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Infant feeding

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

Original poster

If you bf your baby and they never took bottles at all, what age did you stop bf?

46 replies

Anothercuppatea · 30/12/2012 19:26

Hoping I might be able to hear how other people did this.
With ds1 I bf, but he had a nighttime bottle. I gave up bf when he was one, as he was no longer interested. But we kept nighttime bottle til he was 2.5.

Ds2 is now 9 months and has never taken bottle. I'd quite like to stop bf by 12-18 months. He isn't really bothered in the daytime anymore anyway. But not sure he'll want to give up his nighttime feed. I don't know how babies manage without either a bf or a bottle at nighttime? Do some people manage with just giving a cup at bedtime? Is that comforting enough for them?

OP posts:
louloutheshamed · 30/12/2012 19:30

I stopped at 18 mo, he had milk from a cup downstairs before bed, then I cuddled him to sleep. He is now 23 mo and I put him straight in cot and he self settles.

Original poster
Anothercuppatea · 30/12/2012 19:35

Hi loulou. Thanks that sounds like what I want to do. Do you mind me asking if you used to bf to sleep? Did you manage to convert that to cuddling?
My lo is a little rascal. I can see bf during they day not happening for much longer. He's too interested in playing and if I offer bf when he isn't ravenous, he just bites me! It's making me nervous to offer!

OP posts:
louloutheshamed · 30/12/2012 19:38

Yes i bf to sleep for 18mo. The I went away for the weekend and dh put him to bed. Dh did this for another week when I got back, I made Myself scarce at bedtime, and then that seemed to break the cycle and I was able to put him to bed by cuddling. It was much easier than I anticipated.

wanderingalbatross · 30/12/2012 19:40

I stopped at around 14mo, but hadn't been feeding to sleep in the evening since about 9mo (DD's choice, not mine, would have loved an easy way to get her to sleep!). Now, at 19mo, she finds the bedtime routine (bath, book, sleep) comforting without any milk.

Viewofthehills · 30/12/2012 19:47

Breast fed 'til 9 mnths DD1, 7 mnths ds, 10 months DD2. None of them had a bottle. All snuggled with milk in a sippy cup & me for their last feed. It's a while ago, but I don't remember it being a big deal. If it was ever a problem DH would take over for that feed. I don't think I ever stopped the night feed last as it was probabably the hardest to stop.

Original poster
Anothercuppatea · 30/12/2012 19:50

Wow viewofthehills, moving to just a cup at 7 months is impressive!

OP posts:
AppleAndBlackberry · 30/12/2012 19:51

10.5 months and 12 months, both moved gradually to milk in a cup at bedtime and first thing. DD2 was more difficult as she fed to sleep, but we started by sitting next to her and then did a gradual withdrawl technique (very gradual in our case...)

redwellybluewelly · 30/12/2012 19:55

I ebf with no other milk until 13months, then breastfed until 27months. DD had Oatly as she is intolerant to dairy and soya and as long as I could BF then I didn't want her on hypoallergenic formula.

Night weaned at 19months but she started again and eventually at 26 months I introduced "don't offer don't refuse". I was very sad when we stopped.

pickledparsnip · 30/12/2012 19:56

3 years and still going, although just one feed a day now. My son had a bottle for a few days in neonatal ward before breastfeeding was established, but never since.

Original poster
Anothercuppatea · 30/12/2012 19:57

Thanks for replies. I am amazed at people managing to give up bedtime feed at such a young age. Ds2 is hyper all day them suddenly zonks out asleep after last bf!

OP posts:
fufulina · 30/12/2012 20:01

DD1 was 13 months when she dropped her last bf, which was the afternoon one, when I wasn't at work. The bedtime feed we dropped about a month before that, I was pregnant and absolutely shattered. Surprisingly easy. She never took a bottle. And we didn't replace it with anything. She sometimes had milk for a drink, mostly not, though.

Viewofthehills · 30/12/2012 20:03

Another- it wasn't impressive really, more a bit sad. Little so and so refused to eat solids or breastfeed in the day, but liked to breastfeed all night. I was a bit of a sleep deprived wreck.So when I refused to feed him all night, he refused to bf at all, ever again. I just about avoided really bad mastitis.
However he really loved to guzzle his milk at full speed out of a sippy cup and got the hang of it a few weeks before this.So perhaps I was delivering at less than a pint a minute and he preferred the cup!?

LadyMetroland · 30/12/2012 20:06

About 14months. Gave her formula at bedtime in a tommy tippee cup from approx 10/11mths which she didn't drink much of to begin with but eventually swapped from bf to whole 5oz cup of milk before bed - and funnily enough she started consistently sleeping through from that time.

