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Infant feeding

Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

Original poster

How old was your child when they self-weaned?

20 replies

CharlieMouseWillDoIt · 27/03/2012 11:23

I'm still bfing my almost 14-month-old. I do still enjoy it, but there is the odd occasion when I think to myself that it would be lovely not to get my boobs out several times a day, LOL! I've always been fairly baby-led in my parenting approach, so would like to wean as gently as possible, and perhaps even go as far as letting my DD self-wean.

Am kind of doing the "don't offer/don't refuse" approach, but my DD seems to be asking for milk almost all the time! Not so long ago she was literally having a feed in the morning, one before bed and maybe one in the afternoon and several overnight. Now though, she pulls at my top several times a day and does the baby sign for milk. She seems a very long way off being self-weaned at the moment.

OP posts:
ShowOfHands · 27/03/2012 11:25

3.4

Original poster
CharlieMouseWillDoIt · 27/03/2012 11:29

Thanks ShowOfHands. How frequently was s/he feeding during the toddler years?

OP posts:
witchwithallthetrimmings · 27/03/2012 11:30

lost interest duing the day at 2, at 2.5 (roughly) did not need it to get to sleep at night and would often not ask for it first thing in the morning. By 2.8 stopped having it most days. She now feeds every 10 days or so. The gaps are getting longer each time. She was 3 in Jan

TruthSweet · 27/03/2012 11:33

I think DD2 has just weaned (she hasn't nursed for 2 weeks and has been nursing once a week for months). She is 4.4y but if she wants/needs to nurse again I'd not say no.

DD1 was 3.6y and was nursing a bit more frequently but her jaw development got in the way of bfing so her self-weaning was on physiological terms not because she outgrew the need to nurse (I think she would if she could now and she has just turned 6y).

DD3 is 2.5y and is nursing twice a day though as I have no milk due to pg they are a bit 'token' rather than proper nursing sessions IYSWIM.

Original poster
CharlieMouseWillDoIt · 27/03/2012 12:12

Thank you everyone. It's really interesting to hear of other people's experiences of extended breastfeeding. Think I might be slightly sensitive at the moment as friends (who don't have children) could barely disguise the OMG looks on their faces when I told them I'm still breastfeeding. (And they did the "bitty" joke Angry)

OP posts:
ShowOfHands · 27/03/2012 13:12

The bitty joke makes me stabby. DD nursed a lot. I tried never offer, never refuse for quite a while but at 2.4 I had to actively reduce to morning and evening only because I was shattered with the night feeds. She was a milk demon.

TruthSweet · 27/03/2012 14:00

SoH - I could happily stab people who drag out the 'bitty' joke Angry.

EauRouge · 27/03/2012 14:14

Send them my way if they do the bitty joke again Grin

We haven't experienced self-weaning yet, DD1 is 3.6yo and I think she is beginning to lose her sucking reflex. She still wants to BF a lot but doesn't get much milk, I think it's more for the closeness and a quick shot of antibodies.

This is a really good book if you want to read more about breastfeeding toddlers.

If there's an LLL group near you then it's worth going along, I started going when DD1 was almost 2yo because I didn't know anyone else that was still BF, now I know quite a few extended BFers.

I don't do 'never offer, never refuse'- if I never refused then I would be on the sofa all damn day! DD1 asks several times an hour if we're at home.

MigGril · 28/03/2012 14:08

DD weaned around 3years but I was PG and my milk direded up think she may have dry nursed but I could stand her nursing anymore.

DS still going strong at 16months and plan to self wean him.

Still feel slightly mean that I may have stopped DD early but she wasn't acutaly getting anymilk at that point. She did show an interest once or twice after DS was born but seemed to have lost the ability to suck by then.

worrynot · 28/03/2012 22:49

Still going strong at 2.10 with 3-5 feeds at night. At this rate I am thinking it will go on at least until 4, but who knows. That is why I am also interested in this thread to see what peoples actual experiences are with true self-weaning.

Charleymouse · 28/03/2012 23:14

DD is 7 and would still have a pop given half a chance. Last fed properly 7ish.
DS 2.5 ish stopped whilst I was pregnant with DD2 who is still feeding at 2.5 and shows no signs of stopping. Feeds first thing, to sleep and intermittenly in the day when I am at home with her.

startail · 29/03/2012 00:00

She never did, she said she'd give up when she started school. She didn't.
We eventually both agreed that she couldn't possibly still BF when she reached double figuresGrin

elkiedee · 23/05/2012 13:38

DS1 - I didn't manage to bf and was heartbroken about the whole thing for a very long time

DS2 - just over 3 (born February 2009, stopped in about March this year). He does still ask occasionally. When I first went back to work he was I fed him morning and night on work days and he had formula at the childminder's and then would feed him whenever on weekend days and days off. From about 2 it was just morning and bedtime and towards the end it was mostly just in the morning, then he started to be in a rush to get downstairs. He occasionally asks now but I just say I don't think there is any any more (he first asked again about a month after the last time). I'm happy with that, I quite enjoyed it while it lasted and was glad to be able to continue without too many problems when my maternity leave finished.

startail · 23/05/2012 13:51

DD1 5 months (well birth really, she hated BFing)

DD2 never did we agreed that BF at 9 was daft.

mawbroon · 23/05/2012 13:56

DS1 still nursing at 6.5yo. We have negociated one feed a week, on a Friday, his responsibility to remember and ask for it. Sometimes we go 2 or 3 weeks without any.

DS2 2.3yo, no signs of self weaning yet.

Startail, I love seeing you on these threads. Makes me feel less alone with ds1 at 6.5yo! Grin

CMOTDibbler · 23/05/2012 13:59

23 months

choceyes · 23/05/2012 14:04

Interested in this thread. DD is 21 months and going strong and planning to self wean her. Hopefully she'd have got there by the time she starts school at 4yr and 2 weeks!

TruthSweet · 23/05/2012 14:46

I should update - DD2 hadn't weaned she had nursed later that week and is now nursing between once and week and once every 3 weeks! Still she's almost there - she's 4y 6m if she's not finished by Sept so be it, it will be very infrequent by then!

startail · 23/05/2012 17:48

I believe there are a couple of 7 yos too!

Well I can tell you two thinks EBF may give you brains, she's just been doing L6 SATS, but it doesn't keep you a baby.

If I get one more bit of preteen cheek tonight, she'll be on the naughty stepWink

CravingSleep · 23/05/2012 19:57

I encouraged weaning sometime before 18months with a "don't offer and daytime - distract first and if she asks again don't refuse" - would have happily let her go much older but it petered out over a month or two which suited us both. Was a very gentle way to end and I don't actually remember the last feed.

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