Weaning from Breast or Bottle
Weaning from breastfeeding
If you are breastfeeding, the time to wean is the time when it feels right to you. Regardless of when and why you are weaning, it is likely to be an emotional process. There are different approaches and reasons for weaning from breastfeeding:
Child-led
Parent-led
Weaning by pumping
Weaning in an emergency (sudden weaning)
Weaning a toddler
Regardless of your specific situation, here are some reliable resources with tips to help you on this part of your parenting journey:
Weaning the Breastfed or Human Milk-Fed Baby from IABLE includes advice for sudden weaning.
Mother Led Weaning from Milkworks.org also includes strategies for sudden weaning.
Kellymom.com has several articles related to weaning.
Weaning from the bottle
If you are bottle feeding, it is best to wean your baby from the bottle (and pacifier!) by 12-15 months of age—which is likely to be around the time you transition your baby from formula to whole cow’s milk or an alternative milk. Weaning from the bottle at this time is important for your baby’s dental, oral motor, and speech development.
Our 12 month milestone blog post has a list of tips for helping your little one transition from bottle feeding to cup drinking. Here are some additional ideas:
One strategy we’ve found to be successful, especially if your bottle fed baby has the habit of going to sleep with the bottle or waking at night for a bottle, is to transfer the association with sleep to something other than the bottle, such as soft music. Pick a lullaby and play it (the same song) every time you give your baby a bottle at night for about a week. Then, when your baby wakes for a bottle at night, quickly start the music and hopefully the “sleep music” will lull them back to sleep without taking a bottle.
An older child who is stuck on having a bottle can “take charge” of finding all the bottles, nipples, and pacifiers in the house and throwing them away themselves. Then when it’s their usual bottle time, gently remind them that they have thrown them all away.
Reading a book, taking a warm bath, and offering warm whole cow’s milk in a cup before bedtime as part of a consistent routine are also helpful strategies.
Always brush your baby or toddler’s teeth before they fall asleep. If they continue to wake at night and want a bottle, offer water. Be firm and consistent and the process will go much more quickly (not necessarily more easily). If you are inconsistent, your toddler will learn that fussing or tantrums eventually get them what they want, which prolongs everyone’s stress.
Weaning from breast and bottle
If you’re both bottle feeding and breastfeeding (regardless of whether you use human milk or formula in the bottle), you may use a combination of strategies for weaning. One strategy that works for both situations: distract your toddler with an especially favorite toy or activity when they ask for the breast or bottle. Keep the toy or activity out of sight/reach and only offer it as a distraction when your child requests nursing or a bottle. The toy or activity becomes the “nursing” or “bottle” substitute. (You might need to introduce a new toy or activity if the novelty factor wears off.)
Please contact us if you have further questions so we can offer advice specific to your individual situation.
DISCLAIMER: We know when you surf the web for information, you can get conflicting results, and it’s not easy to know whether you are finding evidence-based, high quality recommendations. That’s part of our job here at Kodiak KINDNESS; we are here to support your informed decisions about infant feeding through your baby’s first year. We’ve done some background work, and to the best of our knowledge, this post reflects current best practices. However, the information contained in this post and any links contained herein is for your informational use only; it is not a substitute for professional advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Furthermore, Kodiak KINDNESS is not responsible for the accuracy of any information contained in this post or links contained herein; it is for you to review at your own risk and discuss, as needed, with your health care professional in order to make a plan that suits your individual circumstances.