my son turned 2 in april and im struggling with weaning him. He wakes up so much at night to get the boob and im drain exhausted please any tips would help!!!
98 Likes
The best tip Iāve heard is to take a long weekend trip or just stay at a friendās or family members for that length of time. You will start to dry up quickly when heās at this age, and he will break the habit easier if you just arenāt there to ask. When you come back, the milk is āall goneā or your breasts are ābrokenā or āhave owwiesā. If he questions it, put bandaids over your nipples so you can show him.
When he makes a fuss, offer him snuggles. Validate his feelings āI know you want to nurse/want boo boo/boob/whatever name you use, Iām so sorry they have owwies/are broken right now. (soft facial expression, relaxed body language or open arms) Letās snuggle.ā give him lots of love and reassurance.
74 Likes
My 2 year old was the same way. I stopped making her take naps, and now she sleeps through the night. I also make sure she has a full belly before bed.
11 Likes
I stopped cold turkey because my son started teething heavily at 6 mo, he surprisingly took it well and was pretty easy to switch to a bottle.
Not sure about this 2nd one that is coming in November, lol.
Whatever you do, good luck!! 
1 Like
I didnāt breast feed but I did have to ween my girls off of formula and we mixed half milk and half formula then slowly rationed 1/4 Formula and 3/4 Milk then when it became weening off of milk we did the same but with water I know itās not the same but every little bit of advice from others momās always helped
7 Likes
It sounds like hes still sleeping with you, try putting him in his bed a naptimes and then putting him in his bed at bedtime and trying to let him sleep as long as he will before waking up. Thereās also the donāt ask, donāt refuse method which is considered gentle. Iāve read some about mental stress or possible damage done for manipulating the situation with sour, spicy, bandaids or what not stuff on the nips or going cold turkey but up to you to research more. Remember its also his comfort and soothing to, teething painful gums for example so also somewhat psychological. Maybe you can begin pumping and giving it to him warmed in a bottle before bed or having it nearby and try replacing milk time for back rubs. Gentle Parents Unite is a great resource.
2 Likes
Sounds like itās a habit thatās exhausting you. Mums that judge, stop this mum is exhausted and needs support for starters. There is no right answer, you can explain at 2 no more boob milk as mums run out. Or maybe even ask some ideas from the child health nurse.
7 Likes
My sister told my nephew that the milk was all gone, that he drank it all. He was fine with that answer amazingly.
22 Likes
I just handed my son and daughter their sippy each time they came to me, they eventually just stopped and were weaned, it wasnāt too bad you just have to be consistent. Donāt do it at all after you decide you want to quit, theyāll just learn if they keep trying or throwing a fit, theyāll eventually get it
4 Likes
I had this same problem! I used apple cider vinegar on my nipple and it only took 1 time of tasting it and he was done! I wish I would have known about it sooner bc he was waking up constantly to nurse at night.
35 Likes
I was only able to breast feed for about two months before my supply ran out, and I am in the process of weening myself from formula to milk, and she wakes up a bit more often than she used to. But my notice advice is, get baby used to breath milk in a bottle, wean off the breast milk, than wean off the bottle. Iām a week into weening and she is half way there. Half formula, half bottle. Weening off the breast is the hard part, everything after that is easy. I think ā¦ 
Iād say with night feeds, itās going to have to be cold turkey.
And after that, tell him āNOā when youāre out in public, so itās only a daytime feeding at home, and then you can start redirecting him during the day at home.
Also, bandaids over your nipples as a visual for him to see that itās no more.
Feed your child oatmeal it last longer to packages should get your child through the night. You can mix your breast milk in the oatmeal instead of water. Child doesnāt have to know what is involved with the oatmeal.This way you can do it for a little longer. Like 2 weeks & then after that you can add a banana to the oatmeal and see if your child likes it then your done with the breast milk. Problem solved.
Beside from it filling the tummy before bed, it also becomes part of the schedule & a comfort for them. Find alternatives for both 
6 Likes
Bind the bewbies, take the little one shopping for big kid cups that have the safety sippy lids, and bite the bullet and tell them they can have ice water or watered down juice in the sippy and they get a new bed time book and blanket! Itās big kid super night time routine! Extra hugs and cuddles. Learn that bed means sleep, they canāt go to mommy for nursing to soothe to go back to sleep. At this time itās habit rather than need
Perhaps have someone else offer bottle/ sippy. My daughter was so offended i dared offer a bottle . But would take from anyone else
1 Like
I had a ābig girlā party for my daughter. I got her a few presents- blankets and sippy cups. I talked about the party a couple weeks beforehand and she was excited. Cake and ice cream too. I also switched her car seat around at the same time and it kind of worked as a visual representation. She was good with it and loves that sheās a big girl now. Cried the first 2 nights and no problems since.
