For mamas whose toddlers are already bottle-fed - You're lucky!
For mamas whose toddlers are so attached to the breast that they refuse the bottle - We're in the same boat. Read on.
For mamas whose toddlers 'naturally' reject the breast and willingly take the bottle - You're super, super lucky!
For mamas who don't mind breastfeeding toddlers till whatever age beyond 2 years old - WOW!!
For ME........
At 11 months ++, my 2nd girl now has 4 teeth. So imagine the rude awakenings I get nearly everynight when these 4 teeth suddenly clamp on my teats as she wakes up looking for me. Therefore, I decided it's high time we come to the end of the road for breastfeeding. Besides, she's already eating semi-solids and soft solids very well. On top of that, we will be traveling soon and it will be most inconvenient to have to feed her on the road as she DOESN'T take the bottle..sigh.
First Experience
I weaned off my 1st girl when she was also 11 months ++. It took one week and a lot of crying as she protested everytime I with held my nipples from her. That was few times during the day AND night --- for one whole week. I was exhausted and slightly traumatized by that experience although it was successful in the end.
Second Experience
For this one, I kept a brief log on how I did it:
Day One
6.05am - Awake since 4 or 5am. Not giving her my teat anymore. Everytime she cried I carried her to comfort her until she fell asleep. Finally, fell asleep propped up on my shoulder.
3.23pm - Left her with my mum. Decided it was best not to be in close proximity with her as she kept tugging my shirt and signing 'milk'. When I gave her the bottle, she pushed or slapped it away. Otherwise, feeding her semi solid meals as usual.
Day Two
7.35am - She slept and cried periodically last night. Each time, trying to pull my shirt to suck. I was so dead tired. I told her "Sorry baby, no milk." This morning, my breasts were engorged. Expressed. Gave her the milk in the bottle. At first, pushed away. After a few more tries, she took it and finished it!
11.03am - She slept again and for nearly the whole morning! When she woke up again, I gave her the bottle. She pushed and hit it away. But after awhile, she took the bottle and finished the content! Yeah!
12.57pm - Fed her some porridge. Bathed her then tried the bottle again. This time she drank half a bottle.
10.02pm - I gave her two scoops of SNOW infant formula mixed with 4 ounces of water. I was worried she might reject the new taste. But surprisingly, she took it and finished nearly all of it! She rolled about and fell asleep in a short while.
10.02pm - I gave her two scoops of SNOW infant formula mixed with 4 ounces of water. I was worried she might reject the new taste. But surprisingly, she took it and finished nearly all of it! She rolled about and fell asleep in a short while.
Day Three
8.37am - I think I can call it a success officially. While she did cry -more like whimpered - throughout the night, she didn't ask for milk and went back to sleep. This morning I gave her expressed breastmilk in an 8 ounce bottle. She finished 6 ounces in one go!
11.50am - We went out. I put her in the stroller and mixed infant formula for her. She happily took it and finished 7 ounces. It is official. Weaning -- check! Bottlefeeding -- check!
Please share your weaning experience. How did you do it and how long did it take? Some mothers said they rubbed ginger, 'minyak kapak' (strong-smelling Chinese ointment) or other unpleasant stuff onto the nipples to turn off the toddler. What about you?
11.50am - We went out. I put her in the stroller and mixed infant formula for her. She happily took it and finished 7 ounces. It is official. Weaning -- check! Bottlefeeding -- check!
Further proof...
Every child is different. Though both my daughters were fully breastfed (in fact, my first girl was also bottlefed when I was still working 8 - 5 during her first 6 months) and the same weaning method was used, the process as well as outcome was so different for both. I must add, my first girl still DID NOT want the bottle for a couple of months after she was weaned off and that was a major inconvenience when traveling.
18 comments:
Becky: Weaning is a heart wrenching experience as the child will cry and cry for the breast.
With my oldest, I was already 6 weeks pregnant so she had no choice. Before I confirmed it with the doctor on a positive pregnancy, I realized there was no milk. So it was good I went to check as early as I did. When I fed her her first bottle of 60 ml, she took it without a tear. Mind you, my oldest (girl) is also very easy to take care of in all areas even now that she's 12 though she does tend to have my temper, impatience and overall temperament....not so good.
The only problem I had with the oldest child was constipation because of the milk powder. I try them all and finally settled with Snow only to have the Japanese contamination experience/scandal happen. I then had to go with other brands in which the constipation came back.
