Weaning a 2 Year Old

[Kellen]

My DD is two years old and very attached to nursing. We typically nurse first thing in the morning, maybe once for a snack before lunch, nap time at 2pm, when she wakes up and then for bedtime.

At night I have finally convinced her to fall asleep on her own without nursing, but I can't seem to get her to do it for naps. I'm not completely ready to wean 110%, but I'd like to cut down a bit of her reliance on it. I did manage to keep her busy enough during the past couple mornings that she hasn't asked for it.

Any advice? Suggestions? Support?

DH and I would like to TTC this fall and I would like to give my body a rest before BF another little one. And I want to give DD enough time without nursing that she won't be overly jealous when #2 comes along and it constantly nursing.

 

[RaspberryK]

Don't offer don't refuse is a common one.
I'd probably drop the one that she is least attached to or easily distracted from.
Keep lots of snacks and other drinks handy.
I'm sure others will have some good ideas.
Xx

 

[staralfur]

I did start refusing feeds when my LO was around that age because she was still asking multiple times per day. I initially cut her down to 3, one first thing after she woke up, one before her nap, and one before putting her in bed. All other times she asked I just said no. She got upset at first but it really didn't take much to distract her and she caught on surprisingly fast. The night feed she dropped sort of naturally on her own around 2.5. We're down to one feed now (morning) and the nap one was tough to drop. I had to find a new thing to add to her nap routine (shhhing) to replace the nursing but she still fought it pretty good. Just persevere. If you want to only have X amount of feeds per day at certain times then make sure you're consistent. Try to find other ways to calm/relax her that you can use instead of nursing.

 

[Kellen]

Staralfur,

Thank you for sharing your experiences. This morning was really busy so my DD didn't really have time ask to nurse. Well, she asked, but understood not to throw a fit since we were in public. Then we had lunch and she ate and ate and ate (a whole piece of chicken, an entire cup of fresh fruit, half a basket of fries and some tomatoes!). I guess she was hungry... I think I'll try to have a morning snack more pre-planned so when she asks to nurse we can go to the table instead.

We have been working on just snuggling at night. She likes to nurse while we read a story, but after the lights go out she now understands we just hold each other until she becomes drowsy. That was a major fight, but I'm glad we did it.

Like you the nap time nurse is going to be the hard one for us. DH just left to go to work away from home for the next few months so we are trying to find a new normal. Once we have a more solid routine I will start incorporating a new way to fall asleep for naps. We also hope to have her start pre-school two mornings a week come April or May. I think that will help a lot. Then this fall I'd like to have her do one full-day which would include a nap.