2 Likes
My son did until 2.5 lol he only did still at nap time and bedtime. I started by cutting out nap time (that one was the easiest) and then a couple days later cut out bedtime. Now bedtime was hard. It was a rough couple of days but it was so worth it. After the couple of days he completely forgot about the boob. Wish I had done it sooner!
3 Likes
My niece told her son her boobies were broken so he couldnāt have anymore milk. (He was almost 3)
Sheās pregnant now and told her kids sheās going to breastfeed the new babyā¦her son(now 5) yelled āYOU TOLD ME THEY WERE BROKEN!!!ā 
41 Likes
I told my daughter the milk stopped cause she was a big girl. I still have her cuddles at night until she figured out no more milk. I also have her a protein snack before bed.
10 Likes
Daddy or someone else without your boobs needs to step in during the night to comfort him so that you can work on drying up your breastmilk. Once he gets over the whole āonly boob will helpā then he will transition to no longer breastfeeding more quickly. You need to change up his routine.
I started saying, āletās just snuggleā. I tried to say ānot right nowā. And I think that didnāt help. I just had to start saying no and offering him a bottle or snuggles or games if it was daytime
No matter what you do, kudos! I never could produce enough and always had to supplement formula. Good job, mom!
7 Likes
I breastfed my daughter until she was 3, but of course I had my son when I was actually trying to ween her at that age but eventually she learned.
My son on the other hand I stopped breastfeeding him about 9-10months because once he started teethingā¦yeah he was a chomper lol. It was difficult but I found filling him up with food and if heās old enough for homomilk then there are alternatives. Otherwise rocking and cuddles helped alot too. Good luck!
I got to the point with my daughter around age two where I was way too tired from her nursing and Iād just tuck my arms in where my boobs were and eventually she got over being mad about not being able to get to them easily and stopped nursing at night. Withing the next six months she stopped napping most days so I only nursed her at bedtime. When I got pregnant with her brother she was only nursing once a day so when I was about six weeks along and my boobs started hurting too bad it took about a week for her to stop being upset about me refusing. Iād lay in bed with her and snuggle her instead of nursing her and itās been four months since her last nurse. Iām 27 weeks along and glad Im getting a break from it until baby boy is born.
BANDAIDS! On boobs! Best thing I did. My son is a sensitive kid and would cry when he accidentally hurt mommy. Soo I told them boobies really hurt and needed bandaids on them. I basically wore bandaids all the time for about a month.
1 Like
I just stopped on friday. Cold turkey, ive been so exhausted by it with her waking up 7 or more times a night.
I tried the gentle weaning but it DID NOT work. So i went cold turkey.
My breasts killed me! So what helped was cold cabbage leaves in my bra, massaging the hard lumps while in the shower, i pumped a teeny little bit whwn it just became too much.
We are on day 5 now- she still asks but i just redirect her attention and at night i let her sleep in her cot and when she wakes up she cuddles up in bed.
Just explain to them is done (one of the few words my baby can say) 
You literally just stop. I had to do it at 17 months. Thereās no special trick to it. Youāre either ready or youāre not
2 Likes
I slept on my stomach 
he wasnāt feeding it was just comfort. I wish I had better advice for you all I have is empathy. Best of luck to you all!
I struggled with this too hence why it took longer for me to return to full time work but not only that,deal with my own attachment issues with the whole process
I started introducing and āsupplementingā more solid and filling foods so my little one didnt seek the boob so much. Started weaning off morning feeds with some soft,mushed weetbix for eg ! Its truly a hard journey but pray you get there ! May seem no end in near sight but I assure you,its there 
Keep smiling xx
I cold turkeyāed my 20 month old. I was tired and over the late night comfort nursing sessions.
She cried and I cried but honestlyā¦ it takes 3 days to break a habit and then not nursing became the new normal.
I didnāt leave mine, just went through a couple weeks of slipping the sippy/bottle with Pediasure or milk when he wanted the boob. I would tell him āall doneā along with the baby sign language sign when he would try to nurse. And, offer the cup instead.
He was 2 1/2 and it went fairly smoothly.
I highly recommend the book āPrecious Little Sleepā, there are tons of sleep training and weaning instructions in there that helped me.
Honestly I struggled so bad to get my son to wean. I tried everything and it wasnāt until a month ago that I was successful. He is almost 2, I had to put bandages over my boobs and tell him they were broken. It was a hard first day but each day got progressively easier. It was the only thing that worked for me
So my daughters both struggled to stop nursing! But with my first daughter she had a sleepover at Grammys house and because she didnāt nurse that night I just started saying all gone and she was old enough to understand kind of and stopped. It was tricky the first night but then fine. My second we tried that too and didnāt work as well but did help get it going. She just took a lot longer to be okay with it.
