weaning or maybe not, how to do it?

I don't _want_ to wean DD. In my ideal world we'd continue going until
one of us is done. However we've already decided if at one year I'm
not ovulating, to wean as we're very anxious to TTC. At almost 10
months now, DD is still a nursing machine. She nurses regularly 3x/
night (the last few nights more like 6 but I think she's teething). I
can't even imagine weaning her.

1. How do we go about doing it? Slowly? Give her milk during the day
and still wean at night? I'm willing to give it some time, and would
prefer a gradual weaning and see if I ovulate once we cut down. Does
she _need_ cow's milk during the day? Or just another snack? I'd love
to be able to stop pumping. She's eating 3 solids meals per day now,
although no snack, just EBM/nursing.

2. How does one night wean? We co sleep. We do have a crib which she
uses some times, but obviously it's easier to co-sleep, but that
doesn't help the weaning process. Any tips?

Postponing TTC is not an option we want to consider. I'd be happier to
already be pg now! We really want another.

There's a great book called How Weaning Happens put out by LLL that would
probably help you loads...night weaning is generally recommended as a way to
begin ovulating again though, so I'd try that first.
"cjra" wrote in message
oups.com...
I don't _want_ to wean DD. In my ideal world we'd continue going until
one of us is done. However we've already decided if at one year I'm
not ovulating, to wean as we're very anxious to TTC. At almost 10
months now, DD is still a nursing machine. She nurses regularly 3x/
night (the last few nights more like 6 but I think she's teething). I
can't even imagine weaning her.

1. How do we go about doing it? Slowly? Give her milk during the day
and still wean at night? I'm willing to give it some time, and would
prefer a gradual weaning and see if I ovulate once we cut down. Does
she _need_ cow's milk during the day? Or just another snack? I'd love
to be able to stop pumping. She's eating 3 solids meals per day now,
although no snack, just EBM/nursing.

2. How does one night wean? We co sleep. We do have a crib which she
uses some times, but obviously it's easier to co-sleep, but that
doesn't help the weaning process. Any tips?

Postponing TTC is not an option we want to consider. I'd be happier to
already be pg now! We really want another.

you're not going to like my answer!

my honest opinion is, having seen your posts over the last 10mths, that the
kind of personality your daughter has, she's not going to night wean without
major hard work and sleepless nights, it's unlikely she'll do it at all if
you continue cosleeping, and if you don't continue cosleeping she's unlikely
to be impressed either! It strikes me that she has the personality that
wouldn't cope so well with restrictions on breastfeeding compared to no
breastfeeding at all, it's a shame you don't have the time to wait, from
what you've said, my DS was an awful lot easier than your DD, but even with
him, at 10mths, I don't think I could have manipulated things enough to
trigger ovulation.

My guess would be you'd have more sucess day weaning her and hoping that
would knock over into night time, but I don't think that's what you want and
at 10mths, I don't think it's ideal either.

Time may well allow return of ovulation, even with no concious efforts
towards weaning.

Personally I would not offer cows milk as a drink, ever, I did for my first
child, but with what I now know about dairy, I don't think it's the best
thing to be filling a child's tummy with, so didn't introduce it to my 2nd
as a drink, she had it on cereal, then had to switch to soy as her ears
wouldn't drain with dairy in her diet. If you are going the more classic
route of drinking cows milk, it still shouldn't be introduced until after
1yr, provided formula is prepared correctly, before 1yr it's a better option
than cows milk and is just as unnatural for a baby human - I used to
perceive cows milk as ok and formula as artificial, but really neither is
the food stuff of preference and formula is more balanced and more suited to
an older baby than cows milk. You could offer other snacks before nursing or
ebm, with the aim of it becoming snack ony, I'm being brain dead right now
and can't think of anything ideal. I think I'd still aim for at least one
feed in the day time at this age, but that could be directly after you
finish work, dependent upon your schedule. 3 milk feeds, morning, afternoon
and pre bed would be sufficient at this age, though it's not so common
amongst breastfed babies.

Sorry not to be much help, it seems having another child soon is very
important to you, I think I'd chart for the next 2 mths (you don't say
whether you are having cycles) see if there is anything going on, then
consider weaning completely at age 1 - I just don't think she's going to
have sudden personality switch that's going to make her night wean without
completely weaning.

Anne

cjra wrote:

Does
she _need_ cow's milk during the day?

