Your family doctor or general practitioner can help you with your concerns about weaning. You may be referred to another health professional, such as a pediatrician or lactation consultant. A routine checkup is a good time to ask questions about weaning. During this checkup, your baby's doctor or a public health nurse will:. This information does not replace the advice of a doctor. Healthwise, Incorporated disclaims any warranty or liability for your use of this information.
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Top of the page. Topic Overview What is weaning? Weaning is the term used to describe the process of switching a baby from: Breastfeeding to bottle-feeding.
Breast- or bottle-feeding to a cup. Breast- or bottle-feeding to solid foods. When is the best time to wean? What is the best way to wean a baby? How do you meet your baby's nutrition needs while weaning? Canadian experts recommend the following: footnote 1 Give only breast milk for the first 6 months and continue breastfeeding for up to two years and beyond. Begin to introduce iron-rich solid foods at 6 months of age to complement the breast milk or formula.
When your baby is 9 to 12 months old and eating a variety of iron-rich foods, he or she can start to drink pasteurized whole-fat cow's milk. Limit cow's milk to no more than 3 cups mL per day for children 9 to 24 months old.
If you are not breastfeeding and do not want to give your child cow's milk, give your child soy infant formula until your child is 2 years of age.
After age 2, you can serve low-fat milk or fortified alternatives. It is best not to give your baby these beverages, until he or she is 2 years of age. What if your baby does not want to be weaned? What Is Expected Weaning is usually a gradual process. Weaning from breastfeeding Start by replacing one daily breast milk feeding with food or other fluids. The following tips may help you wean: Slowly reduce the number of times you breastfeed each day.
Replace a breastfeeding with a cup- or bottle-feeding during one of your daily feeding times. Stay with that routine for a week. Then the next week, choose an additional time of day to replace or shorten your regular breastfeeding time. Each week, choose one more breastfeeding time to replace or shorten. Offer the cup or bottle before each breastfeeding. Some babies may not accept a bottle or cup until they have nursed.
If you breastfeed before bedtime or a nap, lay your baby down before he or she is asleep. Help your baby learn to fall asleep without the aid of breastfeeding. A new bedtime ritual can help. Hold and cuddle your baby to make up for the loss of skin contact during breastfeeding. If a baby asks for more breastfeedings, make them up through touching and holding. Weaning from bottle-feeding Your bottle-fed baby should continue to get nutrition largely from formula until he or she is at least 9 months old.
Get rid of one bottle-feeding every 5 to 7 days. Give your baby extra hugs and comfort during this change. Give a bottle only when your baby is being held in your arms. Do not allow your baby to crawl, walk around, or go to bed with the bottle. Doing so turns the bottle into a comfort item, may hinder two-handed development, and can lead to dental cavities. Offer the cup first, then the bottle.
Put a little more liquid in the cup and a little less liquid in the bottle each time. Put liquids your child likes in the cup, and put liquids your child does not like as much in the bottle. Later, put only water in the bottle, and put juice, iron-fortified formula, or milk if the baby is 9 to 12 months of age in the cup.
Juice is not recommended for babies 0 to 6 months. Start a new bedtime ritual. Read a story and then give the bottle while you rock your baby. At each bedtime, slowly decrease the time your child drinks from the bottle, and continue reading a story. Eventually replace the bottle with a comfort item, such as a favourite stuffed toy or blanket.
Provide other sources of calcium , such as yogurt or cheese, if your baby is not drinking at least 2 cups mL of formula from a cup each day. Your baby needs calcium every day for growth. Common concerns I'm pregnant. Should I stop breastfeeding my first child? No, you can continue to breastfeed your first child while you are pregnant.
But talk to your doctor about your nutritional needs and other issues you should be aware of. For more information, see the topic Breastfeeding. I want to become pregnant. Should I wean my child? You can continue to breastfeed, but breastfeeding may make it harder to become pregnant. When I wean, should I be concerned about my baby's teeth? Be sure to give your baby adequate nutrition to build healthy teeth. And as you wean your baby from the breast or the bottle, limit sugary liquids, especially at bedtime.
