did you stop bf at 6 months ?and where you glad you did?

[robinredbreast]

i mainly enjoy bf dd,although i find it a bit of a pita that the 1st thing i have to do in the am is bf as my boobs are full and hurt abit till dd has fed

i was just think if i stoppped id be able to get up have a shower get dressed all before getting dd up and ready
as now i have to feed her in my pjs before doing anything really

just wondered if anyone stopped at 6 months and was glad

[santascRUMPELedsuit]

I stopped at 6 months - would love to have continued but had major probs trying to BF then DD got teeth and bit! Do what is best for you - you've given LO a great start anyway.xx

[Pannacotta]

Nope fed DS1 till he was 2 ish and DS2 is 7.5 months still breastfed.
If you stop now you need to give formula which sounds like a bit of a faff once you are used to breastfeeding.

[fishie]

the longer you go on the easier it becomes. you can do it when it suits you. i find bf in bed a very good way of not having to get up at 6am when ds wakes up. i cannot imagine getting up and showered first!

[Pannacotta]

Agree with fishie, I think breastfeeding is much easier generally and why would you be in a rush to get up and dressed when you can snuggle in bed with your LO???
Also there are lots of reasons health wise to carry on, fewer bugs/illnesses etc, and good for your health too.

[robinredbreast]

well i suppose i would have to faff about with the formula

and maybe ive got my thinking all muddled up and instead of getting up and getting ready i should just try to chill and enjoy feeding dd.

but on the other hand ive like to be able to stop wearing brestpads and having to think about what i wear and if ill be able to bf easily init itywim?

im not finding bf difficult anymore tbh although dd has just got her 1st tooth its v sharp its just the corner of one of her front lower teeth
dd hasnt bit me ...yet

do they they all bite or only some babies

[Pannacotta]

robin wasnt it you posting the other day about waking your DD at 8 every day?!

You do start to feed less once they have solids at 6 months - I don't need breast pads now, I used them till DS2 was around 6.5 months. Also once you feed less in the day it is less important what you wear.

For me these things were/are inconvenient but mush less of an issue than all the good things associated with breastfeeding for more than 6 months...

Have never been bitten btw. Have you looked at www.kellymom.com/? V useful site with loads of info all about breastfeeding.

[sazzybeehomeforxmas]

My supply just sort of dried up so I had to switch to ff at 7 month but if I'd been able to, I would have continued. I seem to be trapped in an endless cycle of making up feeds and washing bottles now! Not to mention having to be organised enough not to run out of formula. And that early morning feed? Now it's a mad scramble to get the bottle made up before DS goes into meltdown as he's so used to having it on tap!

If you can continue, I would

[robinredbreast]

yes twas me lol

i left dd to wake this am but at 1030 am she was still sparko,and im waiting boobsfull so i woke her at 1030

poor dd

new year resouloution broken already

[Pannacotta]

Thats fair enough as you prob needed to feed her for your own comfort, but 10.30 is a big difference from 8!
Think of all the money you save if you carry on breastfeeding too - I think of that when I flex my credit card when out clothes shopping

[robinredbreast]

well i suppose i could expressed some to make more comfy ,dd is bf now and sh does love it she looks so adorable doing it

the only other thing im worried about continuing bf is that if i stop now dd won't really know as she takes a bottle v well too and if i continue till say 1 or 2 or whatver dd will never want to stop iykwim?

like say if i was still bf when dd is say 1 she will be asking for mummys milk

but then again id prob find it sweet if it actually happened
suppose what im trying to say me stopping won't be a trauma for dd if she doesnt know

[MrsBadger]

you could always pump a little bit before dd wakes up just to relieve the pressure - if she usually sleeps in you could express in bed or wherever, get up and dress and then feed dd

[Flibbertyjibbet]

I stopped at 6m with ds1 cos we wanted another baby sooner rather than later. I got pg straight away. Then I stopped at 6m with ds2 cos I was going back to work at 7m and the thought of expressing while at work etc never entered my head. By the time ds2 was 6m I had been pg or bf for almost 3 years with only about 2 weeks off between stopping bf ds1 and getting pg with ds2.
And I was WORN OUT.
I know some people tandem feed for donkeys years but I just wanted not to be everyone elses breakfast and supper.

[MrsBadger]

hang on robin, you're imagining future problems that might not ever arise

once she starts solids she may become less interested in bfing anyway, and once she's 1 she won't be relying on it as her main source of nutrition so it'll become less of a big deal.

you haven't (eg) put her in an adult bed on the grounds that she might never want to leave the cot, have you?

she's only little so take each day as it comes and don't borrow trouble against the future.

[Pannacotta]

well said MrsB, just go with the flow if you can robin, breastfeeding does get less demanding as babies get older and interested in other things eg solid food, crawling, walking, talking etc...

