11.5 months and weening?

[yogamama28]

My dd is 11+ months now. She started crawling (finally) 2 weeks ago and has really started taking off in the last week. At the same time that she really took off crawling she's started to refuse to nurse. She pops off and crawls away. She would rather starve than have to stop playing to nurse. I've pumped her milk the last day and a half and she happily gulps pumped milk in her sippy and then goes back to playing. She's so much happier drinking pumped milk out of a sippy instead of nursing. I'm tempted to just let her ween and keep giving her pumped milk until 12 mo and then mixing my stored frozen bm with whole milk after 12 mo. It seems silly to force her to nurse when she is so happy to take her sippy. Any advice? I work full time and planned to stop pumping after a year anyways, if that matters. I'm just feeling guilty about the whole thing...

[tibeca]

Babies don't self wean before 18 mo to 2 years. They do go through spurts of nursing less because they are "busy". If you want to wean, now is a good time to do it as she likely won't miss it. Otherwise, keep offering to nurse. I personally wouldn't offer bottles of pumped milk if you don't want to wean. Just offer, offer, offer. Toddlers are VERY efficient nursers and can get all the need in only a minute or two.

[The Fancy Pansy]

My oldest self weaned at fourteen months. If you don't mind pumping and giving a sippy, and it's saving you a fight, I'd say go for it.

[yogamama28]

Originally Posted by The Fancy Pansy My oldest self weaned at fourteen months. If you don't mind pumping and giving a sippy, and it's saving you a fight, I'd say go for it.

I guess I just feel like now is a good opportunity to ween her without the stress of feeling like I am withholding something that she wants. I have loved nursing my daughter... It's been such a special, bonding experience for us. For the last week it has been such a struggle... She is pushing off of me, screaming hysterically, etc. I feel like if I continue to nurse her, it's for my benefit, not hers. Regardless I'll keep getting her the breast milk. Seems less stressful to give her a sippy and let her be done nursing as crazy sad as it makes me.

[cdeweese]

Why are you feeling guilty? My goal was to nurse for at least 12 months. But when he started exhorting this behavior around 10 1/2 months, I let him have the sippy. I didn't see it as a huge deal and he had already dropped down to 2 feedings a day. It's not going to hurt her either way

[yogamama28]

Originally Posted by cdeweese Why are you feeling guilty? My goal was to nurse for at least 12 months. But when he started exhorting this behavior around 10 1/2 months, I let him have the sippy. I didn't see it as a huge deal and he had already dropped down to 2 feedings a day. It's not going to hurt her either way

Thanks.

[madebymommy]

I went through the same thing with my youngest, she started self-weaning at around 11 months when she became mobile. She just totally lost interest and my boobs began drying up almost immediately, so I kept offering and she kept refusing. So I pumped what I could and like you said, mixed it with whole milk in her sippy and she was perfectly content.

[GotAllBoys]

Thanks for this thread mamas. My 11 mo old has started refusing to nurse and will cry and push away. He likes his sippy's but isn't efficient at drinking from it yet. The strike started when he had 102 fever so i wanted to push fluids and so I gave him a bottle with a fast flow nipple... BIG MISTAKE. Now he only wants bottles. I don't know what to do! I'm so frustrated.