This can cause dental cavities. Don't put your baby to bed with a bottle. And after 12 months of age, stop night breastfeedings. For more information, see the topic Teething. You can continue breastfeeding for as long as you both want. At this stage of weaning, your baby may be down to about 3 milk feeds a day.
If you're breastfeeding, your baby will adapt their feeds according to how much food they're having. If your baby has first infant formula, they may need around ml per day, but just use this as a guide. Our breastfeeding section has advice on breastfeeding when you go back to work.
Get tips and advice on your baby's development, parenting and more sent to your inbox. Subscribe to Start4Life pregnancy, baby and toddler emails Drinks? Your baby should be using their cup with more confidence now, helping themselves to sips of water as and when they need it. Sweet drinks like squash, fizzy drinks, milkshakes and fruit juice can have lots of sugar so avoid these to help prevent tooth decay — even baby and toddler drinks can be sugary.
Get personalised emails for trusted NHS advice, videos and tips on your pregnancy week by week, birth and parenthood. Back to What to feed your baby. Home Weaning What to feed your baby 10 - 12 months. Weaning Getting ready Ready or not? What to feed your baby Recipes and meal ideas Safe weaning. Share this page Facebook Pinterest Twitter Whatsapp. What to feed your baby. Baby's age. Veggies include: broccoli parsnips peppers peas cauliflower swede spinach green beans courgette asparagus kale carrots avocado butternut squash cabbage.
He wakes numerous times through out the night just to pacify himself on me. Have you found anything that is working for you yet? Hey Lacey, So sorry you are having difficulties. Have you tried having someone else put him to bed? There are some other tips in the article, but being consistent is very helpful!
Hello, You can reach us by email at hello yourkidstable. Alisha is an occupational therapist! Thanks, Desiree. Hey Salina, Just let us now what your specific questions are.
One question I have, I wonder if you can help me please. Not your every day situation but my little boy is 16months old. However he feeds 4 times a day. Once when he wakes up, before his morning nap, before his afternoon nap and before bed. The problem with that last 3 is I feed him to sleep. Always have done. We had some tricky situations when he was younger and this always helped. We co sleep with him too.
He just keeps trying to lift my top up. Would appreciate any help you can give. Thank you in advance. Hey Jasmine, Thanks for reaching out! We understand how hard this situation is. Getting into a habit of that, and he will decrease that connection of looking for you for sleeping! Omg I could have written this exact message! Car and pram are easy for naps but in the house the only way she would sleep without boob is if my partner rocks her.
Hi, thank you for this insightful post! It has made it very difficult to wean her and she is not easily distracted when I try. Do you have any recommendations or tips? Hey Michelle, So sorry you are dealing with this, we know how hard it can be! Hi Thank you for this wonderful article. I am trying to stop my one year old from breastfeeding.
She has never taken any bottles. Takes breastmilk before her nap and nighttime sleep or of she wakes up in the middle of the night. So far the nighttime breastfeed before sleeping time has worked smoothly. Biggest problem is she is waking up after 8 hours of sleep. Around 5 am. What can I do? Should I keep breastfeeding at that time when she wakes up? Or let her cry out? Hey Thanks for reaching out! So glad you are having some success!
For the waking up at 5am, it could be for comfort. My baby is 1year 4mnth n i have wean her n she eat normal food very well but one thing that is disturbing me is dat she use to be a chubby baby before but now dat I have wean her I just notice she is losing weight wat could be d cause. Hey, Thanks for reaching out. Most kids once they become mobile are burning more calories as well.
He never took a bottle which was quite challenging and is a HUGE fan of breastfeeding. We have offered him a cup since 6 months old and he is still not getting the hang of it. I decided that I would like to stop breastfeeding to give myself time before we start trying for baby 3.
I started the weaning process about two months ago and within the last day we are left with the bedtime feeding and I hope to cut that out in two weeks. We offer the cup at all meal times and he always has a cup of water available throughout the day but will not take it.
