My son is almost 15 months old and I have decided that I need to stop bf. This is mostly for medical reasons; I have recently developed a load of stress eczema, some of which is on my areola, and the constant feeding means it's hard to medicate and clear it up, so I'm itchy and in pain. I'm also finding that I'm getting more and more to the point of being 'touched out' as every time I sit down to play with him and his toys ends up with him asking for a feed.
We cosleep, which I am starting to wean him away from, as he feeds to sleep and then comfort feeds/suckles. I'm a single mum, so it's not as simple as sending someone without boobs to resettle him. Often it seems like the only way to settle him is to feed him.
I've tried doing 'don't offer, don't refuse' but It seems like he's just requesting it more (non verbally; just through frantic tugging at my top) I try offering him water or full fat cow's milk but he often just wants the boob. He'll then have water or milk after he's done with feeding from me.
Any tips? Is it worth getting formula to switch him to? He resisted it when he was little. His appetite varies, but he has vitamin drops, so am not too worried about any deficiencies. There are plenty of foods he eats, and he seems often to be feeding for the sake of it rather than guzzling down lots of milk, so I don't think he's starving, he's been at the 75th centile since he was 6 months.