Trying to wean 19mo and getting nowhere fast. Any tips?

[MegBusset]

DS (19mo) still BFs twice a day, first thing in the morning and just before bed. I'm 13 weeks pg and this has been really really painful. I'd now like to wean him as BF has been such a positive experience for me and I want to quit while I'm ahead IYSWIM. I'm also not convinced I'm up to tandem feeding.

So I let him choose a special cup and for the last few nights have offered him cows' milk at bedtime. He has taken a couple of sips (I have tried it cold and warm) then proceeded to happily play with the cup for a few minutes before demanding the boob.

Not sure if I should continue with this and hope he magically decides to drink a whole cup of cows' milk, while offering BF if he refuses; or go cold turkey and refuse to BF; or something else. I want to cause as little upset as possible but really am quite keen to wean. He happily drinks water from a cup during the day.

Any tips from someone who's been in the same situation?

Apologies for duplicate posting btw, please answer on this one!

I'm in the same situation with a 21 month old DD and 8 weeks pregnant.

We are down to 1/2 feeds a day - pre-sleep and bedtime. The morning one got knocked on the head with DH taking her off to breakfast so I can groan and moan about morning sickness in piece. She is going to be calling a breastfeeding helpline if I try and quit the other feeds!

My other 2 quit by themselves at 12 months (was pregnant) and 18 months.

I'm going to go away soon for a weekend with one of the children and let her stay with DH and a beaker of milk...

Hey Meg! Congratulations and good luck...we are currently in the process of trying to night wean DS because of...well, loads of things. It's hard! Best of luck to you!

xx

Hi there - I weaned my DD at 22 mths. It was a slow process but we got there relatively pain free in the end. I gradually reduced the amount of time I fed at night and in the morning. She dropped the morning feed quite quickly as I also used distraction then - getting out of bed and doing something else instead (we were co-sleeping). At night I slowly reduced the time until she was only feeding for about 1 min and then said "time for sleep". She accepted this quite readily after a night or two and eventually dropped the feed altogether. If your partner is up for it you could also get him to help you break the night feed routine by taking a more active role in getting the wee one off to bed. Good luck!

Thanks all

Last night he refused the cup again and demanded boob. So tonight I have a new strategy -- give him the cup while he watches Bob The Builder for half an hour before his bath, and hope he drinks some then. Fingers crossed!