He just chews on it. I even tried the bottle again. By not nursing him, is he going to become dehydrated, the Mom guilt definitely sets in? Any suggestions, advice or tips are welcomed! Hey Alyssa, Thanks for reaching out! We do have an article on Teaching Straw Drinking So hopefully that helps! She literally wakes up every hrs like clock work. What do you guys suggest? Hey Jessica, From the post you are commenting on, are you trying to get away from breastfeeding.
It is hard for kids to separate form the breast feeding, especially while you are there and offering in a different form. There are also some other great tips in the article. Am so emotional even when I sleep away from him, he will cry till hubby will bring him to me or I go for him.
Help please. Hey Pauline, We know this is a hard time for transitioning. Hey Cynthia, We are here for you! Hey Christina, We understand where your coming from and this can be hard.
Hi my son is 14 months old now. He goes to nurserey two days a week and dosnt drink any milk through the day he happily eats plenty, however he is at home he will nurse to get him to sleep once in the afternoon and numerous times through the night and to get to sleep on a night.
Hey Rachael, We know how hard this can be! Does he sleep for nap at the nursery? Also at home is there anyone else to put him to bed without you being near, just for this transition period. When you are near he can smell your milk which makes it harder to break with you right next to them. There are some other tips in the article too!
Hi, my little one is 13 months now and I im struggling with weaning her off at night…initiallybibthought was going well as husband would put her to sleep with a bottle and she would be knocked out but she wakes up halr wau through the night wantong to feed on me…. Hey Anayah, I know how hard this can be!! This is what I am struggling with too.. My daughter is 14mnths and, recently started waking up around 4am — 5am crying for milk, I dnt if its bcz teething?
Thank you so much for this article too though, honestly some things u wrote js connected with me and I was, like omg… Someone out there understands…. I want to wean her but it is really impossible. She sucks 4 to 5 before day break. Thanks for reaching out!! Hi, I just stopped my child from breast milk and my breast is so heavy and painful, am asking is there anything you can recommend for me to stop the pain…. Night times are so stressful and makes me tired all throughout the day. How to stop feed during sleeping at nights?
Hey Sonu, I know how hard this can be! Also, trying some of the other tips in the post as well! Thank you for this. Hoping to nurse longer but pregnant again so may need to wean my 13 month old sooner than expected. Depending on my convo with doctor. My son goes to daycare and ears breakfast there between We currently nurse at wake up, sometimes for comfort after getting home from long day if he asks , and before bed.
With a small snack? Hey Liza, Thanks for reaching out! I also was having hard time during the day as my my 8 month old would be feeding all night but I recently weaned him off. Alisha Grogan has explained very beautifully how to wean them but for me that way takes a lot of courage.
Today is 9th day and he took bottle at 11pm last night and 6am today. Hello, I just found this article which is really helpful. My son will turn 2 years old in 15 days and i am still breastfeeding. I have faced so many difficulties, have had really hard , stressful days but have kept on going and feeding him tears in my eyes and pain in my body. There i understood that i was not ready to quit. But now anyhow i should start doing it slowly. My question is if he wakes up at night with the demand of having milk, what should i do?
He doesnt like drinking any drink other than plain water, even in a day he never drinks any fresh juice or the like, only seeing the colour he refuses to drink, and to note also that he is a very picky eater. He sees the food , touches, feels the texture, if he doesnt like he will never gonna eat it. I cry at times. I feel so helpless in this. So glad you found our article helpful!
Once he seems to be getting used to this you can try some of the other suggestions for when he wakes up at night such as cuddling and trying to find another transitional object. Making sure he is eating enough before bed can be really helpful too! Should I have the sitter switch to sippy cups cold turkey?
Hey Ciara, I know it can be hard!! We do have an article that helps with tips on getting rid of the bottle. You can read all about it here. I think you misunderstood my question. I planned to stop feeding my one year old baby. I had not feed him whole day, but he was demanding me now,shall I feed him the millk,does the stagging milk affect him. I found this article which is in need of the hour for me.