I eventually took a holiday back to my hometown and with my mom's wonderful flavourfull cooking, my daughter began eating better and took milk well and the constipation was gone.
My second (a boy), well that boy (boy are so uniquely different and tend to be more troublesome), he had already reached 1 years old and I read that a mother can't be closer than 20 ft because a baby can smell the mother and the milk so every night for 1 week, hubby would have to wake up and tend to him.
Here's the dreaded 1 week experience:
Hubby woke up every 2 hours to him crying for milk and would take him to the balcony and let him cry until he went to sleep and do that every 2 hours so in actual fact, it was like 7 days of non stop crying and no sleep for either one of them.
During that week, my breasts were hard as a rock and full of milk. The only thing I could do was to squeeze them into the bathroom sink or bathtub and even then, not a lot would come out. Basically the milk was drying up inside my breasts. But luckily, one day after that 1 week, the breast milk cleared, hardness gone and I was back to normal.
My second was not as good an eater as my 1st so eating was a struggle for both of us.
With my last child (girl), 9 months into breastfeeding, she took the formula milk fine. That's because I ran out of milk and she had no choice. At 5 months, I started to feed her solids and she ate very little and took breastmilk.
So with 3 children in toll, the middle child, the boy, was the hardest because I had no much breastmilk but during the weaning, it was hard to see him cry his heart out.
So Becky, it takes about 1 full week to wean a baby off and it takes consistency, just like discipline. So be successful, you have to be consistent. It's so easy to give up or give in especially when the child is so miserable (in wanting the milk) and it also easy because it tires us out and can make us crabby people when we are exhausted from getting up and tending to a child in the weaning process but do know there is an end and both people will be better for the weaning process.
The thing I didn't like about weaning was all the bottles I would have to wash from the milk powder feeding...it can be so tedious and especially when I didn't have a steamer but had to soak them in hot boiling water (steamers were very expensive 10 years ago, RM400+ compared to now).
i never went through weaning process. My boy takes whatever is given to him without question, so..i'm very, very grateful. :P
Mothers have to be 20 feet away from the baby when going through the weaning process....let the fathers or others take the baby but that means they will be exhausted tending to the child. Should take about 1 week, no more. If more, it's because they are not consistent and giving child mixed messages. It might not even be 1 week, 4 days if done consistently.
Breastmilk and feeding after a certain age is not due so much to nutritional value as the attachment factor so be consistent. When the child learns that there is no breastmilk, they will be hungry enough to settle for formula milk and solid foods.
I breastfeed my kids but at the same time, bottle-feed them my breastmilk when I'm working. At night, I'll give them one bottle of formula milk before they sleep. So, I didn't go through any weaning too. But I only breastfeed them till 6 months. I wonder, is that too short. Maybe I can try see whether I can breastfeed for a longer period for this coming baby.
It's true we have to be consistent. Many a times when my girl cried/screamed, I was so tempted to bring her to my breast again just to comfort her.. sigh..
In my case, I don't think hubby can help as Delighted's did for one week. He needs his sleep or else he will cease to function properly. This time round, I did it while he was traveling so less people have to endure the crying. So I can't be 20 feet away from her.
Thank goodness it took only 2 days +.
Anybody who has experienced rubbing ginger or other stuff on their teats?
Ss: It is best if baby can be fed only breastmilk for first 6 months after which they'll start semi solid food (IF your supply is enough, of course. If not, never mind. One shouldn't get too stressed about it).
WHO's recommendation is to breastfeed up till age two.. I'm not sure I want to follow that guideline!
Used to say 6 months enough and then 1 year and now WHO 2 years...hello? will we still have milk then? or dry up and become anti-cow. Only time I know of anyone feeding 'til 2 is because as the mom, they can't and won't stop...for sake of child....those cases are more for attachment purposes..not nutritional
There's a great website that I've used since I had kids.....check out www.babycenter.com or www.babycentre.co.uk and you can register and they'll send you your child's month by month growth process, emotionally, physically, learning stages, etc.
I know of mothers who have to breastfeed for a longer time due to child's allergy to cow's milk. I guess that can't be helped.
There are also mothers e.g. my aunt who breastfed my cousin until he was 4 or 5 yrs old? So yeah, in that case, attachment issues...
yeah, I checked the WHO 2 yr thingy with a paediatrician and her opinion was that if we're in Africa, then 2 yrs is fine, if not, 1 yr is a good cut-off in terms of a balance of nutrition, immunity and practicality
Some problems with breastfeeding beyond that is food aversion-the child may be reluctant to eat proper solids and nutrition may be compromised.
