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Weaning a 12 Month Old-- Update

March 23, 2007

We've made a lot of progress here. It's been almost two weeks since I started weaning The Bear. First, we dropped the 11:00 am feeding. I did that for a whole week, substituting sippy cups of formula. Then we dropped the afternoon nibbling-- 2:30 and 4:00 ish. It's been a week now of no breastfeeding during the day time, and so far so good.

We're still getting up around 4:45/5:00 a.m., for a 20 minute snack, but then he goes right back to sleep until his roommate starts making noise around 7:00. "Dad, Dad, Come in Dad...Dad, Dad..."

At The Bear's 12 month check-up the pediatrician said he can have whole milk now, instead of formula. I'm excited about that. That formula smells funky and man, it's expensive.

I'm not sure how long I'll hang onto the early morning nursing sessions. It's a sweet, quiet time of the day for the two of us. Of course I'm delirious, and quite honestly, I'd rather be asleep, but I may not be ready to give it up yet. He, however, might be fine.

So how have I been weaning? Basically I've been trying to do it gradually, dropping one feeding at a time. I've substituted a cup at the times he would have fed, and if he won't take it, I don't force it on him. I avoid sitting in the spots where we used to nurse (the rocking chair and sofa). I've tried to distract him if he seems annoyed, going for walks or doing other activities. I've also had other people (my husband, my mom and a babysitter) give him the cup.

If you're looking for information about weaning, check out Kelly Mom and Dr. Sears.