Stopping BF @ 7 months, maybe..

[WelshCat]

Hmm, Im considering stopping BF fairly soon, except for the bed time feed. DS is 7 and a bit months old now, he has milk feeds between breakfast and lunch, and between lunch and dinner and at bedtime. For the daytime ones he is happy to have a bottle if needs be, he goes to creche 3 days a week and is fine with bottles then, but I do BF him at home etc. I think Im ready to give it up in the day now though, I badly want to be able to wear normal clothes without thinking about buttons/layers etc and I am starting to miss normal bras.. He genuinely doesn't seem bothered if I give him a bottle, even at bedtime sometimes.
However, he wakes up in the night a few times and I BF him back to sleep (I know I shouldnt but its the easiest way, and keeps us both happy). I guess all Im wondering is am I able to just BF at night and bedtime, or will my milk disappear? And am I being selfish giving up BF? I don't know, I just think he's getting older now, and apart from the biting, I have to start thinking about cups and juice and cows milk and all that soon, so Im thinking just get on with it and stop BF.
Not really a question I guess, just dont know what to decide!

Don't give him juice! Not until he is a year and a bit older anyway...

[returns to point]

I had this dilemma and ended up just carrying in bfing as I didn't want the night battles just then. DS is 13m now and isn't bfing to sleep after a short burst of sleep training so I'm winding down and only giving him one bf a day, with formula twice. It's lovely to bring him into our bed for a snuggle and feed before we get up in the morning but, like you, I miss normal clothes! I asked the breast-feeding coordinator this week if one feed day is sustainable and she said that it is as feeding is well established so it's back to the supply and demand rule.

Ah I see so my milk won't run out suddenly then!

I tried controlled crying etc to stop night feeds but it didnt work, he is a stubborn baby.. he used to sleep 12 hours a night til he was 6 months old though. so im hoping he wont need those night feeds much longer. although god knows what ill do to stop him if it comes to it..

and no juice? not even watered down? (not that he would drink it anyway, not interested)

Maybe try again when he is a bit older? I found the 7-9 month stage the most exhausting so far after newborn as DS wasn't sleeping particularly well but had just got mobile so needed constant, active supervision.

The official advice from dentists is not to give toddlers juice as there aren't any benefits but plenty of cons (gets them used to drinking sugary drinks, bad for teeth etc.). Water and milk during the day and water at night if needed is best.

right ok then. lol he wont drink water, but then why would he? he gets milk whenever he wants it. maybe ill just wait til he stops waking up in the night. whenever that may be..

WelshCat - why do you think you shouldn't breastfeed him back to sleep, if it keeps you both happy?

Everyone says its terrible dont they, like your baby will never learn blah blah if you dont let him cry. I tried controlled crying once, and i wish i hadnt. :( was horrible, i dont see why everyone has such a problem with feeding DS to sleep really.. we both get more sleep in the long run!

I can tell you from experience that if "everyone's" opinion goes against the grain for you, you can quite safely ignore "everyone". It took me two children and nearly 5 years of being a mum to work that one out!

My DD is 9 months. She sleeps right next to me and feeds on and off all night. My mother was horrified when I started co-sleeping and accepting the night feeds, but it works! The alternative would be so much more stress and much less sleep.

My one big regret as a mum is listening far too much to others at the expense of my own instincts. No more!

Plus, it's nature. Babies are meant to sleep with their mums! In the dim and distant past, the babies who passively accepted night time separation would most likely have been eaten.

Haha thats true, thanks for the reassurance :) I mostly just think screw what everyone else thinks, but it is hard to ignore everyone, seeds of doubt creep in and all that. feck em though hey, happy baby = happy me!

I highly recommend the book 'the no-cry sleep solution'. Written by a bfing co-sleeping mum and full of practical advice that doesn't involve traumatising a LO unnecesarily.

Elizabeth Pantley (author) suggests that the only issues with feeding to sleep and night feeds are if you're giving your LO a feed every time they make a noise but wouldn't necessarily wake-up, so increasing the number of night wakenings and if you always feed your LO to deep sleep, not just sleepy, so they actually don't realise they can fall to sleep without sucking.

If you stop before a year, you need formula and all the faff that comes with it. So from a purely lazy/selfish point-of-view, hanging on till 1 year and then going straight to cows milk in cups sounds good to me!