Ready to wean 17 Month old

[TriciaRawks]

So I'm not very active on this site, but I really need some answers. My 17 month old son enjoys breastfeeding time pretty good, will take other drinks sometimes, but still will always come to me and communicate very clearly that he'd like to nurse. Well, I know a lot of you do tandem nursing and nurse while pregnant...etc etc... But for me, I really need to do a major cleanse before we start again.

And, I live in south Texas so...being pregnant during one summer was enough to convince me that I would never EVER be pregnant during another summer here! And it just seems like it keeps getting hotter! Ahhh! 

So my point is, I'd like to wean my son ASAP and its been pretty irregular when we do actually nurse. Nothing is set in stone. He doesn't always nurse before bed, not always during the night, not always a lot throughout the day. That's just how it has played out for us. 

I'd like to start trying to get pregnant in June so that I won't be pregnant all summer long during the last 3-4 months of pregnancy. Anyone have any tips for me?

I once read of a woman who put essential oil of clove on her nipples and told her son that her milk had changed flavor and so he wouldn't like it anymore. I'm afraid if I did that, the oil could irritate my nipples...although the one woman did it, so it probably wasn't too bad.

Also, please don't examine my reasons for wanting to be done, or tell me reasons why I should just continue. I'm ready to be done and to cleanse. I have some major candida that is causing me problems that I really need to get rid of. Thanks ahead of time for your support and any advice you can give me on this path. 

-Trish

[D_McG]

if it's irregular you might not have too many problems. For us it was not predictable but still a LOT. My first step was to cut down the number of time and make them predictable. That way if they asked I could say "remember we only nurse at naptime" (or whatever). Then I cut out those predictable sessions one by one. There was no real magic to it. I was very firm and considered things to be non-negotiable. I comforted/distracted the ensuing tantrums and we adjusted very quickly.

I commend your insight to wean before getting pregnant I overlapped with my son and DD's pregnancy and it was hell. With this pregnancy I didn't even have unprotected sex until I weaned. It was great to have my body to myself for a little while and to be able to enjoy pregnancy without the stress of weaning or worrying that they'd want to nurse again after the birth etc. I don't think DD (now 2.5) remembers at all!

[Llyra]

i weaned my twins at about that same age, for medical reasons. They were also nursing very irregularly. What I did was to establish no-nursing "zones" during the day-- not places, but times when we wouldn't nurse. So I started with no nursing between 10 am and noon. If they asked, during that time, I'd offer other foods or drinks, distractions, extra cuddles, but no nursing. Then in a few days, I moved that to 9 am to 1 pm. And I kept gradually expanding the "window" during which I would not nurse. I did the same with night-weaning-- they were already night weaned when I day-weaned them.


The whole process took about two weeks. It wasn't always easy-- it helped that I lined up lots of fun activities for us to do during those weeks, and DH took a few days off from work, and my mom came to help, and I stocked the house with interesting snacks and new things to play with-- so there was always something neat to do instead of nursing. That helped a lot.

DD2 seemed to forget, almost immediately-- within a month she wasn't asking anymore. DS kept on asking, for a long time afterwards-- he got a lot of comfort from being help close with a sippy of milk, when it got hard for him.

[FarmerBeth]

When I had my third child, I tandem nursed for a bit but just felt like i needled to be done with it and have my own body back.  I had a weaning party for my daughter with a big mug of hot chocolate with whipped cream for her to drink to celebrate, and some close friends congratulating her on her big girl status.  Then she was allowed to have hot chocolate when she asked to nurse (I know, maybe not that healthy, but it worked).  She only asked for the hot chocolate a couple of times and moved on quickly.  We kept up the tradition for the third child when i was ready to wean with good results, too.  A little weird, I know, but I worked.

[TriciaRawks]

Thanks for your suggestions so far. Today my son was asking to nurse and instead I redirected his attention and then offered him a little treat and a drink. He was happy about it and stopped fussing. I think we just have to find what is going to work for us, and hearing your suggestions is great! 

I think what will work is if I take it down to one feeding per day, whenever I'm really full and offer other foods/drinks that he likes. I don't want to go through tantrums or big "I hate you" fits like I've heard of...although I understand thats usually older kiddos right? 

Its kind of funny because I've been trying so hard to get off of sugar and I think the principles I use to wean myself from any sweets are pretty much the same he requires with weaning. (Yeah, I know sugar is not nutritious like breastmilk is...) I think when we feel nourished by other things then we don't look for ______ anymore. That is very much what I have found anyway.