[barbwong_130]

Dear SCR,

The book I would recommend is called “The Nursing Mother’s Guide to Wean” by Kathleen Huggins and Linda Ziedrich.

I like this book because it is split by age group – weaning a two month old is very different from weaning a two year old. Every chapter is the same. They start with telling you why breastfeeding at this age is good for both mother and baby, it addresses pressure from outside to wean at this age and then finally it gives suggestions about how to wean that age group.

If you are happy with your decision to wean then just turn to the end of the chapter. I think they need to address the pressure accept because so many mothers are uncomfortable about weaning but doing so because everyone else is advising it.

These books are available in the libraries of the La Leche League groups in Hong Kong. Call Maggie on 2817-7475 or Sarah on 2548-7636 to borrow it.

There is no research on how long mothers have milk for when they have been breastfeeding long team. The only research I’ve read is in mothers who breastfed for less than one year. The average time to completely loose their milk was 42 day (6 weeks). It is estimated that the longer you breastfeed the long it will be to loose your milk completely.

Occasionally you hear of a grandmother who manages to restart her milk to feed a grandchild when the real mother can’t. So once you have breastfed and got a milk supply established it is difficult to get rid of it completely.

Best wishes,
Barb

[scr]

Thanks Barb,

I will certainly try to get hold of that book. I was going through a couple of links yesterday on weaning after doing a search on google. One link now I can't remember which said that if you are breastfeeding an older child and reducing the no. of feeds gradually then you won't have milk earlier compared to mothers who are weaning a younger baby.

Well I guess since there isn't much research on this ..it must be pretty individual and every person has a different experience.

[barbwong_130]

I did a search on LACTNET with the words “milk after weaning” and got lots of stories about people having milk for months/years after weaning. Also some mothers who had never been pregnant but wanting to breastfeed adopted babies getting milk the first time they tried to pump. I don’t think it is rare to have some milk in your breasts at any time – even baby girls have it sometimes.

LACTNET archives address is http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/LACTNET.html

Best wishes,
Barb

[lynn cheung]

Wow, I don't know that it's so hard to wean toddlers. My baby just turned 1, and he also needs to nurse before his nap/s and bedtime. I plan to breastfeed tll he's 2 because now it's still convenience for me to do so. But I'd like to know your result, just in case mine is difficult too. My e-mail is villcheung@yahoo.com.hk. Thanks.

[armstroe]

It's a long shot, but have you tried creating the end of your nursing relationship as a milestone for your son. My elder daughter self-weaned (sadly at 9 months), but for getting her off the milk bottle and later nappies (2 1/2) I spent some time before telling her about the "bottle fairy" and the "nappy fairy".

Don't know how receptive a boy will be to talks about fairies, but the gist was that one night she would put her bottles, or nappies into a basket at the end of her bed and the fairy would come and take them for a younger baby. In return she'd leave some presents. It only took a few weeks of talking about this and discussing what sort of presents the fairy might leave before she came to the decision to give it a go. And it worked. No more bottles and she never asked about them again either.

[scr]

Thanks Armstroe,

Actually I have started talking about it..just 2 weeks ago though. Haven't used the fairy thing..but "big boy" talk. And since there is no elder sibling to show as not nursing..I'm using all of sesame street characters :) Elmo doesn't nurse..he is a big boy. I think it's slowly sinking in. I have to hang in there and keep talking about it I suppose. I can't physically give some closure to it though..can't put my breasts into a basket ;). Any ideas ?

Lynn,
The last thing I want to do is discourage any mother from nursing into toddlerhood because it seems so hard to wean ! I think weaning is hard at any age..for both mother and child. But every child is different. You may find that weaning is a breeze when the time comes. Or you may have lots of support from family. I'm trying to do it alone..without help from a helper of hubby - because I have no helper and like I said hubby travels a lot. So I'm trying to do it by myself. With my son I thought potty training is going to be really tough and he'll never get trained before 3 since he was terrified of sitting on the potty. But I found that when he was ready to sit by himself he took to it like a fish to water and within 2 weeks was completely trained. I was amazed how easily it happened. With nursing I think I should talk more to him about ending it and see how it goes. I will send you an email too later. Good luck and happy breastfeeding. There are lots of benefits of breastfeeding as you already know. My son now 2.8 years old has only fallen ill twice so far..and I like to think bfeeding him has given him that immunity. Also whenever I was ill he didn't fall sick inspite of close contact..again I like to think that since my body is fighting the infection he gets protection and is not affected by my germs. No studies to prove it just my feeling.

There are lots of books for little kids to prepare them for arrival of new baby or for potty training..anyone know of one that talks about weaning ?

[barbwong_130]

When I was weaning my first child I discovered that it came in stages. At first she couldn’t even understand the concept of not having mummy’s milk. Then she could talk about it but not manage it, next she could talk about it realistically and ultimately take the idea and put it into practice.

As we help child grow up we explain what life will be like and I believe that weaning is no different. No changes in life happen without talking to children and explaining our expectations of them.

The only book I’ve ever come across about weaning is called MAGGIE'S WEANING. The story is a child's eye view of the nursing experience. As Maggie reflects on the time she once spent at her mother's breast, she offers her thoughts on the joys and challenges of slowly leaving breastfeeding behind.

I borrowed this book from the La Leche League library when I was introducing the idea of weaning to my daughter.

Best wishes,
Barb

[scr]

Super :) Thanks Barb you are a ton of information.

I know my son responds well to books..he loves to read and the potty training book helped him a lot. I should have started talking to him about weaning a long time ago. But better late than never. The thought of that book "maggie's weaning" has got me excited. I don't expect the weaning process to be quick but this is a step forward.
Thank you again Barb. I have to get in touch with LLL