I know there has been a recent thread on this, but I got bored of reading all the offensive comments..
So, without any comments on why I might STILL be bfing my 2 year old, I feel that it is now time to stop. But I am finding this v difficult as ds v grouchy when I say no, esp in the morning and evenings.
I work ft, so it's only an issue when I'm at home (i.e. early morning, night time and weekends / holidays). As with the other poster, he is obsessed with 'boobies', pulls down my top and is generally v difficult if I say no. If there are enough distractions around, it's usually fine, but when just me and him in the house, for example, can be very trying.
Have definitely cut down, but I really want to stop now altogether! Any tips?
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Infant feeding
How to give up bf a 2 yr old
viewsrequired · 09/08/2011 23:41
I've just done this with my 2-year-old, cut down and then stopped, and it was fine.
I think the main thing was that I'd reached a point where I was sure that stopping was the right thing to do. That made all the difference because it was then easy to say no and ride out the resulting tantrum, same as I would deal with a "no, you can't have another ice-cream" tantrum iykwim. So I'd say if you're sure, go for it.
I'm making a point of having a lot of cuddly time at bedtime with a cup of cows milk and a favourite book and my undivided attention, and he's really enjoying that. (And so am I!)
Good luck! 
I bf both DD until 2yrs, the first i forced myself to just stop on her 2nd bday ( nice pressie eh!) because it was a strong date to focus on. The second DD i let it lapse afer her second bday in august until xmas, but then set the date of 1st jan.
So, set a date, first of the month or something, then buy a new inaccessible bra like a sports bra or something, and stick to it. Mine would still want to feel my skin, but eventually used the arm flesh instead! (non bf ladies aint gonna understand that!)
Dont listen to nasty comments, bf followed by a good diet is sooooo important. You've done the right thing according to the World Health Org in feeding til 2, but nows the time to stop and give the gift of independence!
You are the parent and you must be strong. Its difficult, but it will very soon not be a problem. You are not rejecting him because you are still there for cuddles. I promise that after a week he'll know that the bar's closed, but you have to stick to it. After the set date its NO!
Now I took a slightly different approach from you, poshbaggirl, in that I never set a timetable for stopping. The way I think of it is that WHO would like us to bf for 2 years as it's a great start for a baby, but the physiological age for weaning is thought to be around 3 years - with a huge individual range of course - so mums and babies who are happy to go longer than 2 years are still in the normal range.
What worked for me was just going along and planning to stop when it felt right, without a particular timeframe for that.
I thought he'd self-wean like his older sisters - that's a great way to stop bf I think, no tears involved - but in fact he just seemed to stop latching on properly, as if he was forgetting how to do it, and wasn't swallowing milk. Sort of like comfort feeding but it was comfort gnawing. So I made an executive decision. 
I think there're probably as many different ways to wean as there are babies, it's about picking the one that feels comfortable to you.
I may have made it sound like i was deing a bit strict on the date thing, i wasnt! It was just that i knew it was my pyschological issues that were the problem, not the baby being forced to stop. I could see that it was me needing to not want the baby to feel rejected and me not wanting to cut the ties! I loved how i could always soothe the baby with the breast and if i couldnt do that i'd be helpless in soothing if hurt or tired or after a jab or whatever. I just found that putting a date on stopping would help me focus. A bit like saying i'll get all the ironing done by 7pm so i can then relax or some other chore/ reward kinda scenario! 
No worries, pbg, what you say makes complete sense! I set timetables for household chores too (btw what's this "ironing" thing you mention? I'm sure I used to do "ironing" once upon a time )... just wanted to tell my story to highlight to the OP that a "play it by ear" strategy can be fine for weaning too.
I so agree about reassuring them that stopping bf isn't abandoning them and that they'll still get all the hugs and comfort and attention. I'm sure that must make a big difference.
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I stopped bf both of my dc within a month of their second birthdays, and both were totally addicted at the time.
With ds, who was still feeding to sleep, I told him it was time to stop as the baby (dd who was 5 months by then) needed it. He is a very logical little boy and randomly just accepted it!
With dd it was more tricky but as she wasn't feeding to sleep it wasn't too traumatic. In both cases the key for us was removing me from the situation whenever possible. So for a couple of weeks it was DH getting up in the night, getting up first thing in the morning and putting them to bed. We also did it a times when he had a few days off work.
Both mine were obsessed, but weaned without any trauma. Mind you, 6 months later and dd still asks me with a cheeky giggle 
Good luck.
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