Hi Claire I have a 1 year old boy. I think I am ready for weaning.  He is only on breast milk. This is his pattern: He still takes the breast at night. When he wakes at night, I feed him (although its only for comfort). He doesn't even drink, he just sits there latched on to me. He has about 3 feeds during the day.1 before his morning nap, 1 before afternoon nap and 1 before bedtime. I feed him about 5-8 times at night. Depends how many times he wakes. I'm getting so tired and frustrated. Please help...   I heard about taking him off one feed at a time or taking baby off all feeds at once and giving cow's milk or powdered milk instead... Which is best? And about the aloe powder thing (not sure about spelling)? Apparently its something you put on breast that tastes really ugly and than baby doesn't want breast anymore? Please help!!! What should I do? Should I wait on weaning him? He is just getting more clingy and its going to be more difficult later. I really appreciate it if you can please advise me on what to do. Thanks

Thank you for your email. I know how tired and frustrated you are feeling. I have a piece titled 'Weaning baby off breast' on my website which explains how to go about weaning baby off the breast. Dropping one of the night feeds is the best way to start. As your little one is using breast feeding to comfort himself replace the breast with another comforter such as a bottle which can have breast milk mixed with formula initially or water; a dummy, or lots of love and comfort in the middle of the night even if he's protesting. I would not recommend taking him off all his feeds at one time as that could be very traumatic for him and putting nasty tasting substances on your breast is not the best way to wean him. Remember he is using breast feeding for comfort so don't deny him the comfort he needs just provide it for him in another way.   Let me know how it goes and if you need more help do not hesitate to contact me. Best wishes- Claire I started weaning baby off the breast about 2 weeks ago. He is off for the morning and afternoon feeds. I want to know now what next? He has 1 feed before he goes to sleep and then about 3-5 feeds during the night. Should I take out the middle of the night feeds first or do the 'before he sleeps' feed? What about the early morning feeds (6AM - 7.am)? Baby is feeling a bit sick at the moment. Could it be because I'm weaning him and it's some kind of a 'missing me' thing? And should I carry on with the weaning or wait until he is well? One more question:  Baby doesn't like to drink powdered milk/cows milk from a bottle/glass/cup. What should I do? I tried everything. Should I just carry on giving him water before he sleeps during the day? Will he be getting enough calcium from the milk I put in his cereal in mornings and yogurt throughout the day? Thanks for all the help and advice! I really appreciate it! Thank you for your email. Well done on being so successful at weaning baby by taking it slow. I would recommend you stop the middle of the night feed first, then the other night feeds. Keep the before he goes to sleep feed and the early morning feed for a while longer. Baby feeling sick is probably not related to breast feeding provided he is receiving sufficient nutrients from his diet. If you are concerned visit your paediatrician for a general check up. Still give him lots of love, hugs and attention even if you're not giving him the breast and he won't miss you. Continue weaning even though he may be fussy. Try mixing breast milk with formula and try various kinds of formula suitable for a 1 year old. There are some that have a vanilla taste. In addition try adding some cheese to his diet especially Kiri cream cheese.. Keep offering him the milk/formula appropriate for his age in a bottle or cup and let him have a milkshake when you are out at restaurants. Always give him full cream yoghurt. If he continues to refuse milk there are other ways to ensure he receives sufficient calcium. Some fruit juices contain calcium but try not to give too much juice and dilute it with water. Tofu and creamed soups also contain calcium, as well as fortified soy milk and other fortified foods. Baked custard and puddings suitable for his age also contain calcium.  