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.