Questions about weaning my 17 month old... Please Help!

[Headmeister]

I've been trying to wean my 17 month old DD because I'm almost 5 months pregnant and my nipples are 10x more sore than they ever were when I started nursing her. Nursing her now actually not only brings me to tears, it has made me openly sob at one point because the pain on one side is just THAT bad.

My DD isn't big on cow's milk but will drink it from time to time... so when she wants to nurse - which for about 4 months I have limited it to night time and first waking in the morning - I've been offering her water cup or just telling her "not right now sweetie". Of course she isn't happy with this, but I simply don't know what to do. I was actually hoping my milk would have just dried up by this point but there's still enough there to make her want to nurse (she isn't huge a comfort nurser, and she will stop once she finds there's nothing left to drink).

I've also been having my husband put her to bed as well, to avoid the nursing before sleep issue. That seems to be going very well but the mornings are still a problem as I'm the one who tends to her first (we cosleep and she's next to me in her crib, side-down).

How do I make this as painless as possible for both of us?

Thanks...

[Headmeister]

Anyone???

[tri31]

I had a very similar experience when I got pregnant in July.
So she is not nursing at night anymore? My husband took over bed time as well. It took about three weeks for my son to wean from that point. I'm pretty sure that was how long it took my milk supply to drop off. I know what you mean about the pain. Good Luck

[cchrissyy]

I think the advice is that what you're doing sounds about right, but these transitions are hard. sigh.

[annettemarie]

I'm going to bump this over to Breastfeeding Beyond Infancy. We have a few weaning threads over there that might help, and I think you'll get more answers.

[Baby_Cakes]

You're doing kind of what I'm doing w/my 17 mo, and I'm not even pg! Though I don't have any pain, I'm just getting ready to be done.

DD has pretty much forgotten about the am nursing. But if she asks, I give her a cup w/soymilk and tell her that she can have nursies if she wants when she's done. Usually she's on to something else by then.

I still nurse for nap and bed, but at this point, that's fine w/me. For you -- I would keep having your DH put her down. As long as that's going ok keep it up.

It's a tough transition, no matter how gentle we try to be. Just be consistent. If you really want to be done, you just have to be firm and stick to your guns. You've done a GREAT job nursing your LO for this long. Be proud of that!