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How to wean my 8 month old from breastfeeding?
Hey everyone, I am a first time mom and need advice on how to do this or what to do. Any opinions let me know. My daughter is 8 months old and is getting a couple of teeth and it really hurts to breastfeed. I wanted to breastfeed until she was about a year, but it just hurts so bad. What should I do? How do I wean her off and how do I dry up my milk?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Dami Dayton on -
My son got teeth early (4 months) and continues to cut new teeth all the time. It was uncomfortable for me too but I went back to the basics of nursing and realized his latch was lazy and since then we've been fine. Nursing your daughter for a year is a great goal and this is just a speed bump in the road :) If you have your heart set on weaning, the "don't offer, don't refuse" method works good. It would be a gradual decline and at her age she is probably pretty distracted and this will make weaning easier. Good Luck :)
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Permalink Reply by lkarr1125@yahoo.com on
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Don't let her bite your breast. Everytime she does pull it out of her mouth. She needs to learn to only nurse the breast not bite it. It's not a teether. Try to keep breasstfeeding if possible doing it at least 1 year is great for your baby!
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Permalink Reply by Rebekah on -
When my daughter tried to bite, I will either gently flick her cheek, remove the nipple (if her teeth aren't clamped around it - that's when the flicking comes in...) and usually a startled shout or "NO!" makes her stop. Then when she realizes that the nipple is gone, she gets upset, and I tell her "No biting!" She generally stops at that point. :P No fun, for sure, but the benefits in the end are well worth it. I was aiming for her first birthday, but after that, we just kept right on breastfeeding. We'll keep going until she is ready to quit. Two of my other three weaned themselves by 18 months. I quit nursing my second child at 6 months, and have regretted it ever since, so my next two nursed as long as they could. I wasn't too sure about the nursing toddler idea, but so far, they have weaned themselves before that stage.
As for drying up the milk, just use pressure, cool packs, etc, and the fullness will eventually go away.
Good luck!
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Permalink Reply by Neely on
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First off...great job for breastfeeding her this long. Breastfeeding is really hard...if it wasn't...then everyone would do it! Talk to a breastfeeding consultant...most hospitals have them and a number that you can call. There are some things that you can try if your heart is not set yet on stopping. If she does bite you then push her head in towards your breast and kind of smother her nose so that she will have to breath out of her mouth therefor letting go. Your instinct is to pull her away...which will only cause her to latch on more. My kiddo not only got teeth but also just sucked too hard when he got about this age...I hated to stop but had no choice after getting mastitis twice in about 2 weeks...running a 103 fever really didnt make me a good mom! About stopping...no there is not enough info on this topic...there are two ways to stop...just stop and deal with the pain or drop one feeding every 5-7 days. From my own experience...I wanted to just drop one feeding...then I was like...well it doesnt feel that bad...so I'll just go to bed...then when I awoke at 2 in the morning and tried to pump...it was over...and I had to just deal with the pain. It sucked...but it was worth it to have my body back and not be sick anymore. It was really hard emotionally for me to stop but I give myself a lot of credit for going 10 months. And just a note about formula...store brand is okay...and from target is about half the price! Good luck which ever you decide...you are a great mom I am sure!
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Permalink Reply by Freedom L Sutcliffe on -
I'm not trying to make you change your mind by any means if you have decided to wean. But here are a few things I did when my sone started cutting teeth (at 6 mos).
Like others said, when he bit, I broke his suckle and said very calmly, "no biting", or "I don't like it when you bite". After a while, he caught on. Yes, the biting does hurt, but to me, it was worth the pain. I endured a lot while bf'ing and it was a hard thing to do when EVERYONE (except my mom) wanted me to use formula. I wasn't about to stop for something he couldn't help.
And if you are dead set on weaning, the don't offer, don't refuse does work really well. It was hard for me because I wasn't ready to wean but I had to deploy with the US Army.
I don't know how to dry up milk because the things I tried didn't work. I only dried up the day after I left and he wasn't around...
You've done a great job bf'ing so far. We are all proud of you, whatever you decide!
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Permalink Reply by Heather B on
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My son bit me a few times when he started getting teeth, and I also think when he was nursing, it did feel a little bit different at first, but that subsided (not terrible pain but I could feel his teeth gently rubbing). When he did bite me, I pulled away, and firmly said "No biting- that hurts mommy!", then I'd try again, and if he bit again, I'd pull away again and say the same thing and end the nursing session. I found after a while, he'd usually only bite if he was pretty much done eating and was sort of just playing. He's now 11 months old and nursing great and hasn't bitten me in a few months. I was quite nervous about how teeth would affect nursing, but it turned out fine. Obviously, if she continues to hurt you after a few weeks (or whatever time you choose), then do what you need to do and don't look back. Your baby will be just fine, so don't feel bad about whatever decision you make! Good luck!
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Permalink Reply by MamaB on
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Like the other moms said, if she bites then take her off and after a few times she'll get the picture. Also, if she's truly eating she can't bite. So it's at the end when she's just playing around that she'll start to bite. So be vigilant when the sucking starts to slow down and take her off before she has time to play. I'm sure you know the signs for when she's done eating. The bottom teeth don't really matter because her tongue covers those when she's eating. It's the top teeth that suck. I discovered my little one was getting her top teeth before we could see them because they are sharp little suckers and she was "sawing" thru my nipple when she ate. Of course she had no idea what she was doing and it took me a few days before I realized what the pain was. Once you both get the hang of her having teeth it gets better- I promise. I did a full year with my oldest and plan to do the same for my youngest too.
If you do decide to wean her, it will take a few weeks to do- unless you go cold turkey which literally hurts. Substitute a feeding with a bottle of formula and do that for about a week for each feeding. Save the feedings that you or she will have the hardest time letting go of- usually right before bed for last. I did this method with my oldest and did a full week for each feeding to give my body time to adjust. I did get a few blocked ducts so be prepared, but it's much easier for everyone than cold turkey.
Good luck!
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Permalink Reply by Chelsye Bacon on -
Thanks everyone, I breastfed till she was 19 months, well she is 19 months right now, having trouble weaning her. I actually had her weaned for a month. My milk never dried up and now shes really needy about wanting it again for some reason.
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