Self Weening at 9 Months?

it is possible that she could be doing that. i breastfed my son until he was a year and then it took him 2 months to finally ween himself off completely.You can always try pumping and giving it to her either in a bottle or in a sippy cup.Hopefully that may work for you. good luck

Hi Y.,

Just keep offering the breast often - I'd bet she's getting ready to cut some serious teeth, and her mouth probably really hurts. Also, when my kids would get colds, they wouldn't want to nurse as much, I think largely because of a soar throat. Hang in there - just keep at it and she'll get back into the groove.

At that age there's alot to look around at and baby can get distracted. Keep offering. She also may be a bit under the weather and thus just not so hungry. Is she eating more solids? I have heard that a baby will not 'self wean' before 2 yrs. Check Dr Sears.com or Mothering.com Good Luck I hopr she responds.

www.kellymom.com and www.askdrsears.com both have some great information on weaning or self weaning. I think I read once that most babies will not wean on their own before the age of 2.

I remember when my son was around the same age - I went through this as well and I said to some friends, "He'll be done before the age of 1" I was quite confident that he was self weaning, surprised since I nursed my first past the age of 2 but I was just sure this was it. He walked at 9mos 2 weeks so I think due to his new skills and the fact that he was such a busy little guy he just wanted to do other things besides hanging out at the boob and nurse. Long story short.. he weaned after his 3rd Birthday! I doubt that your daughter is weaning herself. If you are OK with it then go with the flow - if you'd like to nurse a bit longer than check out those two sites, they'll give you tips on dealing with a nursing strike, etc..

Best wishes!
M.

Ask your Pediatrician or Lactation Consultant....
All I know is, that for the first year of life, a baby's PRIMARY source of nutrition is breastmilk/formula. So, this still is an important part of their diet... and for just preventing dehydration if anything.

Is she drinking anything else? Do you give solids before or after breast? Usually, if giving solids BEFORE breast... this makes them too full to nurse after. Usually, giving solids before breast/nursing is done to "wean." So usually, the recommendation is to nurse first BEFORE solids....

Maybe she's teething? Or is she sick or anything? Sometimes this affects their nursing....

Just make sure she is getting adequate intake.... or perhaps she is just changing.. .and instead of nursing as frequent... she is nursing less often but for longer periods and more per sitting???? Sometimes, once they are this age and on solids...their frequency of nursing will seem to lessen... but their intake is more per sitting...

I would ask the Pediatrician how much quantity she should be drinking for her age, and per her growth percentiles etc....

I would not assume she is "weaning" just yet... until you rule out anything else, or ask the Pediatrician about intake quantity for her age....

Both my kids self-weaned... but they were older than 9 months. My daughter being 2.5 years old, and my son about 1 yr. old when he self-weaned from breast and then he just preferred the bottle because it's easier to suck on....

Is her poop/pee diapers normal? Watch for dehydration... and don't only fill her up with water.... breast/formula still plays an important part of their diet and for nutrition sake...

All the best,
Susan