how did you stop the last two feeds?

[soandsosmum]

DD is nearly a year old and is down to just a first and last thing feed, sometimes not even very much then. I weaned her off her 4pm feed about month ago using mostly distractions and getting her to drink more from a cup during the day.

However, she still wakes up crying and wants to feed and sometimes still feeders to sleep.

How did you wean your dc off these last two feeds?

Babies/toddlers still need breastmilk or a substitute (in the form of formula if under 12m or cows' milk or extra foods that give fats/calcium/minerals/etc if over 12m though BM is still the preferred option if possible) until they are 2y and up to 12m BM should make a substantial contribution to their diet.

9-11m olds need 310kcals from complementary foods [aka solids] and 376kcals from breastmilk [or sub.] which is approx 500mls of BM,

12-23m need 580kcals from complementary foods and 314kcals from BM [or sub] which is approx 420mls of BM.

Do you need/want to stop bfing or feel you should? It sounds like your DD still needs to bf (which is normal tbh) is there a way you can keep some feeds going for her or are you desperate to stop now? Babies don't need to be weaned, given time they will wean themselves though it is more a long term thing (i.e. you are looking at 2 1/2yo at the earliest for self weaning rather than in a few months) so it may not be suitable/workable for you to wait it out.

If you want to replace a bf with another type of milk feed (formula under 12m/cows' milk/other milk over 12m) then offering it in a cup/beaker instead of a bf while cuddling her may work or changing her routine so instead of e.g. a bf in her bedroom you offer bf downstairs then swap to a cup/beaker when she is used to that.

Hi

I'm afraid I have no idea how many ml she's getting, as she feeds on demand.

However, I'm pregnant and don't plan to feed both children and would like a break in between. I feel like a year is a good amount of time to have bf and would like to be able to go out in the evening (somethin I've not done for almost a year).

Congratulations on the new baby!

In that case the feeds would need to be swapped out for an alternative - either a milk feed or a balanced snack & a drink. You may find your supply dips as you get towards the 2nd trimester which could help you bring an end to bfing easily (you don't say how pg you are so apols if you are 3rd trimester!) as often toddlers can get put off bfing when there is less milk.

All the best.

I've just stopped feeding DD, she's a bit older than your DD (21mo) so this might not be that helpful but this is what I did.

Her last feed of the day was always just before bed after a book, so when I was building up to dropping it, we varied her routine a little bit to make the feed less important - so she got to choose three books and DH read one, I read one and then she "read" one in her cot, we were both there talking to her etc, and we offered her a beaker of milk downstairs before bed so she got used to that. Then one evening I had to stay late at work and miss bedtime, and DH put her to bed with no problem that night, so the following night we just offered her a beaker of milk with no fuss and she was fine from then on. It does take longer to get her to sleep though, bf was a great way of winding her down!

She carried on feeding first thing in the morning for a few weeks after that, where on waking she came into bed with us for a feed. This one was harder to drop on the first day because I was there, but basically when she woke up we just got her straight up and avoided getting back into bed. She did get upset but was distracted fairly quickly, and then we did that for a week or so to break the association between bed and feeding, and now she comes into bed with us for a cuddle and doesn't ask for a feed at all.

I guess the key for us was avoiding things she associated with bf and replacing them with equally enjoyable things with new associations. Good luck - you deserve a little break before it all starts again!

Thank you ladies

Helpful.

I'm still first trimester but will be into 2nd when DD turns 1 so hoping to cut out bf then to have a short break!