plan: When she first woke up in the morning I tried feeding her a bottle and I didn't nurse her until she took something from it. It took a couple hours until she finally took the bottle. She just had to realize that she wasn't going to get the breast from me and that the bottle was the only way. The rest of the day I nursed her. I did this for several days until she learned to expect a morning bottle. Then I eliminated another feeding. I kept eliminating feedings until she was completely on the bottle. The night time meals were the last to go. Doing it this way will be easier on your milk production. I hope this helps.

Hi G.! At 10 months, your DD does not need to eat every 3-4 hours at night any more (but God bless you for going so long without a good night's sleep!). I'd start by trying to eliminate the night feedings, since these are just for comfort, not for nourishment, at this stage (not that comfort isn't important, but it doesn't need to include your boob!). I found the book "Secrets of the baby whisperer" very helpful on this. Work on teaching your daughter other soothing techniques besides nursing.

Next, if your DD is 10 months, I wouldn't bother with a bottle--I'd just go straight to a sippy. I assume she's eating more-or-less regular meals in her highchair by now, and is maybe drinking water or juice in a sippy along with them? If she's not drinking a sippy with her meals, introduce one then, as part of the normal eating routine. Your goal is to get her used to yet one more way of getting nutrition (since she's already both eating a variety of foods, and nursing). Just put some formula in a sippy and hand it to her at lunch!

Finally, if you can manage it, try to take it slowly in reducing feedings one by one. I finished weaning my DD at 10 1/2 months (she's now 15 months), but I took 2 months to do it. I gradually dropped one feeding at a time, which luckily for me went quite easily since my DD LOVES food and, by the end, would rather eat a meal than nurse, anyway.

One more suggestion--can your husband take over bedtime, if he hasn't already? You should disappear to another part of the house (take a few minutes to yourself to relax!), and let him put on her pj's, give her a bottle, rock her, whatever your routine is. Establish a routine that you're not involved in, and she'll be less defiant about not being nursed. It will take a few days to get her used to it, but be consistent and DO NOT let your husband call you in if she fusses too much. If she knows there's no other option, she'll take the bottle. AND you'll start a nice dad-daughter bonding tradition, AND you'll get a few minutes to yourself every evening. My DD's long weaned, and I still head to the couch to lie down at bedtime every night, since I'm off duty!
Good luck, and congrats on nursing so long!