Poll Results: Weaning from Breast

 

Our latest poll discusses weaning from breast. You can find original answers here–some were also answered on Facebook.

 

1. What age did your baby wean from the breast?
2 Months: 2
3 Months: 1
4 Months: 1
6 Months: 1
11 Months: 4
12 Months: 10
13 Months: 5
14 Months: 5
15 Months: 2
16 Months: 3
18 Months: 2
22 Months: 1
24 Months: 1
26 Months: 1

2. Did you initiate weaning or did baby?
Mom: 32

Baby: 4

Mom and baby: 3

3. Why did you wean?
Met my goal: 17

Child not interested/stopped: 5
Was Pregnant: 5
Wanted to Get Pregnant: 3
Child biting me: 2

Mission Trip: 1
Not confident breastfeeder: 1
Worried about growth: 1
Postpartum Depression: 1
Just happened: 1
Lip/Tongue Tie: 1
Persistent Yeast: 1

Supply low: 1

4. Did you experience any engorgement?
No: 25
A little: 8

Yes: 6

5. Did you notice any enhanced emotional states? (sad, weepy, etc.)
No: 25

Yes: 14

6. What method/process did you use to wean? (cold turkey, dropping one at a time, etc.)
Dropped one at a time: 32
Cold Turkey: 5

“Don’t offer/don’t refuse: 1
One at a time, then cold turkey: 1
Baby Led: 1

7. How did your baby handle the weaning? 
Just great!: 31
A little fussy/sad: 8

8. Any advice or words of wisdom?
Amanda said: ” Go as long as you can. I would have kept going if I had the supply [stopped at 14 months]. Also if you’re trying to wean the bedtime nursing, have someone else put baby to bed for a week or so until baby realizes they won’t get it anymore.”

Rachel said: “Highly advise dropping one feeding at a time. It was much easier, I think, than going cold turkey… both for baby and for myself.” Give extra cuddles if fussy.

Naomi said: “Pregnancy was a great time to wean because I didn’t have to deal with the engorgement. The downside was she clearly remembered nursing and was very jealous of her brother nursing when he was born (I decided not to tandem nurse but you could avoid the jealousy that way).”

Sally said: “Everyone tells me it’s easier when the baby decides to stop feeding although I felt emotional!”

Katie said: “Follow your gut. If you want to nurse longer, do it!”

Jessie said: ” Do it slowly so your body will adjust and feel free to adjust your time line as needed to accommodate vacation, illness, etc.”

Ariana said: “Substituting other bonding activities (snuggling, book reading, talking together) helped both of us not miss it.”

bamathews2 said: “For his morning nursing session, I would always bring him to my bed and we would snuggle and play afterwards. So for a few weeks after weaning, I would make his sippy of cow’s milk and still bring him to my bed to drink it, so that we still had that special time together.”

Margaret said: “Don’t feel guilty for stopping when it works for you and baby. You’ll miss it, but snuggles can make up for it and you can still feel close to baby.”

Heather said: “Do what’s best for you and your baby not what you feel is expected of you or what others think is best. Before quitting because of difficulties see an LC, check for tongue tie, lip tie, do weighted feeds, etc to see if there’s some troubleshooting that can be done.”

Alena said: “Babywise is helpful in this, as usual!”

April said: “A gentle wean worked very well for us.”

Jess said: “switching from bf to formula feeding when you wanted to bf can make you feel like a failure. IT IS NOT A FAILURE. Much better to be happy feeding your baby what he needs than constantly being worried and stressed and never enjoying those moments when you are “stuck” nursing.”

Ashley said: “Enjoy it! It is so much hard work, but it is precious beyond words. Don’t stress if baby or you wants to wean. Breastfeeding is a great source of nourishment for your baby, but if you aren’t able to or baby isn’t interested, you’re not a failure. smile emoticon Give yourself grace and realize you’re a great mom whether you breastfeed for 12 months or 12 days.”

Jolene said: “If at all possible, go slow! Easier on both of you.”

Lydia said: “I definitely would recommend a gentle wean. Going cold turkey was not easy for me at all.”

Janalin said: ” I do think having a spouse as an active participant is really helpful. He can distract baby much easier than mom can.”

Stacy said: “Unless you have a need to quit immediately/cold turkey, dropping one feeding a week or even moving slower than that will make the process more acceptable for your body and baby.”

Katie said: “Don’t be afraid to ask for help, look for signs of tongue ties/upper lip ties, formula is NOT poison (even though I have had someone tell me that). Feeding your baby by breast or bottle makes you an awesome mom because you are feeding your baby and taking care of him/her.”

Nicky said:”Don’t feel pressured to wean until you (and your baby) are ready. I had a lot of pressure from my family to wean him well before his second birthday. We were just not ready. But, I am glad that we picked our timing, and when worked for us. We are still close, and have an amazing bond. I still rock with him several times a day … instead of mama’s milk, he asks for rocky-rockies.”

 

 

 

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