Breastfeeding

Me! We only feed at bedtime and in the night if she wakes. She understands it’s just a bedtime thing now, and I to explain that big girls don’t need milk to her, which seems seems to understand but as soon as she’s tired she will just cry for it. I just don’t know how to stop 🙈 Babe can also happily go to bed without milk when Dad put her down when I’m not home. Hoping it happens naturally soon 🤞

@Sam thank you, that sounds like a good way to start cutting it down for us too. Also hoping it will naturally stop but my boy is a boobie monster, so think I'm going to have to push it. I don't really want to either but its getting near that time I think. 🤞

I’m still feeding my son, though also only just before bed. We started cutting the sessions down in February as like your son we were feeding on demand throughout the day and night and it was exhausting. It’s been a slow process but one that I felt has been fairer on him, each week or two I took a feeding away/extended the times between his night feeds until they were gone. He was obviously upset and took some consoling each time but got used to it and then didn’t ask for milk then again. I’m not sure how to take away the bedtime one that’s why I’ve left it till last 😅 I think you’ll know when you’re ready, which will likely be before him. For me it was wanting my period back to try for another baby and to actually sleep for more than a few hours at a time 😂 but it can be for any reason :)

Can I ask you ladies if you started to give cows milk during the day to replace the breastmilk? If so how often? Thank you :)

I haven’t given a replacement milk, just made sure he was drinking more water etc :)

My little one would never drink cows milk, so she’s just had plenty of water and calcium in her meals. But as of a couple weeks ago, randomly started liking milk 🤷 so always good to try them on it, might help fill them a bit while you transition from the boob.

@Tanita if you figure out how to remove the bedtime feed, let me know!! I’m stuck with that one too 🙈

I still breastfeed at night and before her nap, but she also has a bottle of cows milk before she has boob. Think it’s more a comfort thing as she’ll just cuddle up with daddy when I’m not home and don’t think she actually gets a lot of milk from me! Xx

I wasn't really expecting to stop at 20 months but we naturally did - just wanted to say firstly go all of you 🙌🏼 and secondly, for bedtime we read a story and cuddle (floor bed) instead of feeding and through the night just cuddled too, which he surprisingly took to really well and started sleeping through the next month 🤯