To ask you how you stopped breast feeding an older baby?

[ritaBx]

Ds3 is 14 months. I never had an issue with stopping my other 2 dcs. I stopped when they turned 1.

But ds3 is still completely obsessed with bf. And it's getting me down big time. I'm so ready to stop now.

He won't have full fat milk or formula, he just spits it out.

I feel I need to just gradually wean him off but can anyone give me any tips or guide me through it? He constantly has his hand down my top having a good squeeze too - all just for comfort. Sleep is terrible too.

Help please....sleep deprived mum!

Mine was 14 months when I stopped. I was at work, breastfeeding in the morning and through the night as we co-slept.

I took a week off work to get him settled in his own room, own cot and to stop the breastfeeding. That was the easy part! Just stopped. Said no when he wanted it. Removed hands from top. He never touched cows milk aside from in cereal, it’s not necessary at all. Never tried formula - at 14 months he should be having normal meals.

I did a rapid return/controlled crying thing to get him to bed btw. Cried until 11 the first night, 930 the second and by the third he’d cracked it, lay down and went to sleep (bed at 9pm). It was a godsend to have my evenings and my bed back!

My 2.5 year old went to stay with grandparents for a few days. Not just to stop BFing, but we knew it would help. When she was away from me she never wanted it, but as soon as she saw me that was it usually. First attempt was 2 nights, second attempt was four nights.

DD1 just stopped on her own when she was 2, we were staying with my parents for a few days so there were lots of changes to the usual routine and she just didn’t ask for milk one day.

DD2 was also 2 when we stopped, however she was obsessed! Coincidentally I’d planned to go away for 2 nights for a friends birthday. When I came home I told her the mummy milk had gone. She was fine with it which surprised me, but she was ok with cows milk which helped.

Good luck OP, it’s tough when the demands are constant. Would a new cup be any help? DD2 always asks for more milk if we’ve picked up a new one recently.

Currently in the same boat OP. My DD is 13 months and I’m wondering how on earth I’m going to wean her off breastmilk. She only has it before bed and when she wakes up, but that can’t last forever!
I’m thinking of just carrying it on until she’s 2 when I can communicate with her a bit better, rather than hoping for the best with a baby who doesn’t understand why it’s just stopping. Does that sound crazy?

Was meant to be a

DD stopped at two, I was 20 weeks pregnant so I'm not sure if the milk stopped or tasted funny but she just went off it on her own. She's 4 now and still won't drink cows milk.
DS is two in a few days and is as obsessed with boob as ever and although I'm so ready to stop I think it would be a struggle 😩 he does like cows milk but loves breastfeeding.

I'd got down to just the bedtime feed at 15 months. DD would never take a bottle, formula or cows milk. She just stopped wanting feeds during hte day.

One day DH and I had an event that involved an overnight stay. DD stayed at my Mum's. She went down quite happily without a feed. So the next night we did the usual bedtime routine, just left out the feed, and that was it.

I sleep trained so no feeds at night.

Then worked on day ones and cut down one at a time to first and last thing.

Then got my husband to get her in the morning and give breakfast straight away to cut out the morning feed.

I stopped the evening feed on holiday, when we were out of our normal routine. I always made sure she was fairly full eg had a yoghurt after dinner. And used tv to distract her. Finally stopped at 18 months

There is a FB group called Breastfeeding Older Babies and Beyond which has a pinned post with a lot of info and strategies for weaning

I'd like to know too! DD was easy to wean at 14 months but DS is 21 months and feeds so much still and yells hello booby to declare his intent several times a day. I've stopped offering but refusing when he asks does not go well so I give in.

I immediately feel better after reading these thanks! Even though it's my 3rd baby and I know we will get through it, it still feeds never ending!

I'm hoping that once I stop, he will begin to sleep better as he wakes for comfort feeding. Dh wants to do controlled crying but I just think if I can reduce feeding first....it might help.

I have older dcs I need to get ready for school - one with additional needs, I just give in when he wakes as I need sleep! But now I just need to stop. He's also an extremely light sleeper though so it may not make much difference.