Following! My 4 year old son still breastfeeds at night only but like they said is definitely jist a comfort thing at this point. (My son is special needs) i asked the pediatrician she said he will stop when he is ready. I am also super exhausted 
Easiest thing for me was weaning during the day then when his first birthday came i cut him off cold turkey
1 Like
I cut one feeding a week (starting with night feeds) until I was down to 1 a day, then 1 every other day, then one every couple days, then none. It was actually extremely easy just gradually cutting it back, like she didnāt even notice and I naturally quit producing slowly and just kept it moving. No problems.
I just took my daughter off, she just turned 2 and guess what I used lmao I used apple cider vinegar the organic one smells nasty I know but I use to out very little on my nipples and she would smell it and cried because it was nasty and then I would offer the sipoy cup with milk and she would cry sometimes but I held my ground and keeped doing it and in 2 weeks she was off she hated the smell and the taste.
Just wear sweaters for a couple days. Everytime he wants to breastfeed divert his attention away with a sippy cup, a snack or an activity like reading a book. Worked within a few days for me my kid was completely weaned
Vinegar on your nipple or leave. Both my kiddos I had to leave (or sleep in another room and have someone else care for them)
Cold turkey 
it was not easy but it was definitely a necessity - I was losing my mind at 1 1/2
Iāve been trying to figure this out!!! I also co-sleep so Iām stuck lmao. Mine will be 2 In January and I am trying to wean both boob and bed by then
Just slowing stop feeding as much he should be eating regular food by now and drinking out of sippy cups by now juice milk etc
Gotta put that foot down mama and I am a " bad" mom and allowed mine a cup instead of my boob at first of milk then switched to water
Make hin sleep with his dad or let bis dad attend to him for 3 days straight and he wont know what a boob is hehe
If heās got teeth, can eat, and youāve decided youāre done, give him a sippy cup at night and food during the day. Next step is to put him in his own bed.
Ive been there. My daughter was almost 3. I just kept saying oh i think its all gone, after awhile thats all Id have to say and she didnt go for it anymore
Me to my daughters one and Iām struggling to get her to stop aswell she wakes up so many times and itās definitely exhausting
1 Like
I breastfed my son for 10 months, planned on going for atleast the full first year but one week, he started refusing his morning feeding & i was being lazy & didnt pump when he wouldnt breastfeed & just within that one week i started making less & drying up. That wasnt my plan, but i didnt realize what happened till it was too late. He still got breastmilk the full year cause i would freeze extra milk when i could. Idk if you also pump but if you do what i did, heāll have no choice but to ween because it will start drying up, then you can just offer him milk when he wakes at night. Or you could just start offering milk in his cup every other time he would usually breastfeed & just tell him you put your booby milk in there. Continue that until heās fully off the boob.
I stopped night feeds cold turkey and got to stay with my baby. I wore and big shirt, filled her sippy cup, turned the tv on but muted and just layer with her and rubbed her back. Every time she asked I would tell her no itās all gone and hand her the sippy and rub her back. Of course there was some crying but I was right there so it helped. It took about 2 nights but after that she understood and started sleeping all night.
Start a routine. Maybe only do it in the morning, nap and bedtime. Tell him that itās time to do new stuff. Offer lots of snuggles during the times you arenāt breastfeeding, or when you normally would. Start cutting out a time each week and within a month, hopefully, they will be weaned
Following because my baby will be 14 months and wakes so much through the night wanting a bob just to suck
When I weened my children, I slowly starting offering a bottle of formula as a substitute.
Just weaned myself 17 month old. Started with over night. When she woke up Iād just lay her back down in her crib and pat her butt until she fell back asleep. That was a rough 3/4 nights but she has slept through the night since. Then I just slowly cut out day time nursing until she was only nursing when she woke up in the morning. Mornings are busy so eventually I just started putting her in her high chair with breakfast as soon as she woke up and we havenāt looked back. It was a process. My son wasnāt like that, he was so much easier to wean lol
It was hard but I just kept saying no more now , cold turkey was the only way for me to do it
The Jay Gordon night weaning method is a gentle approach to weaning 
Maybe get him a lovey he could have at bedtime? Something he could use to self soothe
Me to my sonās birthday is April 4th he is also 2 he only needs the boob to sleep Iām so over it tho
My son is just over 2. I have the same issue. Iām at the point now where I just canāt stand it. Iām just going to stop cold Turkey.
My daughter inlaw put bandages on her nipple and said she had a bad Owie, been 4 days so far 
put bandaid on your nipples and tell him itās all gone
5 Likes
Cold turkey I had to with my daughter and it took me not to give in
If warm sippy of milk didnāt help, then maybe just have to wait out the fits at night. Itās what I had to do, took me two days.
