:( *sigh*... i need help w/ weaning from breastfeeding!

i have this posted in the breast feeding forum but everyone is MIA ove there, lol...


well, every time we finally have a good and "slightly" pain free feeding he goes and does it again w/ his "needle teeth"!!!  i don't think i can do it anymore.  but at the same time i don't think i can wean him!  what do i do?  how do i start?  if i'm in pain, i'd rather it take a slightly shorter amount of time rather than dragging it out for a month...  i also don't want to go to a bottle and then have to wean him off that too.  he sips from a sippy cup already, but its not like he gulps it down like he's nursing or bottle feeding...  i need help!
also, right now the only time he really nurses good is in the evening and in the middle of the night.
during the daytime he nurses for minute and then bites down and then lets go.  i think he's trying to get my attention b/ when i look at him he sometimes bites harder...  like he's playing a game!

[waitingwithhope]

How old is he?

[kennedydp5]

oh, sorry...  he's 10 months old.

[waitingwithhope]

My DD is the same age and is also teething. Sometimes she bites down, but she is very sensitive so when I say "ow" in a gentle voice she cries and doesn't do it again for quite some time.
You could try one of a few things...If you want to consider continuing nursing, you can eliminate all other liquids (like sippy cups, etc) for a little bit..they tend to nurse more when they are thirsty too. It is normal they cut back a bit on nursing at this stage when they are on so much solids, but offer the nursing before a meal rather than after.
Or, if you want to just continue with evening and night nursing, and you want to eliminate the day time feedings as quickly as possible, you can offer the sippy cup throughout the day...don't worry too awful much about the amount he is taking- he will adjust to the amount he needs. I would probably still eliminate one or two feedings a day until they were all gone but if you want to go faster, you can try it (I would just worry if you go too fast you may become engorged which is so painful).
He probably will still want to suck...so if you have a soother or something else you can offer him to suck on during the day when he is not nursing that will help him out a lot too.
Sometimes they wean themselves during the day when they have more exciting things to do and look at...he may be nursing less and biting down because he is teething or bored or just wants to move on to playing.
Are you going to offer formula in the sippy to make up for the lost feedings during the day?

[kennedydp5]

i think during the day its that he's distracted by wanting to get back on the floor to continue his playing.  he'll drink for a few seconds and then pull away and look at me, the reattach and pull away again... like he's playing.  so i end up letting him back down to play.  he's already cut down on the nursing so much during the day b/c of it...  and he's done that part himself.  i know the evening and night feedings are going to be really hard for me to cut back on...  those are the important "soothing" ones for sleeping (even though he still wakes up at night!)

at this point of him being so close to a year, should i not try to go to a bottle so i don't have to wean him off that too?  or should i definately go to the bottle to make the transition easier?

i seriously don't remember going through all this thought process when i decided to stop pumping w/ all my dds!!!

[lhughes]

I had to wean Kathryn when she was not quite 10 months in a hurry b/c I found out I was pregnant.  (My pregnancies were hard to maintain, so I *had* to stop; doc's orders).

It took about a week for me...  pick 4 times in a day when you will breastfeed.  You might need to do this for more than a day if you are feeding a LOT.  Drop by 1 feeding a day until you are down to 1... Then do 1 for a couple days (nighttime is when I chose to do that last one).  Then stop.  You will probably have to wear a tight exercise bra for a while until your milk totally dries up.

Kathryn was totally unappreciative, if I remember.  But it was necessary in my case.  In your case, well.... I'm glad Kathryn wasn't a biter.  We did wean her onto a bottle, but she was very easy to rid the bottle a couple months later.  We went straight to the NextStep at that time.

Best of luck...it was hard to have to quit so soon with her, but oh so necessary.  Plus I had to have that danged ole biopsy.  I did miss breastfeeding after I had done it, even mourned the loss of it for a bit since she was my first child.  I didn't get the opportunity to breastfeed Lauren...

[kennedydp5]

oh, man...  i totally feel that i'm going to "mourn" the loss of me bf'ing nolan, too.  he's my last. :(  and he's also the only one i've sucessfully breastfed.  but i really thought we'd be getting past this whole biting and hurting mommy stage and now its going on a little over 3 weeks of this (minus 2 days of where it didn't hurt for some reason) and i really can't always feed through the pain.

thank you for the pointers... i have a couple sports bras and dh has an ace bandage so i'm ready...  ummmm, kinda!

[waitingwithhope]

I think that if you go with the bottle to make the transition easier you won't have a huge hassle weaning off of that if you also are doing a sippy too..they get milk faster with a sippy--the bottle will be more for comfort. If you can maintain the evening feedings, I would consider that..it is soothing for them and it allows you to have the option of stopping or continuing if you desire later on.
It sounds like he is weaning himself though...the poster above had good ideas too on how to wean.

[kennedydp5]

thank you wonderful ladies!!! :)

[pinkbelle]

oh hun.. i admire you.. i couldn't handle breastfeeding.. i tried for a week and it just was not for me.. i was in so much pain.. ouch!

[vsentz]

Oh man... girlfriend.. I know what you're going thru... Maddie was breastfed for only 4 months.. she weaned herself! lol my mistake was to listen to the damn hospital nurses and supplement... I could never build enough milk supply and at the end she preferred the bottle of formula that had more and came out more than me! =(
Thank goodness she didn't have teeth yet.. but within a month those chompers appeared! *wheew!*
I remember I was sooo sad.. feeling almost like I failed to her... but then, all the hassles of pumping, and the heat... and her sweating like a 'puppy' lol... under that blanket I used to cover myself.. in the middle of the summer... and while being out shopping or doing the groceries or what not that she'd get hungry... I could not just pop out a bottle... like I do now! so in a sense it was a relief. But I still see some video (yep, I took video of it!) or see pictures and remember her little face on my chest and her hand and I still shed a tear or two... =*) I miss breast feeding and I wish I could have done it longer....

It gets better hun... you'll feel a little too full and it's a little painful, but not bad.

I also thought like you, I am not sure if Maddie will be my only one... =( if I have the issues I had with her.. .I might just have my only child... so, if that's the case... =( I won't be breast feeding again! ever?? =((( hopefully we can bring a sibling when the time comes.

=) BIG HUG FOR YOU!

[kennedydp5]

thank you pink ((hug)) and V ((hug))!!! :)  

pink- nolan is my first successful attempt at breastfeeding...  it took me 4 kids to get it right, lol!!!  that's why this is just so darn hard!

V-  i don't see how some ladies can go so far w/ bf'ing their kids once they start getting even more teeth than nolan has (he has 4)...  ouch!