I have 15 months old baby. During the day time, I have stopped breastfeeding. And not taking any liquid form during the entire night. During the daytime, she eats, drinks water normally. I am taking this process a slow one. But she is not cooperating. I really need to stop.
Hey Priya, Yes, taking it slow helps! I know how hard this can be!! Very helpful for a first time mum here! So thanks! We currently breastfeed 3 times a day morning, after lunch nap, and before bed.
She LOVES a bottle, even though she only gets one on weekend mornings when she is with my husband whilst I am out for her usual morning feed. She loves it so much that she gets very upset when the bottle is taken from her once finished even though she drinks FAR MORE from it than what she would be getting from the breast. So we are actually wanting to skip the bottle altogether now that she is nearing 1 as we feel that her love of the bottle might cause more problems down the track when we try to wean her off that.
She certainly uses all kinds of different cups to drink water from all day long, but wont use them for milk. The last couple of days I have stopped giving her after lunch breastfeed, and given afternoon tea straightaway instead and offered milk in cup refused.
Ofcourse, she would get solids. I was just a bit confused as one part of your article mentions not replacing with milk in a cup, but the summary says to offer it.
Hey Joanna, So happy you loved our article and glad that you received some useful information in there! I have included a link for an article for How much milk a toddler needs This will help guide you in how much she still will need for 1 year of age and up!
Very useful tips. I wander what happens in our bodies… breasts become hard and sore when full of milk. So, once you decide to wean, how do you deal with this pain? How long does it take until our body stops producing any milk from the last breastfeeding?
Hey Mireia, Everyone is different, however if you are making this a slow process and not quitting all at once, you body recognizes that you are needing to produce less and starts decreasing amount that you have. So over time it will be less painful if at all when you stop completely! My daughter is 18 months and is breastfed.
Hey Keisha, I know how hard this can be!! If you are looking for tips for helping your daughter transition to a bottle you can read all about that HERE.
Hey Dee, I know this can be a difficult time. Also making sure he is eating enough before bedtime so that he is full. If you know that he is full, you can try to provide some water in replace of the milk.
My baby is 1year 8months I just stopped breastfeeding her. I wanna know should I be giving yogurt or something when she wakes up at night. Coz she never wanted a bottle. Hey thanks for reaching out! Depending on what your child is able to do, you can always try a sippy cup to give her a drink if she needs it. Or if you think she is waking up because she is hungry, make sure that she gets a bigger dinner to hold her over throughout the night!
Thanks for posting this! My 14 month old girl only nurses at night now. But for how long?? And how did it go when you returned to putting them to bed without nursing? And I do not think a lot of us our ready! If your husband notices she is going down easily after a week and is not looking for nursing you can give it a go!!
Keep us posted! Thankyou very informative article. He will not drink from anything but the breast. He just refuses to even open his mouth for anything but the boob. Hey Mike, We are so sorry you are dealing with this, as this can be frustrating! Hello Sad to hear it.. But try to take your baby outdoors and try to feed him in garden… Or else take him to friends place where his age babies are there..
Looking at them may b he will try to eat…. Yes, this can be very tricky and I can relate!!! It is a hard battle, but as you can see she is able to fall asleep when you are not around. Changing up her routine in the home, as well as trying to find a comforting transitional item can be helpful.
Hope this helps, Keep us posted! Hi thank you for the article. Also, how do you go about dropping the morning feeding? My breasts are very full first thing in the morning, so how do you help your body adjust without being uncomfortable?
Hi Amber, This definitely is an adjustment, so we can understand how hard this is! For the morning feeding you can look at trying to decrease the amount of time on the breasts to slowly decrease the amount.
So if she nurses for 15 minutes, try 10 and slowly decrease from there so that you are less uncomfortable, and she is able to get some of the nursing in, however then have a breakfast as well afterwards to get her full nutrition!! Hope this helps, keep us posted! This was sooo helpful. Going to try and drop her morning one hopefully next week and go from there with the bedtime one a few weeks after. Thanks so much for the help! Nicely explained I want to know how to sooth crying baby in night and demanding breastfeeding only.