TheSecondComing · 30/12/2012 20:07

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

noblegiraffe · 30/12/2012 20:10

I bf for 17 months but it was the morning feed that was the last to go rather than nighttime. We moved from feeding to sleep to feeding then putting to sleep then feeding before story, gradually moving it back in the routine. Then it went completely as he has dinner and yoghurt just before bedtime as we eat late. Never got replaced with a cup of milk as he never really wanted it as a drink. Not having a drink before bedtime is good now that we're thinking about night potty training so I'm glad we didn't replace it! He does have a sip of water but that's it.

Chottie · 30/12/2012 20:10

9 months for both of mine. They went from the breast to sucking milk from a spoon to drinking from a cup.

RubyrooUK · 30/12/2012 20:10

I breastfed DS at night for 16mo. He liked to breastfeed from night till morning whenever possible and never less than twice.

He would never take a bottle (was full time at nursery from 9mo and just waited for milk till I got home, check out that stubbornness). So I waited to night wean until he liked cow's milk so he definitely had enough dairy in his diet.

He had a cup of milk in the bath and then to bed with DH. I always fed to sleep so there was no way I could put him to sleep myself without breastfeeding. DH did it for a couple of weeks with little success at first, then more success, then he was fine.

By the time I went back to putting DS to bed again, a few weeks later, he was out of the habit of breastfeeding to sleep. He didn't even really ask, except to say "all gone?" a couple of times which he accepted.

So all good. Except now we always lie down with him to go to sleep, but compared to the all-night breastfeeding, that's a breeze.

skaen · 30/12/2012 20:13

You so don't want to hear this - we're gradually stopping now at 3.2. Bedtime feeds every two nights or so.

ValiumQueen · 30/12/2012 20:13

18 mths. She stopped. I did not want to. She refused any milk of any kind for many months. She is 2.5 now and will very occasionally have a cup of milk with a meal.

DewDr0p · 30/12/2012 20:19

Ds3 never had a bottle and we stopped bfing at14 months. I was expecting it to be a nightmare but he made the switch to a cup vsmoothly (I got used to it much quicker than I expected too!)

Knittingnovice · 30/12/2012 20:26

DS self weaned at about 16 months, when I was 5months pg with DD, we didn't give him a beaker or anything, just went cold turkey.

With DD I was blue lighted to hospital at 3.30am and stayed in for 5 nights when she was 17months, so had to go cold turkey, she wanted to feed when I was discharged, but I had to go back in for surgery & then 6 months of chemo followed so didn't let her. It was very sad

catyloopylou · 30/12/2012 20:27

DS stopped at 17 months when he caught chicken pox and had a few spots in his mouth which seemed to make it painful to bf. He absolutely refused to put his mouth anywhere near my breast again. He never took a bottle and has never drunk milk from a cup, although will eat it with cereal. I digress.

By the time he stopped he was on morning and evening feeds only. We just carried on with his regular routine of bath, stories and bed, skipping the feed but offering him a cup of water instead. He went to bed with no problems.

I have to admit I wasn't prepared for him to give up both feeds at the same time and felt really sad about it, but great that someone else could then put him to bed.

TiggerWearsATriteSmile · 30/12/2012 20:29

21 months.
She was taking a beaker during the day but just needed that last feed at night.

She wasn't even having a decent feed, it was just habit. I started to withdraw and letting DH take over. She fought for a little while but went from being completely dependant in me all the time to being a daddy's girl now.

If he is in the house she won't go to bed for me and calls for him. She'll be 2 next week.

teacher123 · 30/12/2012 20:29

DS is 8 mo and won't take a bottle. I have spent the last two months getting him to accept formula from a sippy cup in the daytime, we have cut out all daytime feeds unless extenuating circumstances. I still bf first and last thing and in the night if he needs it. A few times DH has put him to bed and he's accepted a sippy cup of formula at bedtime as well. He doesn't feed to sleep though, he sucks his thumb. I have stopped bf before naps to prepare him, and he settles at naptime after a few minutes of chatting to bunny! I am hoping to wean him completely in the new year, and not quite sure what to do about night feeds. He has never really accepted formula in the night, and I'd say he still wakes up for a feed half to two thirds of the time...

cakebar · 30/12/2012 20:32

9 months and 7 months ish. First one to a cup with a straw, second one to a sippy cup (just what each preferred). Took about 3 days for them to get used to it, during which time not much milk was drunk but they were both having a decent amount of food and water. Neither were drinking at night tho.

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