Warm milk sippys got mine to stop
1 Like
Bandaids on the boobies & I took an antihistamine to help dry my milk up
Just refuse all night long until they get the point. Helps to have someone else do the calming. Homo milk as a substitute?
Stop getting up should be off nursing by 2
1 Like
Supplement with a bottle of formula at night before bed. I found with my 4 that they slept much better with formula than breast, kinda like they stayed fuller for longer.
Put bandaids over your nipples and tell him you have owies. After a wee of this he will build new habits.
Put ground sage in your food to dry up your milk.
Here for the assist my daughter will be 2 soon and doesnāt seem to want to stop anytime soon
Victoria Soares
my daughter going through same thing!! For me I just told my daughter when she was 15 mo old itās all gone. And then refused to let her nurse after that!
1 Like
Cold turkeyš¤·āāļø he begs let him cry and offer him a glass of juice, milk, or whatever. Sometimes gotta show tough love and let them cry it out. Me personally would never let my child be on my boob longer than a year.
5 Likes
You have to get a baby sitter for the weekend.
1 Like
I put bandaids on my nipples and told him they went bye bye but we could just cuddle instead
Wear a tight sports bra .put winger on ur nipples.wont like the taste.or lemon juice
My DIL put Salt on her nipples to get the 5 th baby to stop breastfeeding!!!
I have 4 daughters breastfed them all I finally tried fresh aloe Vera plant this last time and she was weaned within a week she hated the way it tasted It mad me sad but she was fine and went straight to a straw sippy cup I promise it will work and itās harmless unless the baby actually likes it but mine could smell it after the first few times and would just push me away
1 Like
I struggled but I had to keep covered, really covered so she couldnāt get to my boobs. I had an overnight at work which helped. She would tantrum so bad where ever we were and I had to keep repeating no boob now, but would you like a cuddle. She would try getting at my boob so I would put her down and say no boob. Only cuddle. She would try over and over and each time I would repeat the same. She tried less amd less and despite me holding back tears each time I would just say no boob, only cuddle. Putting her down each time she went for my boob was hard because I felt like I was rejecting her. But I had to show her that she couldnāt go for boobs anymore.
Its so hard but you can do this. Great job mama getting this far. Youāve done amazing. If you can get away for a couple of days amazing, if not stay strong. Sending love x
My mom used sippy cups to take me off the nipple
I saw a lady put tape on her nips idk if it worked
Iāve heard of putting bandaids on your nipples so when they try they canāt 
Lemon juice on your nipples. Prob wonāt ask again 
Ok so first of all a 2 year old should be sleeping through the night and not waking up to breast feed. I would say try to wean with a bottle but that ship has sailed. Maybe start filling a sippy cup with breast milk and then slowly mixing with regular milk. This is whatās usually done when they hit the 1 year old mark so hopefully it will work. If he keeps getting up you may have a few sleepless nights while breaking him out of this habit because realistically it has become a habit. Good luck
1 Like
My baby was 3 yrs and 3 months and I just had to say I am done and noā¦it was so sad
1 Like
Also i am seriously hoping my son will understand when i try to explain that we are done when he turns 2. (Hes 16 months rn so we still have a while but i dont think he understands a ton i say rn and he doesnt talk yet. I know he understands some now but i think he just ignores me when i try to tell him how we are not gonna do something lol. Best wishes!! Sending positive vibes
Cold turkey. Heāll get over it in a week.
Following because sheās going on 2!
I vote keep going! Am i the only one who says keep going? Let him self wean.
Give him actual food before bed to fill him up
1 Like
Following i know i will have the same struggle lolc
Large bandaids over the nips
Nicolle Turner how long do babies breast feed for hun?
My friend had to wear leotards! I know that sounds stupid! If he couldnāt pull up her shirt, he would whine and give up!
2 Likes
Cold turkey day time, then after heās comfortable with being without during daytime, go night time. It takes patience. It does, but I just did this with my 2.5 year old son. He sleeps better, eats better, but is moodier as we adjust.
It takes lots of patience. Cause heāll cry for it a lot. Redirect, distractions, patience, and comfort.
Just say no an offer a sippy. I never did bandaid or leave for the weekend - i said no an there is NOTHING wrong with saying no to your child.
Honestly I just offered a sippy cup, hug and kiss, and walk back out of the room, but depending on how upset he was Iād sit and rock him while he has the cup and him to him.
Take him shopping for Big Boy cups. Tell him that he is a big boy now. Do like someone else suggestedā¦pump and mix with regular milk at first.
My son stopped at 2 months. All on his own. I tried, but heād make gagging faces
My son is 3 and I also cannot figure out how to wean. I suppose he will wean by high school. Lol
1 Like