My baby 1 and half yr old. Wakes up crying Not even allow dady to take her. I totally understand this can be very tricky during the night. I would try to be looking for a comfort item that is introduced during the day that you would be able to use during the night ie:blanket, small soft object, etc, this can help to replace the comfort nursing, but continue to cuddle.
Also, how long has your husband tried to comfort her? I love your website!! And this article was very helpful!!
I just wanted to clarify, you mentioned that but after 12 months toddlers only need 16 oz of milk a day. Most young toddlers need a transition period and being over 12 oz is usually okay. The issue I have is that around 2 months ago my milk dried up and which time I got my little guy adjusted to taking bottles. However, the comfort nursing has remained. And in the morning if he is still tired and is trying to fall asleep. Anytime I try to not nurse he has a huge tantrum moment.
How do I wean my little guy. He loves bottles, foods, water. He can drink from any cup or sippy cup. He just wants the connection I think. Check out more above for other ideas:. I go back to work in 3 weeks, and have EBF my 11 month old until recently.. The last few days I have tried dropping her feeds before naps, and am always offering cows milk through the day.
She will drink here and there, but not nearly enough. I then nurse her before bed, and More times through the night. Am I on the right track, or should I nurse through the day because she is refusing to drink the cows milk..? I would still nurse her during the day if that fixed the sleeping issue. Have you tried putting some pumped milk in with her cows milk? HI, my baby is 1 years old and does not want to fall asleep without breastfeeding.
I am trying to stop breastfeeding but this seems to be the only roadblock because this is the only time she wants to feed. My daughter is struggling to wean off of nursing. I need her to sleep with a full belly she sleeps through the night. She refuses to take a bottle from me, always has.
She likes her almond milk but never drinks enough to help fill her up. I am a single mother so there is no dad to lay her down at night so i am really struggling with how to get her to sleep without the assistance of someone else. Any suggestions other than that? I get it. Another option is to have a family member or friend come over that your baby is comfortable with for a few nights. Hi, thanks for this. Do you suggest replacing nursing with a cup of milk for a child over 12 months?
Any advice would be most welcome. You might actually introduce milk at another time mealtimes are a great option first before you replace a nursing session with it. Once you see that she is able to drink milk well, then you can go ahead and drop another feeding. Dropping the one in the morning first and lastly the one in the evening. How should i go about with this?
Should i just stop completely and see how that goes? Any suggestions? You could try that, but it may be really uncomfortable for you. You can wean him in about week though, or even less using the steps above! Hi, my son is 15 months old and wakes up like 3 to 4 times at night to breastfeed. I am really exhausted and want some tips. Hi, please help me!! My little boy, who is turning 2 years old this week, is still breastfeeding on demand. He eats terribly, he refuses to even try foods and sometimes just drinks water, milk or juice.
Despite everything he is growing at a normal rythm, he is tall for his age and he is super smart and just a happy kid. Where do I start? With weaning? What favorites do I include in his meals if he has none he will eat consistently except for chocolate covered marshmallows?? If it was up to him thats all he would ever eat …. You could try serving dinner a little later, they may be hungrier then.
You could also try to have a scheduled bedtime snack. Hi, thanks for the article. He is EBF and I have cut out one afternoon feed aftern nap and just replaced it with extra snacks. I would like to cut out the midday feed after 1st nap in the next couple weeks. Isn appreciate your thoughts. But, you want to think about keeping it slow.
This feeding schedule will be helpful too! Thank you for this article. He only wants me at bedtime and during the night. He will only sleep during the day if i feed him to sleep, in the car or in his pushchair. Otherwise he will scream until he gets my milk.
ANy advise would be greatly appreciated please. My son is about to turn 1, nurses to sleep for 2 naps and wakes times a night for comfort feeds. Nurses to sleep at bedtime usually, but if my husband is home he tries to put him to sleep for me to avoid that.
It can be tricky! I agree with so many others here. She is only feeding wake up, before naps and before bed. Sometimes she is distractible, and, sometimes, she just cries. This is truly a challenging transition! They obviously feel full. Any tips? I would actually pump a little, just enough to take the edge off!