[lionbeast]

yes i can certainly see your pov
im trying to remind myself of reasons to continue

pros
so far ive thought of
less washing and steralising
dd loves it
saves money
better for the planet

cons
breastpads
wearing things for asy access to the boobs!
full feeling/occasional leaking

can you think of anything else to add in either thr pros and cons list ?

to those that bf past 6 months how often do your bf your dc?

[robinredbreast]

yes its better for the planet that is a good reason
also im sure there must be some health benefits after 6 months

[ReverseThePolarity]

Robin, still bf here at nearly nine months & no intention of stopping, so I can't help you with an answer to your thread title.

However I did just want to add a few thoughts.

You know, you don't have to wait until your dd wakes to feed her if your boobs are uncomfortable. Watch her sleeping. When she starts to stir a little, not waking stirring, just sleep shuffling stirring, in her sleep, lie her next to you and plonk your boob next to her mouth. She'll latch on and suckle in her sleep, relieving your discomfort without waking her at all. I believe it's known as a "dream feed". Once you've done that, get up, have a shower and get dressed while your dd sleeps, with nice comfortable boobs.

Biting - well, I would be lying to you if I said I hadn't been bitten a few times, but only once was it hard enough to make me wince and that was an unusual situation where I was bf handsfree in a sling and holding shopping bags in each hand so could not remove nipple from teeth quickly enough!

Clothes - if you have the money you could splash out on some special nursing tops - type "nursing tops" into ebay.co.uk and see if you can get anything on the cheap. That way you can wear what you like. You can even get nursing dresses. Mamanana has some gorgeous nursing wear, pricey but if you want something special it's worth thinking about it.

In just another six months' time you will be able to give cows' milk instead of making up formula feeds (if you want to stop then) which is a lot easier... you've done six months, it's only the same again.

Then again if you are sure you want to stop, you have to do what's best for you.
If you long to get back to wearing nice bras, why not try one of these? It converts any nice bra into a nursing bra. (If you're prone to blocked ducts it's best to avoid underwired bras.)

[robinredbreast]

wow thanks for that, i didnt know they could bf in there sleep, ill try that 2moro as im not going to wake dd at all even if she goes past 1030
which ive gota feeling she will

[sazzybeehomeforxmas]

Oh and no AF usually either! That's got to be a good thing

[ReverseThePolarity]

Oh yes I'd forgotten about that Sazzy! Although I know some women do get their AF almost as soon as they add solids to baby's diet, but I've still no AF at nearly nine months.

Yes Robin give it a while tomorrow. You'll notice that when asleep your dd goes through cycles - about 40 /50 mins of deep sleep then a little shuffle about (twitching, eyes moving beneath eyelids) for about five / ten mins then back into a deep sleep. You can bf during the "light sleep" phase without them waking (unless you have a very light sleeper but if that was the case she'd not be sleeping until 1030 in the first place)!!

[moondog]

Robin,it really becomes easier now. As well as allowing you a BIT MORE OF A LIE IN (iT WAS A gODSEND TO ME TO BE ABLE TO SNOOZE AND BREASTFEED IN THE MORNIG), VERY SOON, THEY CAN GO WITHOUT IN THE DAY IF YOU ARE NOT THERE (FROM 8 MTHS,MY BABIES HAD NO FORMULA OR OTHER MILK IN THE DAY WHen i worked, yet we carried on breastfeeding for years).

This maght give you a little bit of a boost

[Pannacotta]

Lionbeast as said there are lots of health reasons for baby and mother for carrying on past 6 months, good info here
www.kellymom.com/bf/bfextended/ebf-benefits.html
(Also I havent used breast pads since DS2 was 6 1/2 months and dont leak much either now.)

[FourPlusOne]

Haven't read all of the replies so don't know all of what's been said. Could you maybe hand express a tiny bit in the shower just to take the edge off the discomfort! Maybe after doing this for a while your body would get used to not being ready to feed first thing. BF my 2 for quite a while and found that after they were past the 6 month mark or so I wasn't always waking up with that 'I must feed my baby now' feeling in my boobs! Seems such a shame to wake a happpily sleeping baby

[JacanneAbox]

I think that after a couple of days your breasts will adjust to not feeding at 8.00am and therefore will produce less milk at this time. I know that when dds dropped feeds it was a bit uncomfortable at first but soon sorted itself out. If you express your breasts will think you need to produce milk at that time. It doesn't take long for your supply to sort itself out. When I went back to work when dd1 ws 6 months or so I had 2 days when she didn't feed all day and all the other days were on demand - I only had to use breast pads for a short time before my supply adjusted.

As has been said there are all sorts of benefits to BF beyond 6 months and I have to say that BF a toddler is so lovely

[NAB3wishesfor2008]

I stopped at 6 months with my first baby, 6-7 with my second and at 9-10 months with my third. Looking back I wish I had done longer with all of them but at the time I was 90% okay with my decision.