If you really want to wean, give her formula
instead, not cow's milk. For the first 12 months,
baby needs breastmilk or formula. After that,
she needs a well-balanced diet, in which cow's
milk may or may not need to be a part of.

-- Anita --

On Apr 26, 1:39 am, "Anne Rogers" wrote:
you're not going to like my answer!

my honest opinion is, having seen your posts over the last 10mths, that the
kind of personality your daughter has, she's not going to night wean without
major hard work and sleepless nights, it's unlikely she'll do it at all if
you continue cosleeping, and if you don't continue cosleeping she's unlikely
to be impressed either! It strikes me that she has the personality that
wouldn't cope so well with restrictions on breastfeeding compared to no
breastfeeding at all, it's a shame you don't have the time to wait, from
what you've said, my DS was an awful lot easier than your DD, but even with
him, at 10mths, I don't think I could have manipulated things enough to
trigger ovulation.

Oh, I fully agree. I don't think DD has any intention of weaning!
She's a pretty independent kid when she wants to be, but she also
really loves her mommy's milk and being able to snuggle with daddy and
mommy at night.

I don't want to do it yet, not til she's 1 yr in July, and then I'd
start the process. I'm just trying to mentally prepare for it now,
since I really had no clue how to go about it.


My guess would be you'd have more sucess day weaning her and hoping that
would knock over into night time, but I don't think that's what you want and
at 10mths, I don't think it's ideal either.

Yeah, I'm thinking day weaning might help with the ovulation if we
can't night wean, and I'm more than happy to stop pumping. However, I
won't do that until 1 yr, so no cow's milk til then. I'm just used to
how it's going now, and wondering what I'd give her in place of the
EBM she's getting at daycare (since we came back from vacation, it's
only 6-8ozs, she was taking more for awhile at the new daycare, but
has dropped back down again).

Time may well allow return of ovulation, even with no concious efforts
towards weaning.

I was loving the ovulation suppression at first, but not now.

Sorry not to be much help, it seems having another child soon is very
important to you, I think I'd chart for the next 2 mths (you don't say
whether you are having cycles) see if there is anything going on, then
consider weaning completely at age 1

I'm 37, will be 38 in November, and we want 2-3 more kids in our ideal
world (we may adopt too). I just don't want to wait much longer. I
decided that I would give her at least 1 yr of BF, and then it depends
on whether or not I can get pg. Charting hasn't really worked - I'm up
3+ times per night, never have more than a 3 hr stretch of sleep
(usually much less) and my morning wake up time is all over the clock,
so there's nothing consistent. I do pay attention to other signs, but
they've been mixed.

I won't start the weaning process til July when she is 1.


- I just don't think she's going to
have sudden personality switch that's going to make her night wean without
completely weaning.

You're more than likely right.....she's showing no signs of slowing
down at night. Lately she's been up much more, but I think she was
teething, as she wanted to nurse but wasn't hungry (she wasn't
swallowing, just sucking).

On Apr 26, 7:49 am, Irrational Number wrote:
cjra wrote:
Does
she _need_ cow's milk during the day?

If you really want to wean, give her formula
instead, not cow's milk. For the first 12 months,
baby needs breastmilk or formula. After that,
she needs a well-balanced diet, in which cow's
milk may or may not need to be a part of.

-- Anita --

I should have been more clear, I won't start weaning until she's 12
months, at that point, what would I give her? She has 2 bottles of EBM
per day now (3 oz each, then she'll often take another 2-3oz on the
car ride home, she nurses all evening long...)

In article .com,
says...
I don't _want_ to wean DD. In my ideal world we'd continue going until
one of us is done. However we've already decided if at one year I'm
not ovulating, to wean as we're very anxious to TTC. At almost 10
months now, DD is still a nursing machine. She nurses regularly 3x/
night (the last few nights more like 6 but I think she's teething). I
can't even imagine weaning her.

1. How do we go about doing it? Slowly? Give her milk during the day
and still wean at night? I'm willing to give it some time, and would
prefer a gradual weaning and see if I ovulate once we cut down. Does
she _need_ cow's milk during the day? Or just another snack? I'd love
to be able to stop pumping. She's eating 3 solids meals per day now,
although no snack, just EBM/nursing.

2. How does one night wean? We co sleep. We do have a crib which she
uses some times, but obviously it's easier to co-sleep, but that
doesn't help the weaning process. Any tips?

