I am going to BF for another 10 years, aren't I?

[n00dle]

I ebf'd my lovely little girl (now 12 months) until 6 months and we're going great on the solids.

Problem is, we're going great on the bf'ing as well. So much that every damn hour of every damn day she's pulling at my top and wanting a quick nork (2 mins, tops) and shrieking when she doesn't get it. She paws at my top, my mum's top, anyone who has a top and boobs, really.

I offer a solid first and distraction second and finally a boob. I don't even mind it when she IS hungry, but the little comfort pulls are starting to drive me nuts!

I feel so guilty but I want to leave my family for a week so I can get a break and stop feeling resentful. Do I go cold-turkey, try to make more of a routine or something else? I feel like I've made a rod for my own back and it's just upsetting the pair of us :(

I completely understand what you mean.
When my DD was 12 months I started to feel like she was invading my personal space with her constant and increasingly determined demands for BFing.
It was at that point that I decided to wind down and wean her.

Do you actually want to stop completely? It sounds like that would probably be your best option if you're ready for that. Simply cutting down would be hard.

Basically, at 12 months there is no actual need for her to feed any more. She is now able to get all the nutrition and liquid she needs from other foods and drinks.
The thing you need to do is make her realise that she no longer needs to feed. Once she realises that, she will stop asking.

Do you still feed at night? Personally, I cut out midnight feeds first. That helped to her to finally sleep through.

Next I cut out middle of the day feeds.
I did that, as you say, through distraction and replacement.
I thought about why she was asking. If she was thirsty, I offered a drink. When hungry I offered a snack. When needing mummy time I offered a cuddle. When bored I offered a game or a book. etc etc.
It only took a couple of days for her to realise that daytime feeding wasn't necessary.

The next feed I dropped was the pre-breakfast one.
That one is quite easy to drop by replacing it with a cup of milk on mummy's knee (giving both nutrition and mummy time.)
This should be prompty followed by breakfast.

The last feed I dropped was the bedtime feed.
This was much less traumatic to drop than I expected because by this time DD had realised that she no longer needed/wanted to feed and she actually weaned herself.

I hope this helps.

instead of trying to convince you to give up cause theres no need of rit anymore

I was going to say that its a funny age/stage at 12months, I have found with mine

I think if you never say no, she will stop trying to do it constantly

good luck

and obvioulsy you can wean her if you want to

When I said there is no need for it anymore, I simply meant that from 12 months onwards a child is perfectly able to survive without its mother's milk or formula.

Whether a mother chooses to wean their child at that point or continue feeding is completely personal choice.

Personally, I weaned my DD at 13 months and my DS at 14 months because that was right for me and them.

n00dles, I completely understand how you feel. I went through a similar problem with my 26-month old DS (26 months?!? well thats a whole different story).

I started weaning him since he was 20m while I was in my 3rd trimester with DD. The first time was super easy but I caved and occasionally allowed him to have more feeds.

When DD arrived in March '11, I thought I had to let DS nurse so he wouldn't feel left out. Then my resentment built as he became more and more dependent on me.

I resorted to applying vinegar on my boobs , the nipple that is. It was a bit messy at first. I eventually dabbed some vinegar on the breast pads coz I was getting to lazy to be applying vinegar repeatedly. Being consistent is key, and I would tell DS that he's now a big boy, my breastmilk is no longer good for him. He was clearly upset with the change and I felt horrible too. 3 weeks on, he's back to being his chirpy self.

I've found the same as Chinnity. No 12 month drop in interest here, and at 2.4 he's just feeding morning and night. I encouraged a reduction in feeds by offering more liquid.

Breastfeeding can be a mutually agreeable relationship :)

I can really identify with what you're going through OP. It happened with DS1 and I suspect DS2 will be the same.

I guess you just have to make the decision to wean or battle through. I didn't wean, so have no experience on that I'm afraid. However, I can say that if you decide to continue it does get better and can be a really useful thing to still be doing during periods of illness/difficulty.

If you do decide to stop, I would try to do so gradually instead of cold turkey. Good luck with whatever you decide.

Actualy the WHO recomend feeding untill at lest 2years Ruth and although nutrinialy they can get food from other sources BM supporst a growing childs immunsystem which isn't mature untill around 5years of age. Not as much as a problem as it used to be thanks to modern medician but still very usefull. I found it great espicaly when she was ill and wouldn't eat anything else.

DD was like this to at 12months but I started distracting her with snak's and it did carm down. She went on to feed untill about 2years 11months when I was PG with DS. I'm hoping to let him self wean.

Maybe look up how to work out some breastfeeding manners?