Stopped breastfeeding at 14 months and I'm absolutely devastated!

[ShellyBobbs]

I hate moaning but knew this was the right place to let it out.

My little lad is 14 months old and for the last couple of months at the end of a feed he has clamped his teeth on my nipple and dragged his teeth right to the end. I tried everything but nothing worked, finally yesterday morning I got out of bed to find blood all over the sheets and my nipple looks like it's been slashed. That was the decision made as far as I was concerned, I can't stand the pain any more.

I suppose I wanted to know that it's normal to feel so devastated and sad about giving up, apart from the biting we both really enjoyed it. I haven't severed all ties, I'm expressing at the moment. I feel stupid because he's fed for 14 months, but still

Give me a kick up the arse

You've done amazingly to feed him for so long, well done!
I'm new to all this but I imagine it's normal to feel sad about it ending but make sure you also feel very proud for what you've achieved

I could have written your post, DS4 was just over a year when he started biting and nothing worked, I even expressed for a couple of months with electric pump and kept offering the breast too hoping he would outgrow biting but sadly not...
But you know, 14 months, that's great!

I know exactly what you mean; I was debased when DS went on a nursing strike at around 12 months and still 6 weeks of expressing later he still wouldn't have anything to do with them! I cried a lot; it felt doubly bad as he'd has tongue tie at birth which didn't get diagnosed until he was 3 weeks old, I'd had to express and FF until it got sorted, so it had been a real struggle to bf at all.

I sympathise, I really do. But now, DS is 21m and a happy, bonny little boy whom I was able to BF for 12 months and I feel so pleased that I did and that I kept going for so long. Which is what you have done and so the upset will go eventually and you will make peace and come to terms it's just one of many things in life that you don't get to control (or at least, that's what I have done).

Well done you for making it so far and have a very unmumsnetty hug to you.

I wasn't debased, I was devastated (obviously)!

Thanks ladies, I knew I could count on you to empathise, everyone in real life gives me a wtf look

Debased, that will be my new 'feeling miserable because I'm not breastfeeding any more' sum up word

Your feelings are normal. Whilst celebrating your achievement its often mixed with mourning the end. I stopped 5mths ago and still get moments of missing bf.

I must be honest that when I saw the thread title it seemed a little extreme but haveing read the OP I think it is totally understandable.

I presume you envisioned a gradual tailing off of your BF. journey and to feel a little sad but actually it has come to a rather sudden and brutal end with you feeling like you have no choice. On top of that your DS doesn't seem to have lost interest in feeding rather has developing unacceptable table manners (for want of a better phrase).

Sorry it has come to this but well done for doing such a fantastic job for so long.

Awww, told my hubby I'd posted on here and he said 'you might not have the milk but you've still got your little lad'. What a lovely saying and so true.