Sometimes ice can help too if you can tolerate that. Any advice? Hey CJ, I can relate and know how hard this transition can be! I would try to have someone else in your home put him to bed. If no one else lives with you, even a friend that can come over and even spend the night for a few nights. Breaking up the routine is very powerful. Check out the roadblocks listed in the article about nursing to sleep, as these can be helpful as well! My 2 year old daughter wakes up early in the mornings around 6 or 7 and keeps drinking breastmilk almost till the time she wakes up- which is around 9 a.
Because of this all my morning chores get affected. I am trying to wean her off as she is more than 2 years old, but in vain. Any solution? Sorry you are having difficulty with this. When child wake up in the mid of the night and she only want to have breast feeding?
Definitely so challenging! Have you tried the steps in the post a few times, sometimes it takes a lot of consistency to get through:. He is 15 months old, has been breastfeeding from birth. He rejects a bottle but will take a sippy cup stricky though the day. Nothing works with him. My auntie took him for the weekend to see if she could help, she brought him back after a day as he kept her up all night Screaming!
Please help!! Is it possible to wean away from one of these feedings? Is he eating well during the day, so his belly is full? Thank you so much for your excellent posts! My little one celebrates her first birthday in a few weeks and not long after I need to return to work part time. She has been exclusively breast fed and is also cows milk intolerant so we are both on a dairy free diet for now.
I can follow your suggested schedule and advice post for weaning but wondered at her age if I need to express and give her EBM from a straw cup for during the day or if just transitioning to a water bottle and keeping up morning and night feed would be OK? If she did need EBM would you suggest I replace her breast feeds during the day with pumping?
Hi Alisha, This is a great article — thank you! I have a question. I have a 13 month old girl who is now just taking two breastfeeds in morning and night or 3 when she is not at daycare and i nurse her down to nap. She is very use to him and he usually does the first half of the bedtime routine — nappy change, bath, story — and i finish off with nursing. Any suggestions on how to wean her off the boob and get her to sleep? Should daddy keep trying??
Its emotional for us all but i would like to end the bfing. Thanks in advance any help appreciated! I would keep trying with Dad, and focus on the transitional object so she has something else to calm down with.
Bring your dr in the convo if you have any concerns about her being hungry! Thanks Alisha. Sometimes in the early morning particulary she is really hard to settle and I end up on the spare bed with her. At this point she falls asleep fast. Should we still get dad to try bedtimes to stop that feed or should I be working on eliminating the night feeds? Shes obviously going through a bit of insecurity and needing the extra comforting, I dont think she is hungry as she eats well, but I could be wrong!
Any thoughts on next steps? It can be so tricky and is such a personal choice! Loved this article. I just saved it so I can used it for future reference. One quick question; I always breastfeed him to nap. What do you recommend on this case?
Thank you for all of your tips! I have been enjoying reading many of your posts. I have a 14 months old who was not a picky eater at all. He would try just about anything and liked everything. As such, I would sometimes try to give him some food cooked in a restaurant, but which he would eat had I made it.
He ended up starting to mostly nurse again during that trip and would only eat what I prepared. Before leaving, I had started to wean him off a bit and he had started to eat sufficiently at dinner to sleep through the night. However, ever since we got back, he has molars coming in and some other teeth too. He is eating his meals regularly, but is not eating sufficiently at dinner to hold him through the night. Would you have any tips on how to handle the situation and have him eat more at dinner again?
When he nurses at night, he nurses to eat and then falls right back asleep. I know that if I can get him to eat sufficiently to stop nursing during the night, then we can easily wean him off completely. Thank you for your help! Try not to expect him to eat too much for a few days as you try and establish this again. Also, serve some foods that he really likes, more so than usual, just to get him eating again. My 10 month old nurses to sleep for naps as well as bedtime.
She still wakes up times a night so how do I transition to getting her to sleep without feeding. Thank you dearly…. Thank you for your suggestions. My son is
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