Weaning from Breastfeeding - Helotes,TX

I kept the morning bf and night time bf as the last two. I served just cow's milk or a mix of cow and breast milk (however she takes it best) with meals and throughtout the day. Then I dropped the morning bf, then a week later, the night time one! And yes, it's ok to start @11 mo old. I started with my son @10.5 months. Both my kids were eating so much food at that point, I felt it was fine to start reducing.

Is there a particular reason you want her weaned by her birthday? Breast milk is incredibly nutritious, and it is recommended to try to hit two years before weaning. My DD was about 16 months when she just weaned herself. If you want to, that is fine and no judgements... I just wanted to point that out because many mothers are led to believe they "need" to stop nursing by a certain age.

If you do want to stop, I would recommend giving her the cow's milk mixed with breast milk during her solid meals. Usually, diluting by quarters is acceptable. Start with 3/4 breast milk to 1/4 cow's for a week or so, until she adjusts to it. Then go half and half, then 1/4 breast milk, then straight cow.

I would continue to put her to breast in the morning, and before she naps or sleeps. It's such a great bonding time, and it lasts for such a small time. Once she is down to straight cows milk in her cups, then maybe start cutting out the nursing sessions if you want her weaned completely.

ETA. When it's time, it's time. :) making it a full year is quite an accomplishment, so kudos to you for making it.

To make things better for you during the weaning process, I would get a nipple shield. It will protect you from her sharp little teeth, and allow any scrapes she has given you to heal. They aren't expensive at all.

Once she is weaned, if you suffer from engorgement or your milk just doesn't want to dry up, you can put chilled cabbage leaves in your bra; they provide relief and will help stop your supply.

Good luck. :)

I would not wean off the first and last feedings of the day until the very end. Typically, moms will wean out all other feedings between those 2. It's easier that way; you can keep her busy with other activities, etc, while offering her milk from a cup. That first and last of the day are usually much more than nutrition, and she will miss the comfort provided in those sessions.
You can try to mix BM and cow milk together, but not before 1 year, and even then, she may not tolerate it. That 1 year birthday is not a "magical date" by which all babies can switch over; instead, it should be looked at as the EARLIEST safe date to TRY and begin the switching-over process.
Any reason you can't continue the first and/or last nursing sessions of the day indefinitely for her? Breastmilk has infinite benefits for toddlers. I understand the desire to not be quite so "tethered" all day long, if she can handle the cow milk, but if you are home in the mornings and evenings with her, I would strongly suggest you rethink complete weaning.
Good luck~either way, wait a month before you start cutting out the breastmilk. She still needs it.

Everyone is different.
I breastfed both my kids, and for me, this is what I did:
I nursed until my kids self-weaned.
Even if the child is 1 years old, that does not mean you then have to stop, nursing/breastfeeding. The child can have both, the introduced milk and/or breastfeeding. There is no rule about it.
And, you also have to see IF, your child will take to milk or not.
Or take a cup or not. Or a bottle or not.

Per our Pediatrician, you nurse on-demand. And nurse BEFORE, any solids/feedings. Because, otherwise the baby will be too full, to nurse. Nursing was the first thing to offer baby.
And yes, you can mix breastmilk with cow's milk. But you do NOT have to to that. I never did that with either of my kids. They nursed. And then also had milk. Separately.

You just have to see what your baby takes to or not.
Each baby is different.

The reason for "milk" is that the "milk fats" in it is an essential nutrient for brain development. And milk is typically recommended through 2 years old. But your baby can still have, breastmilk. That is what I did with my kids. And you can serve it, separately. Or mix both together. Or not. Its up to you. And for me, I never added breastmilk to the "solids" my kids ate.
Everyone is different.

But with both my kids, they self-weaned. My son did so at about 1 years old. And my daughter at about 2.5 years old. The child, naturally just lessens the frequency of nursings on their own. Until one day they just don't want to and refuse breast.

If you want to wean your baby from breast, well you seem to be doing fine. And you baby is adjusting fine.
And you have a "deadline" that she completely weans by her birthday. So well, that is up to you.
There is no hard and fast rule, that it HAS to be done by a baby's 1st birthday. Not all Moms do that.

I'm going through the same thing right now. My daughter's turning 1 in two weeks. I started giving her cow's milk with her solids about 2 weeks ago and just yesterday, began adding cow's milk to breastmilk for her daytime feedings. My husband thinks it's gross to mix cow's milk and breastmilk, but I wanted to do things gradually.

You aren't going to get to wean too slowly in less than a month, I weaned my son over a summer. So unless you have a real reason why you want to be done by her birthday, I'd cut you both some slack and take it really slowly. My son was 18 months before we finally quit, I know some go longer and some go shorter but this was the right time for us. I would drop one nursing session at a time and go for a minimum of a week (normally more like 2 or 3 weeks) before dropping another. He had been nursing 4 times a day (first thing in the am, before morning nap, before afternoon nap, at bedtime) for a long time, so the first one that went was the morning nap session. Then dropped the afternoon session. We did just morning and night for quite awhile since it took my body a bit of time to adjust to the decreased demands as well. Then finally I dropped the morning session and just did bedtime for awhile. I still was making quite a bit and was hesitant to stop cold turkey, so I went to once every 36 hours (Monday morning, Tues night, Thur morning, etc) for about a week before finally stopping. Even going as gradually as I did it took about 2 weeks before I was comfortable again, as I filled up and stayed that way. If my son had wanted to continue, I would have with no question. This is not a time to stress a baby out that still needs that extra comfort from mom. Fortunately, my son never seemed to notice he wasn't getting as much, and he's never requested to nurse since. After you stop for the last time, be prepared that you might feel engorged for some time. Try not to express if you don't have to, and keep an eye out for signs of mastitis. Good luck to you both!