My baby had mild iron-deficiency anemia on exclusive breastfeeding for 6 mths-not uncommon apparently.We noticed that he looked paler than his usual tan skin colour and got his blood count done. In fact, in US, its recommended that iron supplementation is given for exclusively breastfed babies, of course with paediatrician's advice coz too much iron has its own problems-constipation, iron overload on organs etc.
Formula-milk and most cereals are iron-fortified.
That's why its important to start semi-solids after 6 mths.
I actually started my son on poultry and fish at around 6-7 mths instead of later for better iron intake though this has to be balanced with the traditional teaching of vegies first to avoid allergies.
His 9 mths now and still guzzling milk even with 3 semi-solid meals per day-might have to supplement with formula soon coz breastmilk supply is reducing. Anybody has experience with Enfalac?
I tasted it once. To me, it's rather sweet, which is why I settled on Snow - not as sweet.
Delighted: Would you mind enlightening us about the Japanese contamination incident?
http://archives.cnn.com/2000/FOOD/news/08/21/japan.bad.milk.reut/
google Snow Brand Milk Powder contamination...one was in Japan, other in China
I loved feeding my daughter Snow until the scandal...never went back....Now last child on Dumex 3-6 year old Asli brand, not honey
Oh man.. is anything ever safe nowadays?
I found this link (2008) claiming it is safe for consumption.
http://www.snowbrand.com.my/info.html
Any suggestions on a milk formula brand that is:
1) Not too sweet
2) Doesn't cause constipation
3) Economically/Reasonably priced
- I don't like that baby milk powder nowadays cost an arm and a leg.
Delighted, does Dumex fulfil the above? I just might change brands now...
i weaned my bb girl off the breast (middle of the nite feeds)when she was about 10.5mo with the help of my mum who gives her the bottled formula milk. if she sees me, she's more reluctant to take the bottle or to fall asleep. Thank God she's been fine with it except for a bit of crying after finishing the bottle b4 falling asleep. Had to start introducing the formula milk then as my milk supply had reduced quite a bit and later i found out that it was coz i'm pregnant with my 2nd! i'm still BF-ing her once after dinner on weekdays and on weekends 2-3x a day. don't think it'll affect the pregnancy unless there has been history of miscarriage previously or at nay risk for miscarriage now. many mothers say it's ok to do tandem BF (from what babycenter.com says)
actually my baby's now on nestle lactogen 2 which is not one of the 'premier' milks in the market...my paediatrician was quite surprised that i chose this 'cheap' one but i don't think the pricier the milk the better it is... i feel that the pricier ones may instead cause the bb to be too 'hyperactive' :P any one shares the same thoughts?
Hi alicia, congratulations on your second pregnancy!
Wow, now we know of three mothers expecting: Yik Hong, Ss and alicia. All the best to all!!
As for milk formula, I guess most people tend to go for the more popularly marketed brand although I'm not sure if it is 'better' than the more economical ones. We should compare the ingredients to find out for sure!
alicia: Do kids really become more 'hyperactive' after consuming pricier milk formula? I'm just wondering if it might correlate with the sugar/glucose content in the milk formula. Some are really rather sweet...
congrats alicia!
hehe, was getting worried bout expecting again when breastmilk reduced and period was delayed-false alarm! think supply went down due to work-stress...just came back from seoul and supply kinda normalised after taking part in a debate!
Unfortunately had to dispose of expressed milk while travelling, Could only manage to bring back some milk during last leg of journey.
yeah, choosing the most suitable formula milk is quite tricky with such mind-boggling choices.
There's some concern about high-sugar content causing ADHD-attention hyperactive deficit disorder. To the best of current knowledge, there's no clear evidence to show that dietary practices cause ADHD,. However, it is recommended to abstain from too much sugar, preservatives etc if the child is noticed to become more hyperactive after consuming them, tough call to make in babies compared to toddlers, i guess.
I heard about the Snow contamination scandal from my mum who heard of it when we were kids, probably something of the past.
How about our mamas share their experiences with the formula brands that they;re using? Any dieticians out there?
One recently joined us -- karene lee. She also has her own blog called All about Calories and Foods in Malaysia. Worth checking out. She's got all the calories listed out for most of the common dishes here. Helps if you want to watch your weight! Haha...
I'll ask for her feedback..
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