Is this it?

[ceebs05]

My 13 month old has always been breast fed but has been offered cows milk in a cup with meals/snacks since turning one. She has always been very keen on BF (never accepted a bottle) and until yesterday was still feeding twice a day (first thing and before bed). However yesterday she basically didn't feed at all. I was particularly surprised about her refusing bedtime feed as she usually loves this. She then refused her morning feed this morning too.

She is having some bother with her teeth at the moment and has needed calpol so thought maybe this was the reason. But now I'm wondering if she has decided to stop breastfeeding? It seems very abrupt and I don't know whether I should express to keep my supply going in case she decides in a few days she wants it again - if she does this and there's none left she will be very unimpressed!

What are others experiences of this kind of thing?

Well Kellymom says it uncommon under 2.

Maybe she is coming down with something, although this makes ds feed more. Could you be pregnant?

I hope not! So not ready for another baby just yet! Am on pill so unlikely to be pg.

ceebs, did she feed tonight?
If not, there's a couple of us with striking babies on the 'Help, my baby is on strike' thread if you want to join us...

After feeding her for over a year, I would imagine it'll take weeks and weeks for your supply to dry up. Mine didn't dry up for months after DS and am still producing a little bit now, 12 weeks after stopping feeding my DD.

Exactly the same thing happened with my ds - he'd been having cow's milk with snacks in the day, and at 13 months just refused his bedtime feed one night, then a few days later refused the morning one and that was that. I was ready to stop though so didn't push it with him.

Do you want to stop feeding her ceebs?

From what you've said I think it more likely that it's a nursing strike, poss caused by teething, but if you do want to give up now then it gives you the ideal opportunity.

If you want to carry on, then your supply can probably cope just fine with the break, but do express if it makes you feel more comfortable, both in terms of reassuring you that there's still milk, and stopping you from getting mastitis.

Thanks for your replies. She refused last night and got angry when I offered this morning. I was thinking of trying to gradually phase it out over the next few months as I thought it would be really hard to get her to stop, particularly at bedtime. So maybe this is for the best as she's broken the habit herself as it were. Feel a bit sad though as I wasn't expecting her to do that and it seems an abrupt end to such a big part of our lives for the last year.