If you successfully BF, how long did you do it for, and why did you stop?

[Icoulddoitbetter]

Afternoon everyone,

My DS is about to turn 1 and I'm still BF with no intention of stopping soon. Most mums I know have either stopped already or are in the process of doing so. There has also been an increase recently in people saying to me "so exactly how much longer do you intend to BF?" !!!

I know MN has a lot more extended BF'ers than I'll meet in RL, but I'm just curious as to why people do it for as long (or as short) a time as they do. Amongst my friends it just seems that people feel 6-9 months is enough. I can see why, and completely respect their decision. In fact I'm still shocked that I find myself here happy to carry on BF until, who knows? I'm also no earth mother, my DS has a bottle at bedtime given by his dad, and bottles if we go out and he's babysat.

So, if BF worked out for you, at what point did you think "right that's enough now" and end it? And what was the reason?

I BF DS1 for 1 year 3 days - we only stopped because I was 17 weeks pg, it was agony and when I didn't offer he didn't ask.
The other two are still BF - DS2 is 3.3 and DD is 19months. I plan to let them self-wean.
HTH

I bf dd3 until she was 19 months, I stopped as I wanted my body back and for her to start sleeping through the night.
I tried and failed to bf dd's 1-3 so was pleased I managed it for so long :)

I think that maybe what I do, stop when I get PG again (hopefully next year) as I really cannot cope with sore nipples again!

DD self weaned at 14 months as I entered the second trimester of my pregnancy with DS. I was heartbroken.

I weaned DS at 14 months because after 3 1/2 years of constant pregnancy and / or BF (plus extreme stress because of family problems and PND) I just couldn't take it anymore.

I'd wanted to feed them both until 2.

DS's 3 hourly feeds through the night (still, at 14 months) were a major factor for me, had it just been morning and evening things would have been different.

I think then the fact that DS takes a bottle when necessary and also just about sleeps through the night means that I can carry on on my terms.........

didn't work out with ds1, we stopped at around 4/5 months

ds2 was fed until he was 16 months, only stopped because i was pregnant with ds3 and he decided he didn't like the reduced supply! was gutted as would have loved to tandem feed and allow him to wean naturally

ds3 is 16 months now and still going strong

DD and DS both self weaned at 14 months and 16 months, both started sleeping through when they stopped. I was thinking of stopping both times, but they made the decision for me

So far.... 1 year and 51 weeks and no intention of stopping until DD self-weans. I never set out to feed this long but I don't want to stop mostly because of health benefits (her and me), other benefits (easy to comfort her when she hurts herself) and laziness (weaning them off BF sounds like hard work!). I realise that some children don't self wean until they are 4 or 5 but I have no problem with going on this long. I'm also expecting DC2 in February and am planning to tandem feed.

People don't ask any more when I plan to stop BF because I always just directed them to ask DD how long she intended to carry on. There's no comeback to 'ask her' .

If there's a LLL or NCT group near you then you'll be able to meet other mums that are still BF.

Still just about feeding at 3.5

DD is self weaning.

What about those of you who stopped before, say, a year? What influenced your decision to stop?

DD1 is 4.3 and nursing 3 ish times a day...no signs of weaning yet!

DD2 is 18mths and nursing all the time. I feel quite strongly about self weaning

I fed DD til she was two and a quarter. I subscribed to natural parenting/self weaning, but had to stop feeding abruptly when I had to go into hospital for a prolonger period and couldn't feed owing to medication.

For 13 months, and I've just stopped, because we'd like to TTC again soon and even though I was down to one feed a day, my periods showed no sign of returning. Plus I had to go away on business (just back) so it seemed like the most sensible thing to do all round. But it did break my heart a bit, stopping before DD was ready. She's quite happy now but the first night I put her to bed with just cuddles and no boob her little face...

I stopped at 11 months. I had been back at work since DD was 7.5 months so she was only feeding morning and evening and she slept through the night 7 til 7. My milk got less and less and one day DD and me just stopped. I think we were both ready.

Longtalljosie My periods came back after five weeks, I'm very !!!

Stopped dd1 at her decision at 14 months. We were down to just a bedtime feed from about a year and one night I offered and she just wasn't interested and she never looked for it again. I had no leaking or engorgement so there mustn't have been much in the feed. Dd2 is only 19 weeks. I hope to make at least a year with no formula and after that let her self wean.

DD stopped 3 days before her first birthday. She was really only having a BF in the morning, formula the rest of the time (long story...).

DS is still going strong at 18 months. I wanted to stop at 12 months - I have successfully removed the day feeds, but he's still feeding to sleep at nap time and during the night. He has yet to sleep through the night...

My periods came back after 5 weeks too Icoulddoitbetter.

3 DCs b'fed til about a year each, gave cos I was Knackered (FT job, pumping at lunchtime to maintain supply etc). I used the frozen BM I had stored for a few weeks longer then when it was gone it was gone. I was abit sad for a day or two, but I was really worn out so I think my having a bit more energy had to come first or the whole family would have suffered from my grumpy tiredness even more.

dd3 (a twin) was b/f for 3 months but I stopped because her twin didn't b/f and it all got a bit too much.

dd4 was b/f for 1 year and I stopped as she bit me and then refused to feed again

ds1 was b/f for 2 years and he self weaned

DS1 self weaned at 15 mnonths. I'd decided to do a year as we were going abroad around his birthday and I wanted to be ablet o BF in the plane in case he was one of those babies who screamed through the flight! Then it was just a case of carrying on regardless, despite hiding it from most people (sad about this now) and getting lots of jip from ex-h, eg every evening him getting at me that "he's too big for that now".

DS2 is 3 months and EBF from birth. I plan to BLW so who knows when he'll stop being EBF. I wish to BF him until he self weans. But it's been much tougher for various reasons this time, and continues to not be great as one of my nips has changed and gone very long, making it very prone to damage and getting sore. Even so, the benefits to him and me make it worthwhile even though I don't enjoy it half the time!

DS1 - BF'd during the day until he was 7 months, then went back to work - mixed fed until about 10 months during the day and BF until maybe a year or so for the night feeds. They stopped when he stopped needing to be fed at night.

DS2 - BF'd until 7 months, then my FIL died and things were very difficult for a while. It was easier to swap to bottles during the day, and just continue to BF at night (I think until about 1 with him too)

DD - BF until she self weaned at 2.1.

Both DDs self-weaned at 13 months by biting to signal their lack of interest. I was a bit sad, but they were only feeding in the morning and evening by then and clearly felt that learning to run around was much more fun than being attached to a boob.

One reason for feeding as long as possible was that it provided an excellent way of suppressing my endometriosis.