Weaning off the breast: When and how?

[dashoflime]

I'm due to go back to work full time quite soon. DS is currently 7 months but may be 8 or 9 months when I go back (waiting for CRB to come thru!)

He's a bottle refuser but will take formula or expressed breast milk from a sippy cup. He's also on 1 1/2 jars of baby food per day.

How do I get him off of the breast and on to the sippy cup? At the moment he much prefers the breast. Sometimes he only seems interested in using the cup to "take the edge off." If breast milk is not available (if he's with Dad for example) he can grizzle for quite a long time before accepting the cup in the end.

Do I just keep offering solid food and the cup but give him the option of breast if needed, or should I consciously cut out breast feeds during the day?

I want the transition to work to be as easy on him (and his carers!) as possible.

All advice gratefully received :)

No advice as I am in a similar position but a few people have said their babies refused milk during the day and made up for it at night with no ill effects.

I have a couple of threads on it if you scroll through. I have had some good advice.

Do you want to stop BF or do you feel like you have to? A lot of women do carry on just BF in the mornings and evenings so it's doable. If you don't want to then that's fine as well. It's best to cut down slowly, it will be easier on your DS and it should mean that you don't end up with blocked ducts from stopping too suddenly.

At this age he should still be getting most of his calories from milk so if you want to cut down on breastmilk then I would offer formula instead rather than solid food.

EauRouge Im happy to continue nursing in the morning and evening. I just want him to be used to the cup during the day.

I didn't know that most of his calories should be milk. I was actually thinking of upping his solid food so thanks for that.

During the day, Im trying to catch him when he's peckish but not mad screaming hungry and offer babyfood, then formula in a cup, then breast in that order.

Does this seem like a sound stratergy?

Nippy Thanks, Ill check out your threads. How you getting on with it at the moment?

Ds got chicken pox and was quite poorly so everything went out of the window as he just wanted breastmilk and cuddles.

I keep offering the cup with meals and have it about during the day but no joy really. I am just hoping that he will take enough fluids during the day to keep hydrated and can make up his milk when I am around.

Good luck!

Aw, poor love.

It was really encouraging to see the number of babies who have stubbornly refused cups and bottles and STILL been fine though!

They're tougher than we think

It reassured me too. Well not completely but it helped.

I am going to play it by ear, carry on with the cup but have given up on bottles.

I went back to work when my daughter was 8 months old. She is now 13.5
I still breast feed morning, 5pm, bedtime and during the night (and on weekends whenever she wants, mid morning and mid afternoon)

I didn't reduce anything in preparation to the nursery.
At the start she refused bottles and reverse cycled, but then they tried a beaker at the nursery and she has 2 or 3 oz in the middle of the day.

She is growing, thriving, so it hasn't affected her. I guess she knows when I am there she gets straight from the source, and when I am not she drinks from the beaker... simple...

Tiny Thats really reassuring. Its good to hear other peoples experiences. I had visions of pfb starving himself unless I "prepared" him.

Oh I was worried as well, got her weighed regularly until she turned one and then decided that not having mummy milk in the day time wasn't harming her...

Hi dashoflime I just spoke to the health visitor, she didn't seem concerned at all and even went so far as to say he doesn't need to bf as much as he is and even if he drinks nothing at all in nursery it won't do him any harm because there is enough fluid in his diet to keep him going.

Thats great Nippy

(gives self permission to stop worrying)