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Infant feeding

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

stopping breastfeeding one year old DS and returning to work

3 replies

shopswat · 11/06/2012 21:15

My DS is one and at the moment we have a great routine which includes DS being breast fed in the morning before breakfast and in the evening before bed. I feel ready to stop breastfeeding however I am not sure how to do it.

At the moment our routine is as follows -

7am wake
7.15/7.30 breastfeed (all over very quickly in about 5 minutes)
8.00 breakfast, usually 1.5 weetabix with cows milk and 1/2 a piece of toast
10/10.30 nap for on average 45 mins then a small snack
12.00 lunch
2/2.30 nap for on average 1.5hrs then sometimes has a small snack
5.00 dinner
7.15 breastfeed (again very quick), cuddle and in to bed awake, he is asleep by 7.30pm

Just wondering how people stopped breastfeeding e.g. should I replace the morning BF with a bottle of milk (DS will take a bottle) or go straight to breakfast? Also the official guidance seems to be to skip bottle and go for a sippy cup, DS drinks water from a sippy cup but I can't imagine him having a cup of milk at bedtime rather than the comfort of BF / bottle.

Any experience / advice would be great - thanks in advance.

OP posts:
OfMiceAndMummies · 12/06/2012 14:07

This sounds v similar to the routine I had with my two DSs. I replaced the morning BF with a bottle first (or in the case of DS2 a tommy tippee beaker as I could never get him to take a bottle), then after about a month of that I changed the bedtime BF for a bottle. Cutting out the feeds one at a time should him to make sure things aren't too uncomfortable for you. In the case of DS1 he surprised me and was totally happy to have his bottle (although sometimes he only wanted an ounce or two) and then go off to sleep as normal, but in the case of DS2 it was harder - he really missed his bedtime BF and it took several weeks for him to get used to having milk from a beaker at bedtime. But 4 months later he is absolutely fine with it (and has been for a while now). If your little one isn't happy about having milk from a beaker / bottle in the morning I wouldn't worry too much as it sounds like he has a good breakfast. Equally when you cut out the bedtime BF I wouldn't worry if he doesn't seem to keen on having his milk as it sounds like he eats well during the day so I doubt he needs it from a nutrition point of view. Sometimes both my boys will only have a sip or two and they still sleep fine. In the case of Ds2 when he was upset about not having his bedtime BF I would cuddle him and sing lullabies for a few mins so that he was still having a good cuddle and a chance to wind-down. In terms of bottle vs beaker I had the same concern with DS1 that he wouldn't settle so well with a beaker at bedtime. I used a bottle at bedtime until about 14mths then tried a beaker and he didn't bat an eye-lid! A bit long-winded I'm afraid but I hope it helps a bit.

vj32 · 13/06/2012 17:15

We have just done this. I replaced the morning feed with milk from a cup. This was sort of accidental as on Saturdays DH would get him up anyway and often I would forget to bf ds - he was happy to go straight to breakfast. After a couple of weeks when he was used to that I got DH to do his bedtime routine - I just went in to get him changed and say goodnight. He doesn't have milk before bed (which I think is problematic anyway as if it makes them all relaxed and sleepy you have to then get them out of bed to brush their teeth.)
He now has milk with his dinner. He also has dairy in meals, and a yoghurt or custard every day so I know he is getting enough milk.

shopswat · 13/06/2012 19:59

Thanks for respondng it is helpful to hear what other people have done. I think the morning one will probably be ok and i'll try the cup and if DS is not interested just go straight to breakfast. The evening one might be harder as it is a part of his bedtime routine. I'm a bit worried it might impact on how well he goes to sleep (we have worked hard on the sleep thing as he was not a very good sleeper from the start) but I guess nothing stays the same and he needs to adapt to things. I also think that although I am ready to stop breastfeeding at the same time I feel emotional about it and combined with returning to work it's probably making the whole 'change' thing harder for me. My DS will probably be fine!

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