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Home › Expert Q&A › Weaning Issues › How should I wean my 22-month-old son? Quickly or slowly?

Expert Q&A

 

By Melissa Clark Vickers
International Board Certified Lactation Consultant Moms & Babies Huntingdon, Tenn.

My son is 22 months, and I would like to wean him. Currently, he nurses in the morning (6:30 a.m.), afternoon (5:30 p.m.), and a couple times between 7:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. He usually wakes up about 2:00a.m. and nurses on and off until he wakes up. So, I guess he is nursing all the time! I am ready. How should I proceed. Should I quit cold turkey or slowly wean?

Let's start with the last question first. As a general rule, cold turkey weaning is not a good idea – for either you or your son. Rarely, a medical condition may demand immediate weaning, but when time is not an issue, a slower pace is better. This will allow your breasts to adjust more easily, thereby reducing the risk of a breast infection.

Gradual weaning is also easier on the baby. A breastfeeding toddler is getting far more than nutrition from you – you are a great source of comfort as he ventures out to explore the world. He can learn other ways to take comfort from your presence, but he'll need time to adjust.

How to proceed:

Try to identify the times that your son nurses when it seems the least important to him. Is there a feeding that happens mostly because you both expect it to? Can you get his mind on other things? You may find that if you keep him busy, he'll forget to ask.

Many moms use a "don't offer, don't refuse" approach to gradual weaning. This way, if baby needs to nurse, they are available. Sometimes this is a good way to determine which feedings are the most important to the child.

It sounds like from your question, your biggest concern is how to wean him from the nighttime marathons. This can be challenging! Perhaps he would let you break him off from your breast after a shorter time period and even suck on your finger until he goes back to sleep.

La Leche League International (LLLI) has a great book on weaning: How Weaning Happens by Diane Bengson. LLLI has an older book as well, Mothering Your Nursing Toddler by Norma Jane Bumgarner. This book is currently being revised, but the original is still timely.

You might enjoy attending some LLL meetings in your area to meet other moms who are nursing toddlers. You might be surprised to find out how many moms there are out there with 2-year-olds still nursing!

Good luck, and your son is lucky to have been nursed this long!

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