How to make 18 month old baby wean from the breast and take whole milk?

Question

My 18 month old has become very demanding for breast milk. She does not drink whole milk so I have continued to feed her for so long. But now I want to quit breast feeding...I think I am not making enough of it as she is not satisfied and gets up 2-3 times in the night. It is very frustrating and tiring. Please help me!

Answer 1

Pray for the answer to come to you from a higher source.

Answer 2

You will basically need to decide how important this is to you.  If it's vital that you get baby weaned ASAP, you can just stop offering the breast (and refuse when she wants to nurse), and baby will be weaned in a few days.  Of course you will both be utterly miserable for a while too.  

If you don't have to wean immediately, then go as slowly as you feel able.  When she wants to nurse, let her nurse.  But don't offer.  And if there are times when she commonly wants to nurse, try offering other activities a few minutes before she's likely to ask. (Offer a snack, or play a game or have her spend time with daddy.)  At night, if she wakes, have daddy go to her and offer a cup of water, or just comfort her.  If she demands the breast, then nurse.  

But, as time goes on she will gradually reduce her nursing.  You may find that at some point she's at a level where you no longer feel it's pressing to complete the process, and you can continue those few nursing sessions for as long as you and baby wish.   (Allowed to self wean, most toddlers do it between 2 and 3 years.)  Or you may choose to continue the process until she's weaned. Or once you get to a certain point your supply may drop to where baby is no longer interested ... and weaned is completed.

As for whole milk -- she doesn't need it.  If she likes milk, it's a good, healthy food. But there is no single food that she HAS to eat/drink, so if she doesn't want milk, she doesn't have to.  She can get calcium from other sources (solid dairy, veggies ... even vitamins), and drink water and healthy juices. (Be sure to offer her a good range of solids.  If she's nursing so often because she's hungry/thirsty, offering more solids and other fluids may satisfy those needs.)

Answer 3

Try applying neem leaf juice in your nipples.

or

Divert her concentration. And feed her stomach full before she goes to sleep.

Answer 4

You will have a rough few days, and possibly even your baby not eating for a little while, but believe me that a baby will not hurt themselves in this process!

Put some lemon or something similarly bitter on your nipples. Your baby will quickly get grossed out. There will be crying and screaming for a while, but eventually your baby will get hungry and will just take the bottle - of whatever you give her.

Be patient and stick to your guns :)

Answer 5

I started by mixing pumped milk with Rice Milk. Then I added more and more of the rice milk until that's all the drank.  My kids took to it very easily.  Just make sure the nipple on the bottle is as close to the real thing as you can find.  I used the Playtex bottles with the drop in liner and the Dr. Brown's bottles with the wide nipple.

You may also want to introduce solid foods if you haven't already to make sure she is satisfied and getting enough nutrition.  

Rice is easier for the body to digest than cow's milk and other grains.  It's a good start.  My 4 yr old won't drink cow's milk to this day - which is great because it's not that good for you anyway.  I make my own rice milk for them.  It's easy, cheaper and more nutritious for them.

Hope this helps.

Answer 6

Reduce the frequency of breast feeding gradually, b'coz you can't make her to wean at a single go.

Try to feed whole milk whenever she asks for breast feeding.

Also you can try by applying bitterness to your nipple so that she'll reject to suck.

Try to keep her busy in play & move away from her.

You can keep a milk bottle within playing things & she may drink it while playing, but you have to show her.

pkn

Answer 7

Does your baby take a bottle? if so, can you pump/express some milk and slowly mix your breast milk with regular milk? I did this (although earlier )and it worked like a charm. Started off with 10% whole milk 90% breast milk and went from there.  She didn't even seem to notice a difference.

Also babies that are 18 months don't need to eat in the night anymore, its just a comfort thing.  I feel your pain though, getting up in the night sucks.

Answer 8

I agree with hypno. You just have to not make your breast available anymore. Good Luck!

Edit:   I also agree with PIPPIN. That's basically how it ended up working when I weaned my son. even though I definitely tried going cold turkey.

Answer 9

18 months is more than old enough to drink  whole milk.  If you provide the breast every time she cries, you're just reinforcing her belief that crying gets her things.

If nothing else is available, she will cry, but she will drink the whole milk.

Stand firm.