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!

Night feeds - cold turkey.
It's actually kinder in some ways because there's a very clear cut rule: no milk at night. Whereas if you just try and cut down the night feeds, they won't understand why they can have milk sometimes but not others, and/or not as much as they want.
We did it in 2 phases. Phase 1 was no milk but any other comfort he wanted (to help him calm down, settle and adjust to no milk). In reality that meant cuddling, rocking and holding him as he slept. Bit of a killer but it didn't take long thankfully. Phase 2 was getting him to settle in his cot. For this you can go for whatever method you want - PUPD, gradual retreat, CC. We tried the first two with no success and had to resort to CC in the end. I'd been dead against it but it worked and no regrets. DS was finally getting the sleep he needed and so were we.

Once we'd cut the night feeds, I was happy to continue breastfeeding during the day. (It was the sleep deprivation that made me resent BF the most.) When I decided to stop BF during the day (after DS turned 2), I cut out each feed one by one over the course of a few weeks. It was good to do it gradually and reduce the risk of mastitis. It was also good for allowing both me and DS to adjust.

I don't have a real answer because ds is still breastfeeding at 2.7 years, but we have had some success with a gradual reduction down to 1-2 times per day. I'm working full time but at 2 he was typically still breastfeeding 3-4 times most days (to bed, overnight, at 6 pm when I picked him up from childminder, and on the weekend usually would nurse for a nap.

Don't offer / don't refuse worked to reduce daytime feeds and then moving to his own bed (I do lie down with him and feed him to sleep, but he doesn't have a cot so that's a lot easier!) has made a world of difference as the night time comfort feeds were a habit rather than a need for milk. He has now started rolling away and we have a cuddle at night, and sometimes doesn't ask in the morning now, so hopefully he'll be stopping naturally soon.

I almost gave up this summer due to a cracked nipple, but putting a plaster on helped him stay off it for 24 hours to heal. I didn't want to stop before he was ready, but i appreciate that having almost a full night's sleep with him in his own bed has made all the difference. Good luck!

Well done for going so long! My second was obsessed and just wanted to be latched on all day and all night, he didn't let go even when he was fast asleep. I got to 6 months and just couldn't take any more, we put him in his own room and stopped breast feeding and it just wasn't traumatic at all for anyone. He could be put down by my husband and would sleep in 3 hour stints instead of 15 min stints. I think the fact he couldn't smell me made him sleep better. It was amazing. Good luck!!