I'm confused. Did my 12mo wean himself?

[joeslittlewoman]

For the last 24-48 hours my 12mo hasn't been interested in nursing. He still wants to be held and snuggled a lot, but when I offer the breast, he puts his mouth on it, but doesn't suck much, if at all, and doesn't seem interested. Even while falling asleep (he is primarily nursed to sleep).

I thought maybe his throat hurt since he wasn't eating quite as much, but he'll take whole milk or breast milk in a sippy. And he seems more like he just doesn't want to sit to eat, rather than in pain.

I was away from him for a couple days, but I was full of milk and he nursed like a champ when I returned.

Did he just decide he is done? We were likely going to start weaning soon, but we hadn't taken any steps in that direction yet.

[VeganCupcake]

A sudden change in nursing patterns like that is usually not self-weaning--it's generally a nursing strike. If you want to, you can encourage him to go back to the breast.

Here's a link about how weaning (either child-led or mother-led weaning) happens: http://www.kellymom.com/bf/weaning/h...g_happens.html

Here's a link about nursing strikes and how to overcome them: http://www.kellymom.com/bf/concerns/...to-breast.html

[CEVmommy]

I agree with the PP that it doesn't sound like "self-weaning" to me. But if you were planning on weaning soon anyway, this may be a good opportunity for you to do it easily. If you would like to continue nursing, then you can still choose to do that too.

[joeslittlewoman]

Thanks, ladies! I thought it was strange. He hasn't been as interested during the day, but he still nursed often and a lot at night, so it was sudden. He did nurse down for his nap this morning, but still seemed hesitant. We have his 12m checkup today, so I'll see if there is a physical reason for it. We have had a lot of the other strike factors recently (away from baby, a bad bite that woke us both from sleep, lanolin because of the bite and pumping, etc).

I probably won't push him to start nursing again, but I am still offering when he seems interested. I guess the upside if it continues is that he won't be upset about weaning.

[proudmama4]

Originally Posted by CEVmommy I agree with the PP that it doesn't sound like "self-weaning" to me. But if you were planning on weaning soon anyway, this may be a good opportunity for you to do it easily. If you would like to continue nursing, then you can still choose to do that too.

ditto this.