Weaning a very enthusiastic 22 month old-help!

[StiffyByng]

My daughter is 22 months and I am 32 weeks pregnant. She still breastfeeds although I have had pretty much no milk for a while and am now producing colostrum. It's a comfort thing - she will sit with me sucking away while she watches In The Night Garden like other children would suck their thumbs!

I have Insufficient Glandular Tissue and was unable to EBF her. I would love to try to achieve this with #2 but tandem feeding would make that much harder. I also have high blood sugar and would like to try expressing colostrum before the birth.

I feel very sad about ending our breastfeeding relationship on one hand as I'd always wanted her to self-wean, but on the other I feel that our relationship is too much about the feeding and I feel quite oppressed on the days that she just wants to feed constantly. She gets very cross (tantrums) when denied. I had to go away for three days for work a while back and hoped it might provide a break, but she was undeterred.

I'm waiting to see a lactation consultant but the weeks are ticking by and I really don't want her to associate the new baby with her weaning. Does anyone have any suggestions at all?

Have you tried only bfing in one place, a particular chair for example, and then just keeping busy so you never sit there? Try changing her routine too so that you're not together while her favourite nursing programmes are on. Ifbshe has a feed at bedtime, coukd someone else put her to bed for a few nights while you go out.

It's a whie since I did wean but we did just start telling her that it had gone away. Sorry I can't be of more help. If you ring your local la Leche league or one of the other bfing helplines, they should be able to give you some information and support on ceasing bfing with Lo one and the issues you've had with ebfing

Do you think that she may wean when the new baby arrives and your milk changes?

The only other thing I thought scout suggesting was to only feed when there aren't any distractions, in a quiet room on your own. Then maybe she would just feed when needing milk, rather then whilst watching TV?

Thanks for the suggestions. I've given up on the LLL. Their helpline where I am never gets answered and the meetings are while I'm at work. The LC I'm waiting to see is a really good one that helped me a lot before but it's just the wait.

I don't think it's anything to do with actual feeding. There is no milk and hasn't been for months! But trying to restrict it to one place is a good idea. At the moment she wants to 'feed' whenever we sit down together, which I worry about as it seems to be the only thing she wants to do with me, so it might be tricky to avoid that entirely.

One thing that you might like to try is to decide when you'd like to bf, say first thing and before bed, then when she asks for it say we don't do that now do we, well do it xxxxx. This worked for DS, just don't ask me about dd

I have tried that in the past but met with epic tantrums and, being weak, have given in. But I think it's probably most likely to work. I can actually avoid morning and evening feeds fairly well as my husband puts her to bed and gets her up, so she only has opportunity to feed if it's actively provided at those times.