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Infant feeding

Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

Question about weaning from breast (11m.o.)

12 replies

BeanMachine · 20/07/2010 06:29

I'm pretty much a serial lurker on here as any queries I have tend to be answered with a quick read (great minds and all that ), but here's something I'm not able to find so much info on (especially actual experiences, rather than advice in a book).

My DD (almost 11mo) is breastfed and we're BLW. She currently has 4 bfs a day:
wake up (ca. 6.30);
mid morning (10.30ish);
mid-pm (3ish);
before bed (6.30-7).
She has her days with solids, but generally always eats something at mealtimes (although never a huge amount).

We live overseas and we're going back to UK for a month just as she turns 1. Ideally, I'd like to be on max of morning and evening feeds by then, to give me a bit of freedom and also as parents (esp ILs) would love to take DD off for a day without us.

Expressing on hols would be a pain and it's not very productive for me any more.

Not keen to switch to formula at this stage in the proceedings when we could do cow's milk in a month or so. She already has it on cereal and no adverse reaction to that.

Any ideas how to reduce the number of feeds? DD has gone from wake-up feed to after lunch once (had a full on playgroup in the morning and she forgot about it!), so perhaps I just need to distract like mad for mornings for a week or so and give bf after lunch? (Thus cutting down to 3 per day...)

Any thoughts? TIA! (Should also add that I was planning on stopping bf around about a year anyway.)

OP posts:
tortoiseonthehalfshell · 20/07/2010 07:12

Does she ever take bottles? I know you said expressing on holidays would be a pain, but have you expressed and given bottles previously?

My situation was a bit different, because my daughter was used to getting bottles of expressed milk during the day on my working days, so I just started giving her bottles during the day even when I was home. And between 11 and 12 months I started cutting the ebm with cow's milk to get her used to the taste, she switched with no problems.

By 12 months we were down to morning, evening and overnight. Then we dropped the evening feed. The overnight feeds went as she started sleeping through, and the morning feed went at around 16 months.

She doesn't sleep through anymore (20 mo), sadly, but now she just gets cow's milk in bottles.

Snowfalls108 · 20/07/2010 12:22

My tip is to leave her with your OH for a week!
I just had to go away on a 5 day work trip, first time I've left my DS, 10mo, for longer than 6 hours and got home to find DS is now just on morning and evening feeds and is sleeping through!!
I think that as there were no boobs around he decided bottles weren't worth the hassle.

StealthPolarBear · 20/07/2010 12:24

maybe not that extreme but I think if her GPs want to take her out for the day, let them! She will be fine!
DD is 10mo, is fed on demand most of the time but my mum and dad have taken her out for the day before, if it's not on offer, she's fine about it.

KristinaM · 20/07/2010 12:30

are you sure you want to wean so early? it seems a shame if she is not ready yet.bf is so convenient when you are travelling and also if she gets a tummuy bug ( not wishing it on you but often happens when you travel). and you are jsut about to get into more teething and bf is great when they are off their food

I understand that you want to be free to do a bit of sightseeing in the day, but you could just drop the daytime feeds and feed her in the morning and befroe bed? the feeds before and after naps are always the hardest for baby to give up

then when you are home again you will be able to pick up a daytime feed again if she wants it

just a thought

have a lovely holiday

BeanMachine · 20/07/2010 13:04

Thanks all for your comments.
tortoise, DD does take EBM in a bottle, but I'm finding it harder and harder to express enough (I've just started a language course which is every afternoon and I'm struggling to get enough milk for her whilst I'm out).

Maybe I'll just try to eliminate the need for day-time milk for now and keep the dawn and dusk feeds! I've not really tried just leaving her and seeing what happens. It could well be out of sight, out of mind - if I'm out at the weekend and a bit late home, she's always fine until she sees me!

KristinaM, I must admit it had crossed my mind that with travel/jet-lag and new places and faces, breastfeeding still might be a wise plan.

OP posts:
KristinaM · 20/07/2010 18:42

i sympathise - expressing didn't work for me either

one summer 2yo DS2 got a sore throat bug when we were on holiday in greece. he refused to eat and reverted to just bm, which of course put up my supply massively, as i had this whopping great toddler in a hot climate surviving on bm . when i got home i tried to express just to see how i got on. i coudln't get enough to cover the bottom of the bottle

morale - the amount you can express is NO indication of supply

GiraffesMum · 20/07/2010 22:14

Slightly different situation but reinforces the out of sight, out of mind theory. My almost 10mo DD will feed off me during the day when I'm at home but when she's at nursery pushes away her bottles of milk (offered mid morning and afternoon). I still bf morning and night everyday. I think you would be fine leaving DC in the day with plenty of water and snacks.

Enjoy your trip!

camflower · 20/07/2010 22:46

Kristina do u really think that bfeeding for nearly a year and thinking of stopping counts as "weaning so early"??

MigGril · 21/07/2010 14:32

I'd eco what a few other mum's have said on hear. Out of site out of mind. If you just leave her for the day she'll be fine, just get IL's to offer drink and snake instead of milk at normal feed times. DD was taking a snak in the morning at 12months instead of BM when we where out and about as I stoped feeding her in pubilc at that age. But was quit happy to have BM at home.

camflower I have to agree with Kristina, weaning at 12months is really early. The human child is designed to BF for at lest 3-5years so 12months is early. It's only our socity that see BF to 12months as a long time.

MigGril · 21/07/2010 14:33

I'd eco what a few other mum's have said on hear. Out of site out of mind. If you just leave her for the day she'll be fine, just get IL's to offer drink and snake instead of milk at normal feed times. DD was taking a snak in the morning at 12months instead of BM when we where out and about as I stoped feeding her in pubilc at that age. But was quit happy to have BM at home.

camflower I have to agree with Kristina, weaning at 12months is really early. The human child is designed to BF for at lest 3-5years so 12months is early. It's only our socity that see BF to 12months as a long time.

KristinaM · 21/07/2010 16:52

camflower - well its not really my opinion that matters - its a year earlier than doctors recommend. it doesnt imply any criticism , its just a factual comment and i think the OP took it as such. I was just trying to point out it doesnt have to be all or nothing

Anyway, it doesn't sound as if the Ops baby is actually ready to stop either. It would be a shame for both of them to have to stop now if it was possible to continue for a while with a bit of juggling. Being able to Bf your tired / tantruming / jetlagged baby / toddler is very very convenient

camflower · 21/07/2010 19:51

fair enough although i can't imagine how tiny the percentage of women in the uk is who are still bfing after the age of 2 ... (i am still bfing a nearly 11 month old but feel like i've been doing it for ever )

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