should I drop the final breastfeed?

[blushingmare]

DS is 17mo. He now has one breastfeed - first thing in the morning. I can't decide whether to drop it.

Reasons for thinking maybe I should:

• he wakes at 5am and maybe if he wasn't waking for a breastfeed he'd wake later?
• he's super clingy to me and would stopping the feeding help him go to other people more easily?
• I kind of feel like I want to stop feeding before he can say he wants it in words - maybe that sounds weird, but I just don't want him asking me for it in public. At the moment he has a sound he makes, which I know is "boob mum!", but obviously no one else does
• that feed can be quite a long feed and on my work days I have to get up early and get going and sometimes it delays me
• don't know if he's losing his latch a bit, but it can be a bit sore

Reasons for not stopping:

• it's no great hardship to me at the moment - apart from sometimes delaying my morning a bit, it doesn't make a big difference
• he wakes at 5am and lying down and feeding him at that time is a hell of a lot better than sitting at his cot with him screaming at me or getting up at that time
• it doesn't put him to sleep at all these days, but feeding will still settle him when desperate - ie. Last night when he was awake and screaming for 3 hours in the middle of the night - it was good to still have it as an option
• he's my last baby and that will be it for feeding so I'm a bit emotionally attached to it I guess

Just wondered if anyone who's been in a similar position has any thoughts or comments?

No words of wisdom but I am interested as in a very similar position myself!!

The only thing you could try if it is the 5am wake up you want to fix is go cold turkey on milk until a 'reasonable' time?? So just cuddles / water / nursery rhymes and then do the feed at 6.30??? That way, you can see if it makes any difference to the wake up but still continue feeding. If it makes no difference, then you can review the routine after a week or so.

If this is the only time he breastfeeds, I doubt it affects his clinginess.
My DS1 breastfed until he was 2 (stopped by himself when I got pregnant), last 6 months only in the mornings and not once asked to feed at other times of the day. I think it did not occur to him that was even possible. Also, when he stopped, it did not change his 5am wake up time.
Of course, every child is different, but if you still enjoy cuddles during morning feed, it may be worth waiting a bit. He'll be fine and get used to whatever you decide - it is really what you want.