13m, help needed to stop bf

[cenicienta]

DD is 13m and still feeding around 4 or 5 times a day. I'm starting to think about cutting down / giving up and would appreciate a bit of advice and support.

How do I start?

Gradually drop a feed a week. Replace with full cows milk. They don't really need 4 feeds if they are having solids and cows milk. It's habit.

Thank you for replying Sleepyslug. Yes I completely agree it's a habit, it just kind of makes life easier.

Do you think it's OK to give UHT milk instead of normal fresh milk? I don't live in the UK and we don't have fresh milk available. The only other alternative is formula milk which is very very expensive (around £25 a tin).

Which feed should I stop first?

Any suggestions re cups. We've never used a bottle so I'm reluctant to start now.

I think the last feeds to go are usually the morning/evening ones.

I would check with someone about the UHT milk, it is presumably OK but make sure.

DD is around the same age and drinks from a sippy cup, the sort with a spout and handles. I gave her a bottle last night out of curiosity and she had no idea what to do with it. She chewed the teat for a while and then decided it was a rattle.

My DD weaned herself from the breast (with a little help from me) at 13mo. She dropped the mid morning feed first, then the afternoon feed, then the morning one, then the bedtime one. She had her drinks from an open cup, she has also never had a bottle. We also lived abroad and she had UHT milk, it was fine. For the first few weeks she didn't like milk that much so I made sure she had yoghurt and cheese every day. Within a month or two she was drinking cows milk without any complaints.

Good luck!

The reason I said full fat milk was because your baby needs a lot of fat in their diet but as long as baby is having plenty of yoghurt or cheese UHT should be fine. I sometimes mix full fat cream with UHT into my little boy's breakfast cereal, which just tops up baby's calorie intake.

I never used a bottle either - an open free flowing cup tended to work best for me in the beginning. Don't worry too much about which feed to drop first I think I dropped the middle feeds first and just gave milk from a cup if they were thirsty.