Stopping breastfeeding Blues

[fizz14]

Is it normal to feel really low when stopping breastfeeding? My dd was a year last week and for the last few months had reduced to two bfs only, morning and evening. Plan was to phase out morning feed then eventually evening feed, thought this would take a while. However, once I stopped morning feed she didn't seem interested for her evening feed so have stopped totally. I really enjoyed breastfeeding, have had no physical discomfort since stopping but am feeling really low and weepy. Is this normal and does anyone have any suggestions for things to help me?
Thanks

Well done for bf for so long - you should be really proud of yourself! Remind yourself that only 1 in 10 mothers are successful at bf - you have given you child such a good start in life.

It is only natural that you will feel some sense of loss. Try to accept this as normal and it will pass. Stopping breastfeeding, especially after so long, is hard, as it is a stage of letting go. How about trying infant massage as replacing that special time you used to spend with your baby? There are loads of classes popping up all over the place - contact the international association of infant massage (you will find it through the internet). Johnson & Johnson have a leaflet that can get you started.

This is really common - I went through it myself. It was worse with my last baby because I knew it was the last time I would ever breastfeed. However, you will gradually feel better as your hormones adjust and your body returns to normality with periods etc. My dd is 10 years old and I still wish I could breastfeed again

Must admit I never feel sad...I am feeling liberated!

cant you see it as a lovely stage that your daughter is now developing her own ltittle personality and is able to do things herself?

And buy some nice new bras...

I felt sad too but that was because I knew I was returning to work . I planned a pampering day - hair/nice lunch/shopping etc as I was now 'me' again and not a milk machine. Hope you feel better soon.

I do think it's normal. It's the end of an era, a time that will never come again. I felt sad when I stopped at 14months. I still think of it as a special time. As others have said though, the intensity of your feelings will fade and you will eventually feel happily nostalgic about it. Agree with others, celebrate with new underwear and a treat day of some kind.

I have friends who felt liberated by stopping feeding (usually quite early, after just a few weeks) but I loved it and felt sad about the end of an era...maybe that's why I carried on with one feed in the morning until dd1 was nearly 2!
dd2 is 7 months and I don't mind at all her waking me twice (sometimes more) in the night because I treasure those moments with her. on the positive side, stopping feeding at least in the daytime meant I could wear whatever (dresses) without having to think..

fizz14 - i felt exactly the same when i stopped feeding dd1. I fed her up until a year which was when she decided she didn't want to breastfeed anymore and would far rather look around the room! Although a year is a long time i think it was the fact that she no longer wanted to breastfeed as opposed to it being my decision to stop. I found in time i felt better about it, afterall i had to stop sometime. My dd2 is now 6 months and i know that as she is our last baby i'm going to find it even harder when i stop because it is the last conection to pregnancy, childbirth etc and like others say.....the end of an era. Hope you begin to feel better soon.

I found I went through a hormonal stage when both ds's were weaned onto solids (as I swapped to mixed feeding with both at that stage, so significantly reduced my milk outflow. Definitely not unusual. But it is also an emotional stage as others have said. I'm finding it odd this time round, as we've probably completed our family, and so once I stop feeding, that will be it - for good. Someone recommended taking extra Vit B6 to help, but I found the low bit stopped after about 3 weeks.

codswallop - you say "your daughter is now developing her own ltittle personality and is able to do things herself?"

Does this mean that at a year old a baby who is still breastfeeding can't do things for themselves?

It never ceases to amaze me how people can try and pick a fight about the most irrelevant things!

Here Here Elena

It was supposed to be tounge-in-cheek... if you were referring to my comment... anyway what is irrelevant about developing your personality. It is just that often some advocate stopping becasue they think that b/feeding beyond a certain age makes your baby dependent on you and unable to develop personally etc etc... which of course is utter tosh...

I am not suggesting that codswallop thinks this at all, just interested in what she meant but I think it was an encouraging remark rather than something that had great meaning.

Please ... I never discuss irrelevant things - and why would anyone think I was picking a fight??? One of the good things about Mumsnet is that usually you can have an academic discussion about anything (relevant? or irrelevant? something is always relevant to someone here)