So how do you give up breastfeeding?

[iamamummy]

Hi ladies,

My ds is just approaching 6 months, his 2 bottom teeth are poking through and my nipples are starting to feel like they are being peeled like a cheese string!!
In the last few weeks he has just started taking a bottle of formula and im hoping to increase this so i can give up breast feeding altogether. Question is how? Do i go cold turkey and suffer the pain? Express X amount for X amount of days and reduce this over time? I really dont know how to go about it.

Please dont flame me for wanting to give up, i am not a natural breast feeder i struggle in public, have suffered continuous blocked ducts (suffering now) it just feels like the right time for both of us.

Thanks in advance.

I wouldn't go cold Turkey. Just drop feeds gradually, offer a bottle rather than breast for example. I stopped bf DD quite suddenly and got mastitis.

yy don't go cold turkey if you're prone to blocked ducts.

try to do it so your feeds are shorter - maybe offer boob then bottle or vice versa after some minutes. or offer bottle when you would have done a bf.

Thanks, this is what im worried about as my left breast is quite tender now and i dont want to cause any further problem.

Don't go cold turkey. Offer bottle feeds where you would have given a breast feed, and reduce it gradually. Probably best to do this over a few weeks to allow your breasts to cope.

By the way, if you suffer from blocked ducts, then it could be a sign that your latch is slightly off. Either way, this is another reason to do it slowly and avoid cold turkey as you don't want a teething baby and mastitis to contend with.

you can still express if you are finding you're getting engorged to ease it. that won't hurt as much as a direct feed and you can freeze it.

(I didn't mean so you could carry on with bm, I just meant it might be a way of reducing bfs without having him scraping away at your boob)

Not cold turkey. Give up one feed at a time until he is happy with bottle for that feed and your breasts have realised thy are not needed for that feed. This may take a week a feed, so it's not quick unfortunately!

Well done for getting to 6 months- you won't get criticism from me- you do what you feel is the best thing for you and your child.

Thanks all.
I have been using the milk ive expressed for feeds as it seems silly to waste it, Its hard to know how much to express....ds takes 4/5 ounces of formula in a bottle.

Definately wont be going cold turkey now though -thanks! Dp keeps telling me to "just stop" each time i yelp in pain.

Even if you plan to give up soon it might be worth speaking to one of the helplines about reducing the discomfort while you cut down. IIRC the bottom teeth would usually be covered by the tongue while feeding so there might possibly be another latching/positioning issue.

I mean that's causing the biting.

He feeds absolutely fine. The biting occurs when he is getting distracted/wants to mess about and all of a sudden he will just clamp down on the breast and pull away with nipple in his crunch!! I try and look out for the signs but dont always pull him off in time.

Biting is quite common when they're teething. Some only ever do it the once. Have you tried a nursing necklace or something similar? Know it's really frustrating, but it happens a lot because their mouth feels incredibly strange - and painful - whilst the teeth are cutting.

Here is a really useful page from kellymom about biting.