Hi ladies. I'm posting this everywhere-- I am a working mother of two with an 8 month old little man. I want my breast back! I stayed home with the 1st kid and she weaned herself off; that was almost 8 years ago. What are some suggestions for cutting a baby off without traumatizing him?

I did it on a Friday night, by Sunday night he was weaned. I did it cold turkey. At night when he woke up I just kept offering him his bottle and rocked and sang to him while holding him really close to me, but not on my skin. After about 15 minutes of crying and screaming (which seemed like f o r e v e r) he would take his bottle. That Saturaday night he cried about half the time, I did the same thing. By Sunday night he just took his bottle. After this weekend, a few times, he would turn his head to nurse and I would offer the bottle and he took it without any problems.

My son was used to taking his bottle during the day already so this helped. It wasn't like he went from nursing 24 hours a day to a bottle. So maybe you can wean him off in stages? You may have heard of nipple confusion, but my son never confused the two. HTH...just wanted to add he wasn't phased after that first weekend...no traumatizing...just be gentle and reassuring. If you pump then make sure you have breast milk in the bottle that's warm...at least that will be familiar.

At 8 months old he is still very much a baby and needs the protection that only mama's milk can offer. My advice would be to wait until he turns one that way when you start to wean him you can offer him other things such as a sippy of warm milk or a snack instead of milk. It might take a while but it is worth it to have him nursing for as long as possible. This is something only you can give him and it won't be for much longer.
I've nursed all 4 of my kids and in my opinon that time goes by so fast. For now enjoy the long snuggles, the milk induced cat naps and mommy love. Before you know it he'll be a BIG boy and you'll be looking back at these days with very fond memories. Remember nursing is about so much more than just milk. Enjoy your baby.

What i did was start pumping more. Then i started mixing my breast milk with formula. After that I went cold turkey and just started giving him formula. It's different for everyone though. I've heard of some women feeding less breastmilk each day. Just start feeding him breastmilk from a bottle so he can get used to that first then switch to formula.

Thanks for the suggestions ladies. I'm working on stopping, but I'm still unsure if I want to stop pumping completely. The pediatrician suggested mixing formula into the breast milk to give him more vitamins. I work full time and it is getting hard to maintain everything.

My son weaned at 1. He was used to the bottle because he got BM bottles while I was at work. I began by reducing his breast feedings to morning when he woke and to go to sleep at night. I did that for a few weeks then I began missing days beging with one day and moving up. Once he got used to having the bottle more he refused the breast and would just play with them. Breast grassing is a serious labor of love but well worth it. My son is the picture of good health and brilliant too.

...also he never took to the formula so I had to come up with other measures. Home made coconut milk (labor intensive) and what I called his rice smoothie which was rice cereal and puréed fruit. I also started feeding him soft foods around 9 mos so he was eating good by 1.

I nursed for 18 months and would have gone longer had I not had surgery. I only nursed her for her comfort, going to sleep etc. but it was cold turkey and she was angry with me but after 4 days she was good. The part I hated was the milk drying out! So painful

My baby is 8 months also but I am not weaning yet. I love breastfeeding and so does she lol. I will probably be doing it beyond my 1yr goal. Sorry u have to wean. It is hard to maintain a full time job and breastfeed. I work part time 12 hr shifts and pump at least 3-4 times at work bc my baby loves mommys milk so I gotta keep my supply up. Don't like pumping but I'll do anything for that little girl.

Anyway I suggest u check out this website: kellymom.com
It's a great site dedicated to all things breastfeeding and has great info on it, including weaning bc as much as we'd like to, we can't breastfeed forever. HTH and good luck mama.

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Girl I feel you lol. I breast fed my LO for 5 months and one day woke up and said I cant do it anymore. We did it cold turkey. She took to the bottle right away. You should try to cut out one feeding and replace it with a bottle. When you feel that you and baby are ready cut out another,and so on. On occasion if she is being really fussy, she will sooth with the breast. With whatever decision you make, stay encouraged.
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