Stopping bf at 11 months

[NocturnalBaby]

My ds is almost 11mo, and I've been breastfeeding until now with no real problems. I always wanted to go until a year, but the last few days more teeth have come through and he keeps catching me quite painfully (again - he got his teeth early, so biting has been a recurrent theme, but it's never bothered me until now). Plus I'm just fed up with it - I only feed him 2-3 times a day, and I'd just like to stop. He doesn't take a bottle easily though, so I don't really want to give him formula. Does anybody know whether it's ok to stop feeding him either breast or formula milk before the year mark? He is a healthy heavy baby who eats pretty well.

[lalalonglegs]

He'll need some fluids though - do you intend to give him water from a cup? If so, then it should be fine - he can have cow's milk in food right away and drink it once he turns one (although if he drinks water enthusiastically, I would be tempted to keep him on that and feed him dairy through solids).

[makeminea6x]

Fair enough if you'd like to stop but the biting probably will only last a couple more days. Both of my kids got their first teeth at 4/12 - so I know it's literally a pain!
It's recommended to not give cows milk as a drink until 1 because it doesn't contain enough iron for under 1s.
I'd go straight to a sippy cup like pp, no point starting bottles now just to have to wean off them in a few months.

[NocturnalBaby]

He drinks water from a cup ok, but we struggle to get him to drink a lot. He has milk on his cereal and loves yoghurt and cheese, so I'm not too worried about the dairy, just the extra vitamins in breastmilk/formula. I guess the one year mark feels a little arbitrary - does the last 5 weeks before he turns one really make any difference? I know the biting will probably pass, but that's just a final straw for me - think I will see how I feel by the end of this week. Thanks for the posts.

[McBaby]

He still needs some milk so you could swop one milk feed a week for cows milk then by 1 year he will not be having breast milk. It's only advised to drop 1 a week to avoid issues like mastitis. They need milk or lots of dairy till 2. I stopped feeding dd1 at 14 months and she only has about 4oz of cows milk a day but pots cheese etc she just wasn't and still isn't at 2.5 a big milk drinker.