How to wean baby off boob?

[Tigger83]

Hi

Son is 13 months and we've had a rough ride of it with cmpa, bad reflux, awful sleep etc etc! Things are starting to settle with sleep now and we have a great bed time routine. Given all of his health problems I have been very much operating with a gentle parenting method. I've been dairy and soya free since he was 6 weeks old. We battled to breastfeed and became exclusively breastfeed at 5months. He eats really really well and jumped from 2nd to 50th after weaning!

He has hazelnut milk as his alternative milk which he has 1st thing in the morning and just before bed. However he still has a breast feed to sleep and breastfeed to settle for any wake ups. He only feeds for 5 mins at a time generally and so I know he doesn't really need it and it's a comfort thing.

I guess I'm done with breastfeeding. I'm done with the restricted diet and I'm done with being the only one who can settle him!

We've tried my husband putting him to sleep and he becomes hysterical and doesn't settle, same with settling through the night. He's better if I'm not in the house so I guess I could go out for a few evenings and get my husband to do the settling but he isn't confident and gets really stressed and upset when ds gets very upset.

Any advice that isn't cio cc etc and more gentle?

Hi there OP,

We're not sure if you've had a look at our pages on weaning, you can see them here.

We hope they're helpful!

Thanks! Hopeful bump

This might sound a bit drastic, but is it an option for you to leave your son with a relative for a few nights? My son is 10 months and was recently weaned off the breast and night-weaned at the same time after me and my partner went away for three nights and left him with my mum.

We went completely cold turkey. Being with a different person and in a different place seemed to help and he didn't ask for it once, and didn't even bat an eyelid at the bottle when we got him back home. As a bonus he even started sleeping better and now goes 7pm-7am without any milk at all.

I have full sympathy too - I was also on a dairy free diet for an intolerant baby!

Just give him a bottle. If he is hungry /thirsty he will drink it.

@Unpocoloco2 that's the point... he's not hungry or thirsty it's comfort to get him to sleep and soothe him back to sleep.

I'm not putting him back on bottles now if I can help it as nhs guidelines are no bottles after 6 months just open cups or straw bottles etc.

He doesn't 'need' food. I've offered milk/water when he wakes in the night and he becomes hysterical.

About 3/4s of the time I can settle him with pats/shh but the 1/4 of the time he wants boob and nothing else will do!

I could ask mum to help but I don't feel it's very fair on her to deal with the hysterics on her own! She has got him down on her own but never had him over night!