Postponing TTC is not an option we want to consider. I'd be happier to
already be pg now! We really want another.


First let me say that some studies have shown that your body is best
recovered to have another baby if you conceiven between 18 and 30
months after your last child. Outcomes are best if the pregnancy is
started in this time frame. That said...

You don't need to wean completely, all you really need to do is kick-
start ovulation. This usually requires a period of 6 hours during the
24 hour window when you are not nursing. I don't think it really
matters whether it is night or day. Once you have gotten ovulation
restarted, it usually doesn't matter that you are still nursing, you
will continue to ovulate.

Good luck,
Larry

"cjra" wrote in message
oups.com...
1. How do we go about doing it? Slowly? Give her milk during the day
and still wean at night? I'm willing to give it some time, and would
prefer a gradual weaning and see if I ovulate once we cut down. Does
she _need_ cow's milk during the day? Or just another snack? I'd love
to be able to stop pumping. She's eating 3 solids meals per day now,
although no snack, just EBM/nursing.

2. How does one night wean? We co sleep. We do have a crib which she
uses some times, but obviously it's easier to co-sleep, but that
doesn't help the weaning process. Any tips?

If you start weaning at 12mos you replace the day milk feeds with snacks &
drinks. Babies need fat, calcium, and vitamin D. I give mine milk and
dairy products to meet those needs. They don't drink a whole lot of milk at
first but they do like yogurt, cheese, pudding, etc.

I think you can stop pumping anytime you want. If she is attached to those
6-8 ounces at daycare then you could continue to pump for that another
couple of months but if you didn't want to I wouldn't worry about it. She
would manage with solids and water or solids and cows milk. Cows milk at
10mos doesn't hurt anything it just shouldn't replace breastmilk/formula.
With all the nursing she's doing I wouldn't consider 6oz to be replacing
anything.

When I night weaned mine I cut down each feeding until they were just a few
minutes long. I then started stretching out the time in the middle of the
night by eliminating feedings until I reached a point that I thought was
reasonable. I did it the same way for the older ones (that co-slept) and
the younger ones that are in their crib. There was more crying with the
younger ones but they were only 10-11mos and they were in the crib. They
do sleep better now then the older ones though.

At 12mos I'm tying to wean the twins to nursing twice a day. They are not
to happy about it.

Good luck and I hope the night weaning brings on ovulation. If you quit
pumping that might help also.

PS: I found nursing while pregnant to be absolutely awful. People do it
but I said never again. Just something to think about.

--
Nikki, mama to
Hunter 4/99
Luke 4/01
Brock 4/06
Ben 4/06

cjra wrote:

I should have been more clear, I won't start weaning until she's 12
months, at that point, what would I give her? She has 2 bottles of EBM
per day now (3 oz each, then she'll often take another 2-3oz on the
car ride home, she nurses all evening long...)

I gave Rocky water and some soy milk. He ate
everything under the sun, so I wasn't really
worried about his nutrition. (Pillbug, on the
other hand, subsisted on his soy pediatric
drink and maybe two foods!)

-- Anita --

On Apr 25, 10:03 pm, cjra wrote:
I don't _want_ to wean DD. In my ideal world we'd continue going until
one of us is done. However we've already decided if at one year I'm
not ovulating, to wean as we're very anxious to TTC. At almost 10
months now, DD is still a nursing machine. She nurses regularly 3x/
night (the last few nights more like 6 but I think she's teething). I
can't even imagine weaning her.

1. How do we go about doing it? Slowly? Give her milk during the day
and still wean at night? I'm willing to give it some time, and would
prefer a gradual weaning and see if I ovulate once we cut down. Does
she _need_ cow's milk during the day? Or just another snack? I'd love
to be able to stop pumping. She's eating 3 solids meals per day now,
although no snack, just EBM/nursing.

2. How does one night wean? We co sleep. We do have a crib which she
uses some times, but obviously it's easier to co-sleep, but that
doesn't help the weaning process. Any tips?

Postponing TTC is not an option we want to consider. I'd be happier to
already be pg now! We really want another.

Normally, you should not wean off the breast milk for the first 12
post natal months. If you want to wean at 10 months, wean her to iron
fortfied infant formula 50/50 a couple of weeks and then 100 % infant
formulas.
Do not give cows's milk before first birthday.