I Want to Wean My Baby, How Do I Do It?

Why don't you just wait 6-8 weeks and then wean her to milk? You can also try soy milk, rice milk, etc. to see if she likes the taste of those (but don't dilute, she needs the fat)

L., I just have to jump in and say it is not for ANYONE else's mommy to be "saddened" by your choice to wean your 10 month old, and anyone who guilt trips you about it is to be ignored. It's between you and your child. 10 months is a good long time to nurse, and she has gotten a full complement of your antibodies and all the other benefits of your milk. At 10 months I asume she is also eating solid food, cutting teeth, and all that good stuff, so if either of you is ready to be done with nursing, it is OKAY. Feeding your infant is a colossally important daily bonding ritual and it is way more important for it to WORK for both of you than it is for her to be sucking down breastmilk for a couple more weeks. Any mother and child pair who consensually breastfeed into the second (third, fourth) year of the child's life: good! Great! meanwhile, you did GREAT with nursing and should not look back for one minute if you are done.

that said, I agree with the many helpful suggestions listed here. I have two girls, one who self-weaned *very* early after never really taking to the breast no matter how many LCs, doulas and LLL meetings I went to (and oh, the feelings of inadequacy and guilt that left me with!), and one who is turning out to be one of those obstinate boobie-monsters who will go on hunger strike and scream herself sick if she has to take even breastmilk from a bottle. So I kind of see both sides to this one. if you can, pump for a bit and get her used to drinking breastmilk from a vessel (bottle or sippy, either one is a fine transition). if she is generally well nourished with solids at this point and does not show intolerant or allergic tendencies, you can switch formulas on her without too much worry... she probably just doesn't like the flavor of the enfamil.

this is an emotional transition regardelss of when, why and how. but assuming you are there with her and engaged in parenting her, she will NOT suffer from being weaned. you might have a few tough days -- so be prepared to just do it in baby steps -- but you're not depriving her, hurting her, abusing her or messing with her little mind if you are a generally engaged, loving, and attentive mom. Wishng you luck with the transition.

First of all, why are you trying to wean the baby before a year? It would be *much* better for her poor little tummy to not all of a sudden be put on formula. And you're never supposed to dilute formula to begin with. She's gagging because breastmilk is literally superior in every way to formula. The formula companies even tell us this. If there is no real reason for weaning ( medical problems ), then IMO, it should be done when the child is ready...but certainly not before a year. It saddens me that moms put their babies through a very hard time emotionally just to stop breastfeeding. Remember, babies are hardwired for nursing. They are mammals.

Christy

It could be the fomula so you might want to try another brand or maybe even a soy formula. You may also want to try pumping and putting it in her sippy. I hope it turns out well for you!!

I would say like one of the others...try putting some pumped breast milk in a sippy cup and mixed with formula just a little or just give all breast milk. If you aren't too paranoid you can try some breast milk and cows milk too. I did have a friend even do formula but put in just a tad of vanilla cream to mask the bitter taste. This is not bad for the child because the nutrients are still in the milk or formula. Same thing with chocolate milk. I wouldn't give a bottle because by 12 months most peds recommend going to a sippy cup because bottles aren't good for their teeth. My daughter totally took over sippy cups even to bed at night with her milk or formula at about 9months old. Good luck! :)

S.

I would skip the bottles all together. That would be great if it's one more thing you don't have to wean him from later on. Try pumped milk at first. If you don't have a pump, I suggest just a manual... the Medela Harmony is a great manual pump. Try pumping in the morning if you've never pumped before. Kellymom.com has a message board about pumping and you can ask questions there about weaning as well.

And if it were me, I'd just go to cow's milk at that age and skip formula, but you might want to check with your doctor first. I wouldn't do this if your baby has had sensitivity to dairy or has a lot of food allergies, but my son has had whole cow's milk since 9-10 months... more in cooking, but he had it to drink first to make sure he didn't have a reaction so I could use it in cooking for him. You can also look up more information about cow's milk before 12 months in Dr. Jack Newman's articles online. Just google it and it should come up.

good luck!

Hi L.! Are you pumping anymore? You could try to mix the formula with EBM(expressed breast milk) and go from there. Or, give your daughter the formula at meal times to help with the introduction. That's how I got my son to drink whole milk. He didn't like it at all at first. Every meal I gave him milk with his meal and gradually he started to drink it. Now he can't get enough. Just to let you know, I'm still breastfeeding my 16 month old son.

Good Morning L.,

My best advice is first get her use to formula or continue until she's 1 and can have regular milk. I know the carnation good start taste a lot sweeter than most. Mix the formula in with her cereal in the morning so she gets use to it that way. I would not start her on a bottle she is too old for that just put it in the sippy cup she will drink it eventually. Then when she can be weaned for mine I had my husband do it. She can smell your milk so she won't give in until she gets it. It will be a very HARD day or 2 but then it's done.....do it on the weekend. I strongly suggest you leaving the house overnight at least.
Good luck

L.,

All formula is pretty gross to a baby who isn't used to it. If you have a breastpump, try pumping breastmilk and getting your daughter to drink that out of a sippy. Once she's mastered that, start mixing in an ounce of formula and then slowly increase the amount of formula and decrease the amount of breastmilk.

:-)T.

My 3 suggestions:
1) Put pure breast milk in it to get her used to milk in the sipper.
2) Talk to the doc about whether he feels she would be okay to start cow’s milk. My son was started on Whole milk at 10 1/2 months.
3) Mix breast milk with formula. Start with 3/4 breast and 1/4 formula. As she starts to accept that easily, mix more formula into it until you eliminate the breast milk.

Other than that you can try different types of sippers, including a straw cup. She may like it better if she identifies a specific cup with the breast milk/formula. My son would get mad when I put milk in the cup I originally had given him water.

Hope it helps~ J.

Hi, this is what i did for my daughter who was breastfed until she was a year. I started giving her rice cereal more and breastfeeding less. Eventually I only breastfed her at night. At 10 months she was also eating other solids like the gerber sweet potatoes and other veggies and fruits. My daughter didn't take a bottle at all which can be frustrating but it's also nice because you don't have to ween her off of the bottle onto the sippy cup. =) My daughter wouldn't drink formula at all either. You can try to give her breast milk in the sippy cup and try to at least get her off the breast... I used similac and she would drink it if someone other than i gave it to her. I think because she could smell the breast milk. But other than that all formula is pretty gross... ha ha good luck though. =)

L.,

I want to wish you luck because I tried that with my son when he was about 10 months old and he refused the formula. He would spit it out. I gave it to him in a sippy cup because at 10 months he didn't use a bottle at all anymore. He hated the taste of it. Your baby might not take formula. She's probably used to breast milk which is supposed to be sweeter that formula. I ended up nursing my son until 13 months and weaned him onto cows milk. I don't think it's the taste of that particular brand, but your daughter isn't used to the taste of formula. I wish you luck. I don't have any suggestions, but I want to tell you that I understand where you're coming from and I hope it works for you.

L.

I nursed my son till he was 2 so it may be different, but I started only nursing him in the morning and at night and would slowly cut back on the time. Then I went away for the weekend and left some breast milk in a sippy cup for him with my mom.
She was upset I quit at 2 years she wanted me to keep nursing for another year. I kept telling her it is a personal choice and I appreciated her concern. I wish you the best of luck.
A.