Weaning a One Year Old- on Vacation?

Hi Abbey,

You very well may have milk after one week of not breastfeeding, but it sounds like you're still producing a lot now. If you wait until she's not nursing as much, your breastmilk will be much lower, you won't have swollen breasts and it won't hurt. That being said, I actually weaned our daughter when my husband and I went away for a week vacation (our honeymoon!) Our daughter was 2 years and 2 months at that point and from the way nursing was going right before we left, I believe she would have weaned on her own not much after our scheduled vacation. She only asked for it twice when we got back. I said, "Oh, I thought you were too big?" We had been talking for months about how mammas feed their babies and toddlers mamma's milk, but when those babies and toddlers grow up, the mammas don't have the milk anymore. So she was already familiar with this concept. But the joke was on me - I had breastmilk for about 9 months afterwards!!!! It was NEVER painful and it never leaked, but if I pulled a bit on a nipple, milk came out (I kept checking every month). And she did not nurse once after we got back from our vacation! I've talked to mothers who weaned when their children were older and this is very very common. A friend of mine who is an anthropologist said that in the days before formula, wet nurses--women whose job it was to nurse children whose mother's couldn't (had died in childbirth or had problems) or didn't (upperclass women)-- would go a few weeks in between "jobs." These women had been nursing so long that their milk supply might be low, but it could be revived whenever a child nursed. Crazy huh?

I think she is trying to tell you that she is weanning herself from breast feeding my childern didn't want to nurse much when they turned one year old. I didnt know what to do with the milk in me either so I called the DR. the nurse told me to bind myself with a scarf or dish towel I also had to put pads in my bra to sop up the milk I was done in about a few day to a week. what ever you do, do not pump or it will take longer to dry up. clogged ducts will hurt and you are doing right by rubbing them out if you get a fevor that mean you have a infection and will have to go see your DR.

Hi Abbey,

It sounds like your daughter is ready to be weaned. Personally, I would just go with it and be done. If you want her to still receive breast milk, you can always pump and give it to her in a sippy cup.

If she wants to nurse and YOU want to nurse when you get back, I wouldn't worry about your milk production. You will be surprised at how fast it will come back up to meet her needs. If you think this is a possibility, keep expressing a couple of times a day.

As for the pain and leaking, I would not go cold turkey. You could get an infection, and it's super painful. If she was feeding 5 times a day, I would start by expressing 4 times a day for a few days, then 3 times, and so on. Ibuprofen and ice will help.

Abbey,

I would encourage you to wait until your vacation is over to deal with weaning. There are enough major changes and stress with traveling that adding the idea of weaning may make things more difficult.

Whenever you are with her, offer her the breast. Keep expressing some milk especially when she isn't nursing or you aren't together. Then you have more choices when travel time is over.

I have always appreciated the idea of "Make choices, not plans" Then you have more options as opportunities arise. Always be flexible.

When you want some alone time, plan that too, it is important. Traveling, as wonderful as it is, is really stressful to our bodies, both children and adults.

Look up "Ask Dr. Sears" online and see what he suggests.

I nurse my little one and the time you have together if fleeting, so enjoy and know this time and era is limited. There is no magic time as in "Age 1" to wean your child. Child led weaning has been strongly encouraged to me and I always was glad when I continued. The benefits to nursing are life long, to both you and your child.

When you nurse, you reduce your chances of many diseases, including a number of cancers and even diabetes. For breast cancer alone, a year of nursing equals an approximate 30% risk reduction. That is significant and your window for this advantage is here, don't push it aside too quickly. I just learned yesterday another friend has breast cancer. Don't miss out on this opportunity to protect yourself and provide lifelong health support for your little girl.

Hope this helps and congrats to your brother as he weds!

Best Wishes,
J.

I weaned my daughter while we were on vacation. She was 14 months old and had already stopped several of her feedings. She didn't seem bothered at all by the change and never wanted to nurse when we got home. She was able to speak and asked to nurse previously, so I would have known if she had wanted to continue nursing. I find that making changes while the children are out of their routine works well for us. I do remember my breasts being engorged. The advice I received was not to pump, because that encourages the milk to continue flowing. I had to pump a little though because it hurt. I would suggest pumping a little when you have to to relieve the pain.