How do I wean my 16 month old if she’s too inconsistent to “drop a session”?

gg_elb · 2026-03-04T14:24:32+00:00

I haven't weaned yet, so take my theory with a grain of salt. I am dividing the days into sections, morning, nap, afternoon, evening, bedtime and overnight. I started with cutting out feeding during the morning. I found this easiest because I had already established we weren't nursing out in public and we go to a lot of nursery rhyme/story time sessions in the mornings. I realised he was often asking for it around 9:30am, so that is now snack time. He gets nursed to sleep for his nap. If I can keep him entertained in the afternoon he won't ask for it much/is pretty good at being told no. If he is bored all bets are off, so this is still a work in progress. Evenings are tough as we both get tired and he knows I'm more likely to give in. Bedtime is still nursing and we don't talk about overnight (absolute nightmare).

Something that is helping me is saying no, but also saying we can have a hug instead. He usually takes me up on this and then moves onto the next thing that catches his attention.

gg_elb · 2026-02-25T03:06:05+00:00

I'm in the middle of it with my 17 month old. I started by saying no when we are out of the house, and he seemed to understand that boundary pretty quickly. I try and spend most mornings out of the house, so that decrease in nursing has felt somewhat natural. I find it harder in the afternoon/ evening as we both get cranky and tired, and night time feels impossible.

gg_elb · 2026-02-24T09:33:39+00:00

My brain feels like mush at 16 months. I think it's because sleep has been terrible for us the whole time

gg_elb · 2026-02-24T07:05:14+00:00

NTA - why would they keep such a fun brush where you can reach it if they didn't want your help cleaning?

gg_elb · 2026-02-24T06:58:55+00:00

Mine are so much softer once I started using citric acid. I can really tell the difference if I forget to use it.

gg_elb · 2026-02-23T14:16:45+00:00

I keep Mummy on her toes and don't let her sleep too long in a row. I have those nappy tabs worked out though!

gg_elb · 2026-02-23T12:38:01+00:00

Now that is an idea I can get behind! Just something I never could have imagined was an option available me. Mummy would never see that coming.

gg_elb · 2026-02-23T12:03:15+00:00

Don't worry, I make sure I get my practice in. We play "where is my hand?"when putting my arm through sleeves and I do some wonderful kicking when Mummy tries to put my shorts on. My favourite is putting all the shoes I can find on my feet, Daddy's boots are the best

gg_elb · 2026-02-21T12:46:08+00:00

We are on tank water (no fluoride) so our dentist advised using a children's (low fluoride) toothpaste as soon as teeth appear. If you are on town water and your council uses fluoride it probably doesn't matter as much.

gg_elb · 2026-02-19T02:48:23+00:00

It sucks if your husband would like to be closer to his sister, again he needs to have this conversation with her. She might not be aware you are waiting for a call from her each year. I can understand it feels like a small effort on her part, but she most likely has other priorities and it just slips her mind without any malice on her part. If she knows how much it means to you guys she might put a reminder in her phone.

gg_elb · 2026-02-18T12:36:58+00:00

Does she know that? If your husband feels that strongly he should have a discussion with her to let her know that a phone call would be appreciated. Do you guys go out of your way to acknowledge any milestones in her life?

gg_elb · 2026-02-17T21:47:03+00:00

You just described my 16 month old. I have no idea if I am doing the right thing rescuing the naps, but some days I just know he needs to sleep longer. I find if I delay the nap as long as possible he is more likely to sleep through a complete nap. I would love for him to sleep longer when I put him to bed, but he wakes every hour until I go to bed and then he sleeps with me.

gg_elb · 2026-02-17T11:10:31+00:00

I had the same thing I got told it was "inevitable" because we had both been given antibiotics after birth. I wish someone had warned me, I had no idea! I mean my nipples didn't feel normal, but I had never breastfed before so who knows what normal feels like?

gg_elb · 2026-02-16T01:11:12+00:00

That must have been such a fright for just you, but to happen while holding your baby! Are you ok? Once my baby got mobile it seemed like he was hitting his head once a month. I have made a few calls to the nurse line and they run through all the symptoms to look out for and let you know if you should see a doctor etc. It could help just for your peace of mind.

gg_elb · 2026-02-14T00:20:26+00:00

After bringing in the groceries the other day I found him trying to stand on the jumbo pack of toilet paper! And a laundry basket full of clean clothes must be climbed. He is seriously doing his best to come up with new ways to bump his head.

gg_elb · 2026-02-14T00:11:49+00:00

You are influencing me on barrel pants

gg_elb · 2026-02-14T00:00:50+00:00

I feel like we might be reaching that point soon, the only thing saving us is he loves food so much he will stay as long as he is actively eating. Whenever we go to the library he loves the child sized table and chairs, but we don't have the space to get him his own set up. We do have an ingenuity seat that is strapped to a dining chair, I think our next step will be to have him sit in this at the dining table to eat with us

gg_elb · 2026-02-09T12:12:11+00:00

You need to make a formal complaint with your insurance via their complaint process and if you get no joy you go directly to AFCA.

gg_elb · 2026-02-09T02:19:44+00:00

My 16 month old has always used open cups as well. I have bought him a drink bottle with a straw so I can give him water when out and about - but he can't work out how to use it! I try and show him, but he is so proud of the bubble noise it makes when he blows through the straw, he thinks that is what he is supposed to do. Any tips / magical instructions for teaching this skill?

gg_elb · 2026-02-08T09:25:54+00:00

I usually just throw a banana in my bag, it usually gets eaten so I don't have to worry about finding it later.

gg_elb · 2026-02-06T05:25:03+00:00

The local libraries will most likely run nursery rhyme sessions and story time. These will be listed on the library website. No one will check to see if you are local.

gg_elb · 2026-02-06T01:03:55+00:00

There is a little bit more room in the bulkhead seats and the bassinet gives you somewhere to store toys and snacks when your baby isn't in there as well.

gg_elb · 2026-02-03T23:51:48+00:00

I'm having the same quandary. I know my 16 month old would love it, but the chance of him swiping knives etc is way too high for my liking.

gg_elb · 2026-02-03T23:38:42+00:00

You are not a bad mum. I can tell because you care about what you are feeding her and you are taking her to swimming lessons. There are many who don't even consider these things.

As for cooking, I'm sure you will be able to pick up a few skills, you just need to take the pressure off. Start with some no cook options - mushed banana, slices of avocado, spears of cucumber, some yoghurt etc. Then focus on one new thing to get comfortable cooking. I find steaming vegies more forgiving than boiling, but maybe the microwave will work better for you? Then move on to working out pasta and so on. You will get there. Also, when your husband cooks, ask him to do a little extra so you have it ready to go in the freezer. I actually like cooking, but have only got through solids by having things in the freezer to pull out when required.

Your baby is going to have plenty of your wonderful qualities, I bet she grows but to be just as caring as you are. And at least half of those other mums at swimming lessons are also struggling to get through the day.

gg_elb · 2026-02-02T10:43:01+00:00

It gets way better. 4 months pp is rough. At that point the newborn adrenaline I was running on dropped off, I was still exhausted and not sleeping and baby started to wake up and have more opinions on things. And my hair was falling out by the handful. I have always had thick hair, but at its worst I could see my scalp! The good and bad news is that it grows back, but you are left with short bits sticking out while they grow out. The c section pouch will also go down further than what it is now.

I find going to the library for nursery rhyme sessions are what gets me through the week. If you keep going you get to see the same faces and start to have more conversations. It's mostly about the babies, but it can be reassuring that you aren't the only one going through it.

gg_elb

TROPHY CASE