how can I stop nursing my 23 month old?

amother

Fri, Oct 08 2010, 2:07 pm

at this point I'm ready to stop nursing, however my son is totally not! I've cut it down to twice a day, and am trying to stop but in the morning it's like his "coffee" he's all groggy and moody till he nurses, and at night he just doesn't want to go to sleep till I nurse him.... help!
any ideas or advice???

granolamom

Sat, Oct 09 2010, 7:07 pm

having weaned four kids older than two, I can tell you what worked for us
once down to just two feedings like you are, especially the wakeup and bedtime, change routines. for instance, instead of taking him into your bed first thing when he wakes, take him into the livingroom, cuddle on the sofa and read. or take him into the kitchen and let him 'help' prepare breakfast, whatever works best for his personality (some kids need the cuddles, others do better with distraction). I'd tell him the day before that the routine will change and play it out a few times with dolls or even with him. chances are, he will still put up a fuss the first few days but eventually, if you stay firm, loving and consistent, he will get with the program. and I wouldn't recommend changing both routines at the same time.
for the bedtime one, what we do, is my dh takes over bedtime. but I'm lucky that dh can arrange to be home for bedtime, at least for a couple of weeks. then I can go back to doing it dh's way and its not been a problem.
hatzlocho!

animeme

Sat, Oct 09 2010, 7:21 pm

I once had to force my 15 month old off cold, down from four feedings a day to none. So crazy hard, for both of us.

Like granolamom said, if possible, have your husband be with him at those times- it breaks it up even more, an d he's not looking at you. Also, you're not looking at your kid and making more and more milk. Also, make sure your husband cuddles him a lot. He'll need the comfort, but from you it may cause confusion.

The crankiness in the AM eventually fades. Bedtime is harder, but we just enforce it the same way we would with a four-year-old who keeps asking for water.

Mama Bear

Sat, Oct 09 2010, 7:34 pm

I gave my child warm chocolate milk instead of nursing a few times and cuddled with him in my bed, and that did it. in 3 days he stopped rooting. (he was 23 months too)