Weaning Your One-Year-Old Off Breastfeeding

Like I've said before, I expected to breastfeed Charlotte for the first two years of her life. However, I have decided that one year of being exclusively breastfed is an accomplishment, and I am starting to slowly wean her off the breast.

I thought I would be able to quit breastfeeding cold turkey, but at this point I'm still too tired to wake up and stay up in the middle of the night when Charlotte gets up looking for boob. Instead, for the last week I've stopped breastfeeding all day, and I even try to get her to sleep at night without it. When she wakes up at 4 or 5a.m., she gets to cuddle up with the boob, which I'm sure is the highlight of her little night.

It hasn't been easy, but it has been easier than I expected it to be. She still pulls at my shirt once or twice a day, and she's definitely harder to get to sleep without breastfeeding. I'm starting to learn other ways to get her to sleep, whether it's rocking her to A Perfect Circle concerts on TV or driving up into the foothills of the mountains playing my "Baby" playlist. She also likes to eat or snack almost every hour, so keeping on top of that ensures she's a happy girl.

I've also been giving her multiple options for drinking organic cow milk and water throughout the day. My daughter has never been a fan of bottles, and up until recently sippy cups were not her favorite, except to play with maybe. I found a moment of relief recently when she started successfully drinking out of her preferred sippy cups. Trying tons of different brands, I've finally found two that Charlotte is successful with, which are either Tommee Tippees' 4m+ First Sips Transition Cup or Munchkin's Weighted Flexi Straw Trainer Cup.

Every other sippy cup Charlotte would use gave so much of the drink at one time that she would just spit it down her chin, soaking her shirt. I found the Tommee Tippee cup for smaller babies, and I noticed (I think with the help of my sister Ashley) that there was only one hole on the mouthpiece compared to the three in the other cups for older babies. We also like this cup because it's portable and lightweight, making it possible for Charlotte to carry the cup around everywhere she goes. 

The Munchkin straw cup was a great discovery once my mom taught Charlotte how to drink out of a straw while she was babysitting one day. (Grandma's house is always a fun place for Charlotte, she comes back learning to play peek-a-boo or saying something new.) A great feature of this cup is that it's virtually spill proof, and I say virtually because if your baby decides to blow as hard as they can into the straw, you can believe some pressure might start pushing milk up out the straw very slowly throughout the day. Or when your toddler throws the cup at the hardwood floor constantly throughout the day, damage could eventually be done. However, we're still on our first cup, and we have no complaints here. Another great feature of this Trainer Cup is that the weighted straw ensures the baby will get even the last drop, no matter which way they hold it. 

I've also noticed that if Charlotte is refusing the cup, but hasn't had a drink in a while, I'll cuddle her close and then offer it, and typically this works like a charm. I have to remember that although I'm not breastfeeding her, she's used to a lot of cuddles and closeness associated with nursing.

I'm not sure when I'm going to stop breastfeeding at night, but I'll worry about that another time. Thanks for following along everyone!