Extreme breastfeeding aversion need help

[Helpwithaversion]

I am 16w pregnant and suddenly in the last 24 hours have this still feeding my toddler

I don’t know what to do it’s horrific can’t cope with him on me I’m really really in a state I do not have a clue what to do as he still feeds a lot but I literally want to scream and run when he latches it’s the worst feeling ever do I just give up as I think I have an extreme case it’s that bad I want to Rip my nipple four of his mouth I can’t bear the feeling

Magnesium supplements are great for adversion if you are hoping to continue to feed

Ouch, I feel you, that is really tough!

First thing, try to breathe! When you are worrying about the next feed it makes everything worse as you can get into a spiral of stress. Also when toddler is feeding take a few deep breaths to calm down.

I don’t know if you’ve tried or want to impose any limits on your toddler feeding, but it is absolutely ok to put some boundaries in place and say ‘not now’/deploy distraction techniques. You can also try shortening the feeds e.g. by counting down out loud from 10-1, or singing a song and then encouraging them to come off. I did this with my then 18m old when aversion got too bad during pregnancy.

Some people find that magnesium supplements help as well, often taken as a spray.

I’ll look for a spray I take osteocare tablets already they have magnesium but maybe not enough

There's a really good Facebook group for this, I can't remember the exact name but it's something like "aversion sucks, peer support". If you have a search in fb you should find it. Very good for practical tips and moral support. Nothing really worked to lesson my aversion but I found it was worse at night so night weaned. When my baby was born the aversion went away, and I was quite grateful to have a breastfeeding toddler to help when I was really engorged. It turned out to be a nice bonding moment for him with his new sibling as well, so I'm glad I stuck with it. I tandem nursed for about 6 months until my toddler self weaned. But that was just my experience, many people in the fb group decided to stop breastfeeding their toddler because of aversion and that was a perfectly reasonable choice to make. So if you want to quit don't feel bad, but if you want to keep going be kind to yourself and put yourself first. If that means night weaning and limiting the length of feeds, then do what you have to do. Your comfort and well being is just as important as your toddlers.