Gently weaning my 2yo off the breast

5 replies

LikeCandy · 22/04/2015 16:02

Hi all,
My just 2yo is still a boob monster. I really thought that 'don't offer, don't refuse' would help us to gently wean but it did nothing to reduce feeds, we started that at around 18m.
As of last month we've explained to her that she can only have BFs in bed, but she just wants to go to bed early (yet stay awake just as late...!)

How have you weaned your toddlers?
Thanks in advance!

OP posts:

PumpingRSI · 22/04/2015 22:26

watching with interest as I've got. Boob obsessed just 2yo. I decided I was going to stop on his 2nd bday and though it's early days we're doing Ok. I have had to refuse but explain quickly that he's a big boy now and then distract by talking about something else. after the first minute or two, it works! I'm surprised it hadn't been more of a nightmare but I hope this is it now as I'd had enough and it was keeping him awake longer in my opinion.

CatHackney · 22/04/2015 23:10

Keen to see other answers! "Don't offer, don't refuse" has been an utter failure here, too. I also find that now that he's two, his attention span is a lot longer so distraction doesn't really work, because even if I succeed for a few minutes, he will remember again and insist. I have had enough of this! I have at least managed to insist that I will not feed in public anymore.

Original poster

LikeCandy · 23/04/2015 10:42

Thanks for the solidarity guys!
The loooong attention span seems to only relate to boobs and boob related activities here!
I've tried the 'you're a big girl now, you can wait a little while' line but she just says 'no, like a baby! like a baby!' and tries to get on my lap!

It's entirely selfish my reasons for wanting to wean - I want to loose some weight. I'm sure she'd be BFing forever if I didn't try and wean her now

OP posts:

RhiannonElward · 23/04/2015 16:53

I managed to wean my two year old but it took a while, I wasn't prepared to upset her over it so I took my time and used anything I could to get her wanting to do something else. In the day it's easy because you can suggest a favourite activity instead, but to go to sleep she was a stubborn one. Eventually she got used to not feeding and doing other things instead and she eventually learned to fall sleep in the day without booby and this carried over to the night.

Well done OP for feeding for so long and don't worry about wanting your body back, I think you've done your bit :)

ThereisnoFinWay · 23/04/2015 18:50

I am also doing this. Ds2 is 2 in a few weeks. We were away this weekend and for some reason he didn't ask for a morning feed on any of the 3 days, so I decided to not give him one when we got home either. He got really upset and dh wanted to give in but although I am very sad about weaning my last baby I am also ready to stop so I didn't feed him. Going to do that for a few weeks and then drop the bedtime feed too. I am very emotional at the thought

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