can a 9 months wean themself?

745 Views 8 Replies 9 Participants Last post by elanorh, Mar 24, 2007

polishprinsezz

Discussion Starter · Mar 19, 2007

i'm sure i messed up some how and i dont want to make the same mistake again. when my 7 yr old was 9 mo. she quit taking the breast all together.

: i have a 7 mo. old now and dont want that to happen again. baby does have better nursing habits. i waited til 6 mo to give solids. he still nurses the same. my dd had solids at 5 mo. and kind of lost interest in nursing after that. i have better hopes this time. also now people are starting to ask how long i am planning to bf. its going great still so i dont plan to quit anytime soon. i just wished bf'ng my dd would have been more successful.

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tamagotchi

· #2 · Mar 19, 2007

A 9 month old baby isn't ready to wean themselves. Consider it to be a "nursing strike." It can turn into weaning if you don't help baby get back to the breast, though. Here's a link from Kellymom:

Help -- My Baby Won't Nurse!
http://www.kellymom.com/bf/concerns/...to-breast.html

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mommy2two babes

· #3 · Mar 21, 2007

I think most babies around 6 mos become somewhat distracted by the world around them and temporarily lose interest in nursing because they are more interested in what is going on in the room.Sometimes it helps to take them into a dark room with no distractions when it is time to eat. This does pass, my 28 month old DD couldn't care less what is going on in the room when she is nursing now

HTH
Krista

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misseks

· #4 · Mar 22, 2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by mommy2two babes

HTH
Krista

Yes. I found this very confusing with dd1 I thought she didn't want me, or was kind of teasing me (I guess all related to ppd) and so I gave a bottle and then she much prefered that b/c it was easier and she could move her head around and then also crawl around with a bottle. I feel bad that I didn't know any better.

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alegna

· #5 · Mar 22, 2007

Nope. Way too early to self wean. Humans need to nurse until around 2. So, it's possible an 18mo old could self wean, but I don't really believe it before then. I would consider it a nursing strike.

To avoid:

no other sucking- no bottles, sippy cups, pacifiers
no other milk
no spoon feeding- allow baby to self feed solids.

good luck!

-Angela

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DQMama

· #6 · Mar 22, 2007

I'd also like to add, I'd nurse before giving solids, which is contrary to popular advice.

It is also not well known out there that BM is higher in calories than most foods (INCLUDING cow's milk--sorry, ped vent). So that way even if your baby doesn't eat much of the solid meal, you know he's had enough to eat since he just nursed.

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jmcqabigler

· #7 · Mar 23, 2007

if you are worried about it just go slow with solids and keep an eye out for situations where a nursing strike could happen they are commen during stressful situations and where the routine is altered Holidays, trips etc.

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Mama Meesh

· #8 · Mar 24, 2007

agree with others - sounds like a nursing strike - hang in there!

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elanorh

· #9 · Mar 24, 2007

Also in terms of solids, IIRC the recommendation is that by 12 months, about 25% of baby's intake should be solids -- which means that even at 12 months, the vast majority of baby's intake should be breastmilk. I think the best way to think of it is that before a year of age, foods are to explore textures and tastes and they're pretty much "extras," but breastmilk is the Main Food.

So, as a pp said - nurse before giving solids, and don't tank baby up on solids (since they are lower in nutrients and lower in calories than breastmilk, anyway). A lot of the conventional wisdom about what babies should be doing in re: eating in the USA, is based on the old paradigm of formula-fed infants (from back when the formulas didn't have vitamins or anything added and nutrition was really, really lacking in ff'd babies - so it was all about getting babies onto solids as quickly as they could, to save money and to get more nutrients into the baby).

Don't feel bad about the past. It sounds like you've researched and are learning more - so you can apply it now. And your 7 year old will see you confidently and comfortably nursing her baby brother past 9 months, and know that it's normal and possible.

My mom bf'd all 7 of us. I weaned at 10 months (nursing strike/Mom was 4 months pregnant) - everyone else nursed 'til 15ish months. Mom tanked us up on solids per the doctors' advice and introduced cow's milk at meal times at 8 months (again, per the doctors' advice). She didn't know any better, she did the best she could with what she knew back then (70's), and truly - she nursed far, far longer than most women of her generation.

. It's all a learning curve.

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