Is abrupt weaning bad for babies?

Ramya Satheesh · Sep 1, 2008

Akshith is one year old and is being BF. He was exclusively BF for the first six months and when he was about 10 months i started weaning him. The mistake i did was i weaned him from the day time feeds. i did not have any major issues in that. The problem now is he wants to be fed very frequently in the nights refusing everything else. Am pushed to think that abrupt weaning will only help ( applying neem or bitterguard paste). is it right? or will he affected emotionally? please advise.

Cheers
Ramya

mangaii · Sep 2, 2008

Hi Ramya,
I can totally understand u'r situation.
Do you think you can offer something when he demands nursing during night ?Maybe watered down juice or something.I'm not a big fan of sugar since you really wanted to wean you can think of alternatives.

Do you think your DH can help at night-time ?
I was weaned at 3 by this method but I was old enough to understand it.But 1 year is very young age to try that method.
I would say wait for couple of weeks and keep talking to him saying that breasts are going to sleep during night.
Do you think if you reduce milk supply naturally he will be dis-interested in milk..
Good Luck with whatever you decide..
How is his eating habits during day time ?Is he getting enough fluids ?
Thanks
Mangai

Amitha · Sep 2, 2008

Hai,

I completely understand your concern. I have to mention that I read somewhere that abruptly stopping BFing will affect baby emotionally. I will have to search for that article ... I am not sure though whether I will get the link.

lathaa · Sep 2, 2008

Hi Ramya

One of the tough job with the kids is weaning.If Akshith is taking the regular food like rice,vegs etc??you can slowly start giving him regular milk in a bottle/sippy cup during the day time and later before going to bed,so that his tummy is full.

I weaned my son at the age of 1yr and 2weeks as he was totally avoiding the regular food and the pediatrician advised to wean so that he can divert to other foods and as he was very young i didn't put much effort in the process,his dad took care of him during the nights and i used to sleep away from him for few days,but the craving for it stays for some more days,you have to divert him with good food that interests him.Hope it helps you.

Aadhusmom · Sep 2, 2008

I know plenty of kids who were weaned abruptly at night and as far as I can tell they are "normal" children so I wouldnt worry too much about emotional consequences. I dont like neem oil because I have seen several babies who developed seizures as a result of swallowing neem oil. Bitter gourd may be alright. I would suggest two things:
1. If you are a strong person refuse BFing at night and offer milk in a sipper eventually watering it down to plain water. He will cry and you need to be strong enough to resist.
2. Make him sleep with DH or ILs at night for the next week. He will have no choice but to stop BFing.
Good luck!

Vanathi.

PS - Like everyone else has said make sure he goes to sleep on a full stomach ie. warm milk at bedtime is ideal.

Ramya Satheesh · Sep 4, 2008

Thanks Mangai, amitha, latha and Vanathi for your inputs. Could not get back to you earlier since i was out of town. Well, yesterday i tried to put Akshith to sleep with my DH and in laws. He refused to budge. so i fed him and made him sleep with them. He got up in the middle of the night and cried his heart out. so took him with me and fed him. But the positive part is he did not wake up too many times. Just once after that at about 5 in the morning.

I make sure he has decent (filling dinner). But he does not take milk everyday. Sometimes he does . other days he refuses. Today am planning to apply Bitterguoard juice and let him make the call.

To be frank it is putting me also under so much of emotional pressure. Hope this gets sorted out ASAP.

Cheers
Ramya

tikka · Sep 23, 2008

Ramya, abrupt night weaning while traumatic for the toddler for a little while, could be bad for you. Plugged ducts and mastitis are very much a possibility even if you are not nursing him much in the day time.
Does your LO have trouble sleeping when he is teething? K's sleep goes for a toss everytime he teeths or when he is unwell. I would just let him ride the infection/teething out and then look at getting him to sleep more soundly.

Hope this resolves out soon.

dhanasathesh · Feb 24, 2010

Hi Friends,
My DD is going to be 15 months by next month. Still I am brestfeeding her. In day time, whenever she wants to sleep or fussy she wants to breastfeed. Other than that she likes to eat all adult food. In night time, I have to feed her and make to sleep. and mid-night she wake-up for 1 time, and I have to feed her again to make her sleep. From her birth, she never had milk in bottle. But she likes to drink water in sippy cup. The problem is she doesnt like to drink whole milk. I tried with bottle, sippy and cup, but she never likes to drink whole milk. She is already under weight. I want her to wean from my breast and make her to drink whole milk. So please share your tips ad experience...

Thanks in advance...

-Dhana Sathesh