This is a loose interpretation of our typical day. If any of you have any advice (ie: step-by-step directions) on how to go about this, please share!
7:30 to 8 a.m.: Everybody is up and Jack nurses.
8 a.m.: Jack is offered cereal and/or fruit baby food (which he eats very little of) while Carter eats breakfast. Then, I offer Jack a 4oz bottle of formula (of which, he currently drinks zilch).
8:30 to 9 a.m.: Jack plays on the floor while Carter watches cartoons and I get dressed. Then, Jack nurses before going down for a nap (should this be the first feeding I drop??).
Between 9:30 and 10 a.m.: Jack goes down for a nap and I try to spend time entertaining Carter and squeeze in some laundry and cleaning. Exceptions are trips to the gym a few days a week...everybody gets packed up and Jack naps in child-watch (poor second child).
Between 11:30 a.m. and noon: Jack wakes up from his nap and nurses. I prepare lunch for the kids. Jack has a few bites of veggie baby food and he also gets finger foods to play with and a sippy cup of water. Then I offer him a 4oz bottle (usually the same one from breakfast) which he thinks is comical.
1 p.m.: Carter goes down for a nap and I spend some one-on-one time with Jack.
Between 1:30 and 2 p.m.: We try for our second nap. Jack usually nurses before sleeping (should this be the first feeding I drop??).
4 p.m.: Everybody is up, and Jack nurses while Carter has a snack.
4 to 5:30 p.m.: The boys play or if need be, we run quick errands.
6 to 6:30 p.m.: We have dinner. Jack has a few bites of baby food with finger foods from our plates (which he hasn't quite gotten the hang of yet). I also offer him that same bottle of formula before dumping in down the drain.
7 to 7:30 p.m.: The kids have some playtime while we clean up from dinner then bath time.
8 p.m.: Pj's are on all the kids, and Carter is read stories.
8:30 p.m.: Carter goes to bed.
9 p.m.: I nurse Jack and put him to bed.
7:30 to 8 a.m.: Everybody is up and Jack nurses.
8 a.m.: Jack is offered cereal and/or fruit baby food (which he eats very little of) while Carter eats breakfast. Then, I offer Jack a 4oz bottle of formula (of which, he currently drinks zilch).
8:30 to 9 a.m.: Jack plays on the floor while Carter watches cartoons and I get dressed. Then, Jack nurses before going down for a nap (should this be the first feeding I drop??).
Between 9:30 and 10 a.m.: Jack goes down for a nap and I try to spend time entertaining Carter and squeeze in some laundry and cleaning. Exceptions are trips to the gym a few days a week...everybody gets packed up and Jack naps in child-watch (poor second child).
Between 11:30 a.m. and noon: Jack wakes up from his nap and nurses. I prepare lunch for the kids. Jack has a few bites of veggie baby food and he also gets finger foods to play with and a sippy cup of water. Then I offer him a 4oz bottle (usually the same one from breakfast) which he thinks is comical.
1 p.m.: Carter goes down for a nap and I spend some one-on-one time with Jack.
Between 1:30 and 2 p.m.: We try for our second nap. Jack usually nurses before sleeping (should this be the first feeding I drop??).
4 p.m.: Everybody is up, and Jack nurses while Carter has a snack.
4 to 5:30 p.m.: The boys play or if need be, we run quick errands.
6 to 6:30 p.m.: We have dinner. Jack has a few bites of baby food with finger foods from our plates (which he hasn't quite gotten the hang of yet). I also offer him that same bottle of formula before dumping in down the drain.
7 to 7:30 p.m.: The kids have some playtime while we clean up from dinner then bath time.
8 p.m.: Pj's are on all the kids, and Carter is read stories.
8:30 p.m.: Carter goes to bed.
9 p.m.: I nurse Jack and put him to bed.
You might be wondering why I am so clueless having weaned before. That is because the last time around we weaned in the span of about 2 weeks, not 6, and Carter was wolfing down the solids. Not so much this time around, so I am not sure where to begin.
4 comments:
Hi Gina. My first question is why are you deciding to wean him before a year if I might ask. Well I just did so I hope I did not offend. The second is that I would not drop a feed prior to sleeping as you might not get a nap in. I would drop first the feeding that you might consider his snack or his lunch. This might make him more hungry and after a day or two because he will protest. He will eat his baby food. Have you tried adding a bit of mama milk to his food so that he tastes it. I would also suggest that you ditch the bottle and just offer him a sippy cup with the formula. He's going to transition to sippy any way at a year so introduce now. I introduced the sippy at 7 months to both my kids who nursed at a year and the transition from Breast to Sippy went well. I used the think baby sippy http://www.amazon.com/Thinkbaby-Spill-Sippy-Orange-Natural/dp/B003LPUPVU
I would say that if you want to drop the morning feed first unless you are just busting at the seams that you reverse the am. So feed him cereal mixed with your milk first and than nurse him. He may not be eating because he may feel full from nursing.
Personally I dropped a feeding each week but we were down to three by 12 months. Morning, lunch and dinner. I dropped lunch first. Than morning than dinner. My nursing to sleep at night time dropped at 9 months as did the middle of the night feeding. Hope that is some information you might have been looking for. ML
PS. I can not get to your blog from my blog list. It says private, invite only. :(
Does Jack fall asleep nursing, or can he fall asleep on his own? Are you trying to wean him to formula, instead of nursing? If he can fall asleep on his own, then I would drop the mid-morning feeding first, as it seems to be squeezed in there already. You could try to do it gradually - nurse 10 min one side and 5 min the other, then a few days later drop it to 5 min on both sides, then 5 min on one side only, then drop it altogether. It would take a few weeks, so you could try doing this for both the morning and afternoon naps. He's nursing so much right now - that's why he doesn't want his solids or the formula. If he seems to be thirsty before his naps, then I would give him some water or maybe apple juice.
After that, I would just replace his morning, noon, and night feeding with formula until he was old enough to drink cow's milk. I replaced Silas' morning feeding with warm milk when he was 11 mo old, he still drinks warm milk before breakfast and he's almost 4.
Hello there my big sister! Molly is now 16 months old and I'm STILL trying to figure out the weening! I said I'd NEVER nurse past a year, but when you have a screamer and you need to sleep, somehow nursing after a year doesn't sound so bad anymore. We're down to just one night feeding and sometimes another in the middle of the night. So, I'm certainly NOT an expert. But here's my advice:
I'd give up the feeding after his first nap first...the one between 11:30 and noon. Definitely save those pre-nap and pre-bedtime feedings for the end of the process. Molly hated baby food. I found that if I mashed up the food that I was eating (which actually had some flavor) she'd eat much better. Will he take a bottle? I don't honestly think there is a right or wrong way...it's whatever makes you and your baby feel comfortable. Good luck!
Hi Gina,
I have the same problem with my 7 month old baby girl!! And our daily routine seems pretty much like yours!! She naps for 30 minutes and have to nurse her back to sleep again, she wont take the bottle or baby food... Have been trying to wean for 2 months but it's not working! Was wondering how did you manage?? Any tips please?
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