Help - get her off!

[littleEDfamily]

I'm done with breastfeeding my 16 month old. Seriously done. It's getting into 'bitty' territory and she seems to find biting me hilarious on occasion and also demanding to be fed in public, which I no longer feel comfortable doing. And anyway, I think 'it's time'

Problem: she won't touch formula and mostly rejects cow's milk, and has never drunk out of a bottle. I am not worried about her nutrition (she eats loads of stuff and I don't really buy into the tons of milk for toddlers thing), but I just don't know how to replace the bobby habit with something else. It's worst first thing in the morning when she awakens hell bent on boob milk and gets rather cross when it is not forthcoming. What do I give her instead? She'll have a bit of water, which distracts her for about ten seconds, then she comes huntin for mama...

Any tricks?

[childsleepsolutions]

I went cold turkey with my daughter and offered her cows milk in a tommee tippee, she went mad on the first day, a bit less the second and then just threw the milk at me in disgust on the third but with no histronics! After a couple of weeks she did start to take milk from her cup (she was just over 1 at the time). What I guess you have to remember is 1) you are in charge and 2) even if she is very cross at first it won't last forever! Will probably hurt your boobs more than it will hurt her! Good luck.

[anna_r]

Same, cold turkey at 13 months, husband went in at night instead of me and had to deal with three bad nights. Didn't drink any milk/formula until a couple of weeks ago (a month after stopping) and now she has a good sized bottle before bed. Distract with activities? Non low cut tops. Avoid snuggling in breastfeeding position for a while so can't smell milk. We ramped down slowly though so by end was just bed feed. Make sure really full from dinner. Good luck! I had some of the same feelings just before giving up. I think you often know when you're done xx

[anna_r]

One more thing...instead of early morning feed we went straight down and did breakfast - sometimes at 5am - to avoid waking and expect milk association

[littleEDfamily]

Ooh, yes, thanks anna_r - the routine at the mo is that she comes into bed with me and feeds while I am still semi-comatose. I'm going to try and get up before her tomorrow, get dressed in many many layers of tops and present her with a big fat tub of yoghurt before she has time to commence her usual 'more, more, more' routine...

My sister had to give hers vanilla flavour formula to entice him off the boob. In desperation I have tried to find some, but they don't seem to make it in the country. I have tried normal forula and she looks at me like I am playing some sort of twisted practical joke on her....

[anna_r]

We tried formula, soya milk, goats milk, cows milk, strawberry milk, choc milk, milk mixed with apple juice. Hot, cold, warm. Bottle, beaker, cup. Spat all of it out. But she takes it now :) needed to forget boobs existed.

[womanofdulwich]

i think going away for a night and not being there in the morning might be easiest!!

[littleEDfamily]

Have been away a few times and she is absolutely fine when I am not there. It's purely the association with mummy and milk that needs to be broken....I'm being driven mad at the moment (tonight, just before dinner, I made the mistake of sitting on the floor to read her a story and she decided she wanted a feed... I had to literally run away from her), but I know I will be sad when it's over as it's hard to get sustained cuddles from a toddler and the pre-bed feed is still quite cute ....thanks for the advice everyone..