Is it wrong to put ear wax on your boobs?

[AlanasMum]

I'm trying to think of ways to stop my little one wanting to breast feed as I'm fed up with it.(dd is 11.5m
Whats more she's biting and none of the biting tricks have worked.
Are there any other 'safe' magic potions that might put her off the boob.

I'm currently starting to wean baby number four....I used the 'foul taste' on nipples with one of my children and it didnt work, well it certainly put her off, but i still ended up going cold turkey and having three or four nights of tears. there is very little help and advice about giving up isnt there when youre looking?! I stopped bf baby number one at just over 2yrs and that was really hard! baby number 2 I weaned early -too early i feel looking back - and baby number three was the cold turkey one I described first. so i put my hand up and say i'm dreading it with this one. I want to do it gradually but that never seems to work,. I really want to give up now, i want 'me' back much as i love bfing, and am in hospital for an op in jan, then away on business in march...so, i need to sort it and settle her before all that.
I wish you lots of luck alanasmum, going cold turkey is my advice. its been stressful and tiring for me in the past but it does work in the end.

Actually I DO agree with F&Z, I have only recently stopped bf my DD who is 2.5, and I would say it's better to try and distract or find some other solution for a baby that's being annoying while bf rather than stop completely, especially by going cold turkey.
That said I really just wanted to point out that, if Alanasmum really is determined to go cold turkey then giving in after 1 hour of saying no, and then repeating the whole procedure again next time would only prolong the agony for everyone concerned and end up confusing the baby. Much better to go Floating's route of cutting one feed at a time, or use distraction etc. It doesn't need to be a battle.

Hi Alanasmum

If it's the pulling and prodding thats the problem have you tried a feeding necklace? We've had threads on here about then before. Not sure if thats the right name, but it's basicly a big beaded necklace that your dd can play with while she's feeding. Might make the whole experience a happy one again. I had this poblem with ds2 when he was about 9 months. I ended up making a necklace with colourful beads and things dangling from it. it worked wonders with him. HTH

my ds went through a biting phase at around that age. I am still breastfeeding him now at 2.2 years. He never wants it when we're out and about, only at home, usually when he's tired. I used to tell him to stop biting and he got the message after about a month. He never bites now. He went thru a fiddling stage too but we're past that. Just wanted to let you know that she may just be experimenting and will
calm down again.

Wow! I had no idea it was so difficult to wean them off. So glad I did it at about 8 months now. That may sound harsh to those who are still feeding at 2.5. I don't know how you all do it.

I weaned, almost by accident, at 10 months. I went away for the weekend so ds had to have a bottle (he'd had formula before when I went on nights out) and when I returned he didn't seem that interested in the boob. I tried to give him feeds last thing at night etc but clearly he was more interested in the bottle now! I think it was more sad for me than him, but I'm much happier it happened that way...

Kangaroo, I'm not sure I could have weaned my ds3 at 8 months. He was and still is very attached to my boobs and hated bottles! which he refused from 5 months even though he had been given bottles from the start! My first two were very easy to wean a 12 months but ds3 would have been difficult to wean at any age.

Contrary to what most people have said just because a baby gets comfort from bf doesn't mean that you shouldn't stop when you feel you need to. My DD2 was 14 months old and used to bf 6 - 8 times a day for comfort. I enjoyed bf but was fed up with her undressing me in public when she was tired. The only way I could get her to stop was to go away without her for 3 days. When I came back she did cry and try to bf but not as much as before. I have to say though, that the effect on me of leaving her and going from bf so often to not at all was horrible.

I don't think anyone has said that Alanas should not stop when she wants to, MamCatriona, just that because breastfeeding has been such a source of comfort to her dd, that Alanas should approach weaning in a sensitive and respectful way, not by smearing something abhorrent on her breasts to revolt her daughter.

BTW it isn't just comfort. Even if you ignore the nutritional factor it is still a great source of antibodies to fight colds and other germs.

Alanasmum, i BF both mine til they were 2yrs.3mos and about 21 months. My first, i did put aloe vera on my boobs (i was pregnant again and wanted my breasts to myself for a few months!!) and it worked like a charm.I do feel bad about it now though. We had also started to cut down on feeds, but i had an evening job a few nights a week, and i think it made all the difference in the world that i wasn't there.. For my daughter, i just gradually cut down on feeds. I can't ever remember there being a hassle over it, so she was ready for it. Sometimes you just have to try lots of things until you hit on the one that works- good luck!!!

ooh, thats the pure aloe juice, not the gooey stuff thats full of crap!! Its quite bitter, but not harmful

Polo necks and distraction

ear wax is the essential ingredient in oil of olay. infact if you register with them you can be paid for donating your ear wax.

i weaned rory at 9 months and feel a bit guilty about it now - he's 10 months. it sounds silly but i miss it. I'd gone back to work and felt really tired. i do feel less tired now i've stopped.

i just dropped a feed a fortnight, kept the morning one for the longest and started by giving him the bottle, then offering a boob and then stopped that. i think he'd kind of lost interest as he never once tried to breast feed again and I did it exclusively for 7 months. It was really hard to get him to take a bottle. the only one he likes resembles a boob - the tommee tippee closer to nature!!! i swear by that bottle!!!

I just gave up breastfeeding 6 weeks ago. He was 10 months when he had his last feed. I felt really sad that it wa the last time, but he kept biting me! And he would pull my hair and thump my chest with his free hand when he fed. Now I wonder how I managed for so long !! (I also like my short haircut - but greived over my long hair for months!)

I can empathise with you...He is none the wiser now, but still automatically buries himself in my bood at nighttime or when he's tired. That's when you get that pang and you heart hiccups.
Be proud of yourself instead, for feeding herhim for so long!

Its nice to hear that i'm not the only one with the hair pulling, fingers in mouth/nose etc. The hair pulling I stopped by tighing it up, the fingers in mouth and nose I stopped by accident. We were playing and i accidently bit him - it left a small dent but no marks but he now won't put his hands near my mouth. As for the banging on the chest I hold that hand and help him wave it about but not so it hits me.

As for biting have you tried pulling closer? I generally found that he couldn't/wouldn't bite with a mouth full of boob.

If you want to stop do and this is the best time of year to try. Put your best reinforsed bra on covered by a poloneck top (tucked in) and don't be swayed by the tears but give lots of cuddles.

BTW: although i'm still feeding, i had to have an operation when he was 3 months old and v.strong antibiotics about a month ago (13months) so breastfeeding was impossible at both these times. i found lots of cuddles and time spent with him helped give him the reassurance he needed. one thing to remeber is that breastfeeding is more that just nutrician so give her plenty of your time and she will be ok.

I'm still to wean my 11 month old but a friend's baby lost interest in the boob when she started feeding her a formula feed a day in a BabyBFree bottle (you can buy them online from here ) with a level 4 teat. Apparently this was more satisfying than a bf! Now her baby has moved onto a cup and hasn't looked back. I've no experience of biting but my DS is v. squirmy and I often wrap him in a blanket for a feed. This both keeps his hands under control and my signal to him that it's the right time to feed.

Thanks everyone. I've been trying the distraction idea over the past few days constantly taking her out places (housework has built up slightly) or feeding her food. seems to be working as I've narrowed her feeds down to mainly nights and 1 day feed (sometimes). she's started trying to pull my dh's top up now instead. Talk about blood from a stone.

LOL at trying to pull up dh's top. You have to admire her persistance and creativity