So I'm going to try be firmer and gradually reduce feeds. I can do this 💪🏻 I just need my boobs back to myself now

My older three naturally weaned themselves. The first two I think it was because I was pregnant so the supply either dropped or tasted differently. DC3 just started rejecting it herself at 15 months. My DC4 has just turned one and I’m also in the position of wanting to stop but not being sure now because he isn’t showing any signs of wanting to stop. He has three solid meals plus snacks and I offer water in a cup regularly but he still always wants breast milk... He bit me last night by accident as he was falling asleep and my eyes literally watered.

Well this might be a blunt option but there's poster who updated an old thread today, she was in the same position in January. She tried putting marmite on boobs and it soured the experience enough that breastfeeding was finished with.. I'll try and find it again to link it

Found it easier than I'd thought, here:

We tried again after three weeks, this time on advice of my mother in law and family I put marmite on my nipples. Bit gross I know, but it was like a switch, he was shocked and hesitant to take the nipple, he tried it but didn't like it. The adorable thing thought there was something wrong with me and gave me a hug and after point blank refusing to ever take the bottle he took the bottle with not problem. He woke up a couple of times nights 1 and night 2 but all I needed to show him were my marmite nipples and he understood and took a bottle instead. After about 4 days no marmite was required and he was fully weaned. He switched to the bottle and has been a happy bunny since

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/behaviour_development/3485092-Night-weaning-sleepless-night-and-grumpy-hubby

Well fuck me the link even clicks.

Hopefully that might be a fairly helpful option, albeit a bit extreme!

Stopped at 14 months, when we were down to a bedtime feed only. DH put him to bed for the week, not going up until very tired, and with a sippy cup of cows milk. Although he was already happy to have cow's milk as he was having it at nursery.
There was a bit of protest on night 6 when I took back over bedtime, but it didn't last as long as I had expected it would. He was happy with the sippy cup of cows milk to fall asleep for a few months, which I have now phased out for water. He still has a cup of milk after tea/before bath and teeth cleaning.

How do you get your toddlers to sleep without BF?

You have to persevere putting them down without it. I did controlled crying which as I say upthread had it sorted by day three. Before then I was feeding to sleep in my bed.

Did you do Controlled crying in their Bed? I am wondering if I stagger the transition to his own bed (he sleeps with me) and the weaning or just do them both. He’s 16 months and I’ve just found out I’m pregnant with number 2 so wil have to do it soon (don’t want to though so it’s tough)

I always did don't offer don't refuse after 6 months, it wasn't any different to feeding on demand really except that my kids rarely demanded. Was down to just morning and night at 12 months. With my first at 14/15 months I started a shift pattern that meant he missed the bedtime feed and the am feed, so went 2 days without, he wasn't bothered that evening and went to bed without bf, I semi woke him before I went to bed as i was bursting and he had his last feed. He loved cold cows milk and had pints and pints of it til he was 2.5.
He rejected me the following morning and the evening sink never offered again.
My second had 4 teeth coming through at once and went on a strike, kept offering for about a week and when she went back to nurse I'm guessing there wasn't much flow and seemed frustrated and chose not to go back to it. She never had any replacement milk she hated it and it's really not needed.

My oldest lg stopped at 2.5 but I was pregnant again so my milk dried up and she told me my hobbies were empty it didn't bother her at all as the milk just wasn't there.
Maybe try a couple of doses of Lemsip to start drying up your supply and they'll lose interest?

My husband told DD “when you’re four, no more...”. That’s 4 years 😂 She stopped on her 4th birthday

My clingy bf dd2 was like yours. At 14 months I'd had enough! I started cutting down daytime feeds by distraction and not sitting down as she took it as a sign I would feed.

We established a bedtime routine at first with a bf, with milk offered too but the key was she was awake when but to bed and used the gradual retreat process.

Finally we got down to one feed before bedtime. When everything else was a routine I just stopped offering by distraction and dh did the routine for a few nights on own.

My first was a milk refuser, go/HV said just leave it and offer water instead it isn't a problem if they eat other diary and broccoli. Then 6months after weaning her off bf she started drinking it.

This sounds like it took a long time but it didn't, I think the longest part was us getting a new routine that worked for all.

I would try to sort his sleep. If you can get him going to sleep on his own without a feed, he will stop needing fed in the night to get back to sleep. Then hopefully you can gradually cut out the daytime ones too