feeling sad about end of bf

[neontetra]

My dd, who I think will be our only one, at 20 months seems to have moved on from bf. She no longer needs it to sleep, she doesnt wake in the night, and she wakes after i've left for work. We no longer do day feeds. So that's it, isn't it? She's fine, I'm gutted. Anyone else felt like this?

Yup, I did, but focussing on all the tons of other stuff we could enjoy together as she grew from babyhood helped. Reading, singing, dancing, just chatting about what we can see out of the window, crafts...she's 12 now and we still do that kind of thing and hope we always will.

I still occassionally get pangs of sadness that I'll never breasfeed again.

My first gave up at around 23 months. I remember feeling really sad that it had stopped without me noticing, so was pleased when he took a notion for a final couple of feeds a month later. I was sad at the time, but this passed quickly. The closeness did not go away, we still have a very special bond and it's nice to have cuddles that don't involve me lifting my top! We thought we couldn't have dc2 but we did, and he looks set to keep feeding past his db's age.
It's not wrong for you to feel sad, but you won't lose your special relationship.

Thank you for your replies - it is good to know I'm not alone in feeling like this. I think I always imagined stopping would be a decision, somehow, but instead it has just snuck up on us, one dropped feed at a time.

It's perfectly understandable that you're feeling sad, but try to think of the positives: you breastfed your dd for a very good length of time, which you should feel happy and proud of. Also, she weaned herself naturally and without being upset.