How I weaned my 17 month old//tips for weaning your toddler

Hi friends...I actually wrote this post almost two months ago and never shared it here.  If you are thinking of weaning your little one and could use some pointers, I hope this post helps!  

It’s bittersweet. We are all done breastfeeding, and I couldn’t be prouder for having nursed my son for 17 months.

I had no time line in mind with regards to how long I wanted to breastfeed for prior to giving birth to Nicholas, but I did know that I didn’t want to nurse beyond the age of two.

Around the time Nicholas turned a year old, I started to think that I would like to begin weaning, and possibly be done nursing by 15 months. Well, that didn’t happen.

I just wasn’t committed enough to see weaning through. I did, however, stop all night feeds, and for awhile, it seemed to improve night time sleep. Sadly, that didn’t last when we got hit by a nasty cold and I was back to nursing Nicholas at night to help him breathe and bring comfort to my poor sick baby.

About a month later, I was feeling so thinly spread from all the night wake ups and nursing Nicholas what felt like a million times a day. He wanted to snack all the time, and I felt so completely exasperated with having my child constantly wanting milk, sticking his hands down my shirt or lifting it up, and then only having two sips before pulling off again.

Breastfeeding was far from enjoyable anymore, and I was fed up. It was around this time that I contacted an older friend for encouragement and prayer, and she was kind enough to send me some advice from other seasoned mamas she knew. That was just what I needed to make the decision to wean. My husband was fully supportive, and after doing a bit of research on how to actually go about the weaning process, I started with cutting all those bitty feeds throughout the day so that we were just doing 3 feeds a day.

The nap time feed was the next to go, and that was easy because I gave him a bottle of warm whole milk and he barely noticed not having “milkies” anymore. I had read that you should wean slowly so as not to cause any hormonal issues, so I waited a few days before cutting the bedtime feed. This one was probably the toughest one to cut, even though I did offer him some warm whole milk in his bottle instead. During this time I also had to pump a little here and there, because even at 17 months post partum, I still had a crazy milk supply, and just cutting a few feeds over the course of a few days, meant I needed to pump in order to ease the tenderness I was experiencing. I was also terrified of getting mastitis!

Around this time I started experiencing some extreme fatigue, headaches and even a little nausea, as well as heart palpitations. Even though I was weaning slowly, it still managed to cause issues with my hormones. I did find out that those symptoms aren’t abnormal, but I never expected to feel so sick! I then learnt I should drink sage tea a couple times a day to help dry up my milk supply. Honestly, it wasn’t as bad as I expected it to be. I also kept up with pumping once a day, and feeding Nicholas early each morning.

And then, just like that, he stopped asking me for milk in the early morning. He would wake around 4am, and I would go lie with him as I usually do, and he wanted a snuggle instead of being nursed. I anticipated the morning feed being the most challenging to cut, and it turned out to be the easiest.

After that I kept up with pumping once a day, and then slowly going from once a day, to every second day, and then I went to every third day. I continued drinking sage tea for another week or so.

Last week I fed Nicholas one last time. It was morning and my husband was still asleep. I read a few stories to Nicholas and we cuddled. He then asked for milk, and I gave in. I thought it would be special to have this moment to look back on. And I am so happy I did.

And that was that. He still asks me to nurse him every now and again, but I am quick to distract him with a game, story or a snack.

Here are a few tips if you are wanting to wean your toddler in the near future which really helped us during this process:

1. Use yummy (but fairly healthy) treats as a distraction. For us it was usually pure apple juice which I watered down a ton or warm whole milk which usually did the trick. Sometimes it was a homemade cookie or muffin. There are times when one just has to make use of a crutch for the overall greater good.
2. Speaking of a crutch, a bit of screentime was another thing I used to distract Nicholas while weaning. Currently he is obsessed with trains, so a few minutes of the old episodes of Thomas and Friends came to the rescue.
3. Remind your child of how much you love them. I told Nicholas how much I loved him, and how special he is to us, multiple times throughout the day. Obviously, this is something I do anyway, but I was more conscious of it, and whenever he did ask to be nursed, before distracting him, I would tell him that “milkies” was all finished but that I still loved him so, so much.
4. Don’t give them the opportunity to ask to be nursed. I made sure to not sit down for too long and have Nicholas climb up on my lap so as to avoid him even asking to be nursed. I was definitely more tired from not really getting a chance to sit down during the day, but it did help to not cause unnecessary drama.
5. Be fully committed and consistent. And make sure you have the support of your husband, mom or close friend, or all of the above. Encouragement to keep going really helps when you feel like caving and just giving your child what they want.
6. Lastly, be prepared. Go slowly. Purchase some sage leaves and brew yourself a cup of sage tea a couple times a day during weaning, and give yourself grace if you experience any unpleasant symptoms.

I can’t actually explain how good it feels to be done breastfeeding.

And I feel like my hormones are slowly stabilizing too and I am getting back to feeling more like me.

I feel so blessed to have had the privilege of breastfeeding my son for almost a year and a half. I am so thankful to have had no issues with supply, latch or anything like that as I know that isn’t always the case. I am also grateful for the support I received from my midwife, mom and husband.

I am curious to know how long you breastfeed your little one(s) for?

How did you approach weaning?

Share your experience in the comments!

With love, Kelly