I'm having a hard time with this whole weaning thing. My family doctor told me I needed to wean because there wouldn't be enough nutrients, which I don't really believe (and with the amount I'm eating there has to be enough), but I'm eager to anyway because it's not that comfortable anymore. Brianna has 8 teeth that are becoming an issue throughout the whole feed. I also haven't been putting on much weight yet, and this morning the scale actually indicated that I've lost weight. I'm not sure how accurate my scale is, though, so I'm not sure if I should be concerned. I don't have an appointment with my OB for another 2 weeks so I can't discuss it with him until then.
I don't nurse that often anymore; it works out to be 2-3 times a day and then twice a night on average. She's been eating a decent amount of solid foods so I think she's doing well with nutrients even when she doesn't nurse often. I've started giving her cow's milk even though I've read a few times that babies under 12 months should be given formula instead. She's never had formula and I feel more comfortable with the milk. She also won't take a bottle, but sometimes I wish I had encouraged her to so that Scott could give her a bottle with warm milk at bedtime.
For those of you who have gone through the weaning...does just nursing at nap time and bedtime seem like a good start? What about nursing while pregnant? What did your doctors/midwives say about it?
4 comments:
There is no problem whatsoever with nursing while pregnant!!! I did it when I was pregnant with Muirgen and then continued to nurse both girls for almost 2 more years. Many women have done it. You do not need to wean because you're pregnant. If anyone misses out on nutrients, it'll be you - not the baby or Brianna - and that's unlikely if you're eating well. I also lost a bit of weight in the first trimester during Muirgen's pregnancy, but I made up for it quickly in the 2nd. You need to keep in mind that most OBs have next to no decent education about breastfeeding. It's not their domain.
Cutting down to nursing only at nap/bedtime is a great way to begin the weaning process. That's what I did with the girls. Beyond that, I don't have much advice because the girls were at the age where I could talk to them about weaning, so it was a different ball game than what you're going through with Brianna.
I think it's also fine to give whole cow's milk, especially if there's no history of allergies in your family and she's still getting some amount of breastmilk. My sister always had her kids on whole cow's milk before they were a year. They took it from sippy cups, not bottles. She began only nursing them at nap and bed time and had them completely weaned usually by about 13-14 months.
You may find that Brianna becomes less interested in nursing as your pregnancy progresses because your milk supply will diminish and the flavour of the milk will change. This never deterred my kids, but I've heard it's happened to lots of other moms.
Anyway, good luck with it all! I think you're an awesome mom and your babies are lucky to have a mom who has their best interests at heart.
Thanks, Rachel. It's nice to hear that someone else has been through it and that my babies are fine.
My midwife never expressed any concern whatsoever.
well, rachel has already said everything i would have said, with the exception that i didn't enjoy nursing while i was pregnant.
it was more uncomfortable, because my nipples were becoming sore, and for some reason the whole experience made me want to cringe every time she wanted to nurse.
but my doctor never said i had to wean. and eventually, maya weaned herself - about three months into the pregnancy. she was 15 months.
and my kids never liked bottles either, but they did take really well to sippy cups. i also started milk before a year, but it was vanilla soy milk rather than cow's milk. docs and public health nurses weren't excited about that, but i always thought that was due to their lack of education in that area more so than anything else.
wishing you best of luck with it!
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