At one year of age you son requires 80g of calcium a day. The daily recommended allowance shown on food products is based on the adult requirement of 10g a day, so if a product contains 30g of calcium that is about half of what your baby needs or 40%. A cup of plain full cream yoghurt provides about 30g of calcium. As he is still breast feeding he is receiving sufficient calcium at the moment from you and the yoghurt and milk in his cereal. He will probably naturally ask for more foods that contain calcium such as yoghurt and cheese once he stops breast feeding. Please let me know how it is going and when he stops breast feeding completely. Continue the great job you are doing. Best wishes- Claire Hi Claire I just wanted to update you on my weaning process. I managed to  wean baby off all the night and day feeds. Baby is only getting 1 feed now and thats the one before he goes to sleep for the night. When should I take that one out? Should I wait until he is older or just carry on while I am at it? Baby started drinking a little of the milk I am offering him in his sippycup. I just mix it a bit with water because I think he is finding it a bit thick. He still doesn't drink the amount that he is supposed to drink but it's a start. The formula was giving baby too much wind so I put him on cow's milk. Can I mix Nesquik or Milo in his milk or is that not good for them at this age? Is there anything else I should do or know? Thanks for all your help. Thank you for your email.   Congratulations! You have done so well at weaning your little one, and I assume baby is happy and adjusting smoothly to no breast as you do not mention him being fussy. I would advise you continue weaning him. Persevere with the cow's milk even if it is diluted. Your son will soon get used to the taste and try to give him undiluted milk as he takes more of it.Even though I suggested the odd milkshake when you are out at restaurants, I would not recommend adding Milo or nesquik as you do not want your son to only drink milk that is sweetened or flavoured. Ensure your little one is getting sufficient calcium through other foods in his diet as recommended in the previous email. Keep me posted on how he is doing.   Best wishes-Claire Hi Claire I'm so sorry  for troubling you again. Baby is still having that one feed at night only. And he still doesn't reallly drink milk during the day. Maybe a few sips and that's it. I thought he was starting to drink since he is not getting it from me. But no such luck. He is still waking a lot at night for no reason, sometimes cramps, sometimes just to be rocked back to sleep. Do you think he can be getting hungry at night? Should I start giving him milk at night in a bottle?   The problem that I'm having is that he is suffering from cramps everyday. Sometimes at night and sometimes during the day. He'll pull his legs and make his stomach hard. Sometimes after a wind comes out, he'll be settled. Sometimes not.   What can I do? Please help. It's getting very frustrating. Thank you for your email. You can email me anytime as many times as you like. Continue with the 1 feed at night until you feel your little one is ready to wean off it. You have made good progress so if you slow down a bit now it is fine. Do not allow him to have more than the one feed from the breast though and plan on weaning him off it the moment he settles.  There is a possibility your baby is not taking in enough fluids now that he has stopped breast feeding. Ensure he is drinking water during the day. By all means give him milk at night and also try giving him rooibos tea and maybe try adding milk to it, as well as mixing prune juice into his juice or water. Try not to give him rich food or foods containing onions and garlic at night as they tend to produce wind. His diet should also include fresh fruits and vegetables for fibre.  Let me know how he's doing in a week. Best- Claire Please see my comments in black below- Claire Thanks for the reply. He does have a lot of water during the day and sips whenever he wakes at night.  Great!  I will try the rooibos also. I heard that giving them milk at night can rot his teeth. Is that true?  As your son's diet is changing you will need to experiment with different foods to find out what works best for him. It will take a while for his digestive system to adjust to not having breast milk. Take note of what he has eaten when his tummy is bothering him so you can avoid those foods for a while. Milk can cause tooth decay if they fall asleep with the bottle in their mouth. This is more of a concern for younger babies than one-year-olds. Ensure you are brushing his teeth twice a day as well.    I used to give him rice and/or chicken and/or veggies or pasta with spices for the night and afternoon.  Food sounds good maybe reduce the amount of spices, or limit it to lunch time only.  Could that be the cause? Should I just carry on with cereal for morning and night and leave the spices for the afternoon meal? I felt he was getting a bit bored with the cereal twice a day. Can you give me some advice about anything new that I could give him?  Try fish fingers, mashed potatoes (good way to add cheese and milk to his diet), avocado, custard, macaroni cheese, butternut, sweet potato. Also try some of the ready made meals for toddlers that are available at Woolworths or get ideas from their meals. Chicken sausages are also good.  Also, I am planning to go on holiday in March. Should I wean him off the last feed when I return or before I go?  That is your decision. I would settle his tummy and then complete the weaning.   Thanks for all your time and advice. Pleasure. Let me know how he's doing next week. Best- Claire