My DS is a happy, healthy 23+ lb 10 mo old baby who has become QUITE the handful when nursing. He nurses well in the morning, when he first wakes up and it slowly goes downhill from there. I didn't have much luck trying to pump any b'milk at this stage, so I've given him an occasional sippy cup of formula at mealtimes and he'll drink about 2-3 oz with his meal. I don't really offer it any other time. He hasn't really ever had a bottle, although I recently tried and he thought it was a wonderful chew toy! I should mention that I nurse him 1st thing in the morning (7:30 or so), then 11:30, then around 4 and then he'll nurse for comfort before he goes to bed. He's not nursing for very long at the last 2 feedings. He eats mostly babyfood, but has started to enjoy foods with taste--mashed potatoes, chicken soup, and he likes biscuit gravy (LOL). He does horribly with textures, but actually ate a couple Cheerios today! Progress!

My goal is to only nurse him in the morning and before bed, and then only 1x/day. I don't really have a time schedule, but I hate to admit that I don't enjoy b'feeding as much as I did when he was little. The morning & evening feedings are quiet, cuddle times...those I like!

Here are my questions:
-Do I need to worry, at this point, about exactly how much formula he's getting as he nurses less?
-Should I just continue to feed him on demand?
-How does the weaning thing work anyway??

Thanks, in advance, for any information!!!!

Just something to consider, in a few weeks he'll be old enough for whole milk. I weaned my kids from breast to whole milk, skipped the formula. I actually started giving #2 and #3 whole milk a few weeks before their first birthday, but that's not the recommendation of pediatricians, so don't do that just because I did. My point is, it might be easier, if you can tough it out a few more weeks, to do that switch all at the same time instead of weaning him to formula in a cup, then switching the game on him to milk. He might go along with it better.

Wether you start tomorrow or next month, I think I'd start with that 11:30 nursing, try to elimate that one first. Instead of nursing, feed him regular lunch and give him a sippy cup. I'd skip the whole bottle thing, he can learn the cup as well as he can learn the bottle and you won't have to figure out how to wean him off the bottle in the near future. If the cup is tough for him, try the sipper bottles with a straw. Feed him lunch, whatever balanced choices you usually offer him, and the cup of formula/milk. My kids only drank a few ounces from a cup when they were eating foods. When you've got that nursing eliminated, start replacing the 4:00 one with a little snack, graham crackers and milk/formula or something like that. If he is in the habit of nursing and wants that routine, try doing something active and fun after his meal to distract him, or cuddle up and read a book. Then he still gets the mom time, it just doesn't come with food or require you to undress. :o)

I had more luck during that time if we weren't home during those nursing times. If we ate lunch out or at a park, he/she was distracted and never thought about nursing.

Once we hit 12mo I started 'don't ask, don't refuse' weaning. It didn't take long until ds was only nursing at night (we co-sleep). He quit all together about 17mo. Nights and early mornings were the last to go, and they seem the hardest for them to give up.