Good job for nursing for a year. Before you start cutting out nursing session, I strongly encourage you to start trying some cow's milk with your child. If she is intolerant to cow's milk, it would be better to know that BEFORE you've lost your milk supply rather than after. She's close enough to being 1 to try it.

So, yes, for 1 session per day, pump instead of nursing. Put that milk in the freezer and give her cow's milk in a cup. Just a little bit at first to make sure she doesn't have a bad reaction (and yes, you can mix it half and half with breastmilk at first). If she does ok with it for a few days, then this is how you wean.

Cut out 1 nursing session - mid-morning is probably a good one if she is eating a good lunch. After 2 weeks, choose the next nursing session you want to cut - maybe mid-afternoon. Always wait 2 weeks after you cut one before cutting the next one, otherwise you risk mastitis. So every 2 weeks, cut another session until they are all gone. This will take you more than a month, but it's the healthiest way to do it for YOU.

I weaned both my kiddos with little to no issues at all. Here is how I went about it. From about 6 weeks old I started to pump and have my husband give them a bottle at night so that they were used to the bottle and that routine. Then as they got older I would start to give them bottles here and there as well as breastfeed as they wanted. Then right at 11 months the only time I breastfed was if they woke in the middle of the night. And almost right at their 1st birthday I started to mix a small amount of whole milk into their bottles and eventually they were only taking whole milk and then I slowly started giving it to them in a cup and then finally start giving less and less whole milk in their last bottle at night and bam breastfeeding over and bottle over with
Good Luck

You should be proud mom's just don't breastfeed anymore. I was21 when I had my son. I nursed for2 years. He never used a bottle bottle or pacifier. I stopped when installment arm and said " mommy I eat those" . Talking about my well endowed friend. I bought a bottle of vodka. And had a mixed drink that night because I knew I wouldn't give in with alcohol in my milk. I was horrible. He was in one room crying with my husband keeping an eye on him, and I was in the other room crying cause I felt like a horrible mom. he eventually went to sleep. The next night I layed by him to put him to sleep he reached for it a few times but again eventually went to sleep. It was over. I thought It was going to be harder but honestly I was so sad. Just one step to my baby growing up. Good luck and enjoy every moment with your little bundle it goes by so fast my son s now 8 yrs.

I've weaned my first two just as all the previous Mom's have suggested. My 3rd, I'm doing it all backwards and it totally seems to be working for him. so apparently, it truly is whatever works for Mom and baby!

This time, I cut out night time nursing first (I do sometimes nurse him down for the night tho) My other two required full weaning in order to sleep through the night. I was just waaay too tired this time around to start with the day time feeds....I jumped the gun and started with cutting out the problem feeds first. He was still waking every 3 hrs to nurse, and actually nurse, not just comfort nurse. Uh ya no, done with that.

So two weeks in he's sleeping through the night and now trying to make up for the missed nursing at night during the day. I'm okay with it...simply because I didn't have a problem with nursing just the constant night wakings TO nurse.

We've had solid food issues all along--he's on the waay lower end of the scale, and picky about his food, so I'm leery about cutting out the nursing altogether...but I am trying to follow the whole 'don't offer unless asked' method. It worked great with my other boys, doesn't seem to be progressing the same with this guy so we may have to go cold turkey in a few months...but we'll see.

He had ABSOLUTELY no problems with transitioning to whole milk. I gave it to him cold in sippy/cup no mixing or anything, and we're good to go. I started around 10/11 months...just to make sure he didn't have issues with it. So you definitely can start now with the whole milk, but you can also wait to get the go ahead from your pediatrician at the 12 month visit too! Just depends on how comfortable you are with it, and how well she does on solids!! Good luck, and high five on nursing for a year!

BTW heads up, at least with my kids, they were all a little be more irritable than usual while weaning---and I had horrible horrible mood/hormone adjustments myself!! I thought my PMS was bad--ha ha!

Be careful. I thought it would take a month to wean my son and he gave up breastfeeding in three days! Once he had his big boy cup, he didn't need mommy anymore. :-)

My point, let your baby guide you. I introduce cows milk at 11.5 months. I wouldn't. Is it, no need.

It is fine to mix the two milks, it is okay to introduce cows a little early, just by adding small amounts to breast milk to see how she handles it. It is also okay to keep pumping as long as you feel like it and keep giving her breast milk. Just do what feels right. By 11 months my boys had moved from breast to formula (we had some nursing issues) so a couple of weeks before their first birthday I started mixing small amounts or hormone free dairy milk into their formula and slowly increasing the amount of milk to get them used to the new taste.

She seems to be ready. I would cut out the middle of the day feedings, try to nurse her only twice/three times a day...ex: Right after wake up, right before nap and right before bed. Use these times as cuddle/calm down times. Let her stay as long as she likes, watch the time of the feedings. It helps me to write it down...if you have a pattern a steady length of time she stays, cutting back the time little by little should be easy. Even if not, just go with the lowest time she stays. Ex: First feeding 10 mins, Second is 18 mins, Last feeding is 15, go with the 10 minutes and shift her off at the 10 mark. Slowly cut her off at 9 in a few days, then 8 and so on.

Just an idea, good luck.

(Momma of an 8 month old biter!)