Stop breastfeeding

[maximum]

I have a one year old baby and would like to stop breastfeeding. I only feed him at night now, but I have no idea how to stop. He won't drink anything from any cup or bottle. What do I do?

when at night does he feed, before bed or in the night?

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Well done for bf for a year! I presume when you say you feed at night that means just before bedtime? Well, you need to reduce gradually. By bf you stimulate the production of milk so say you feed for 30mins you need to reduce this to 20 mins for about 5 days and then reduce by 5 mins every 4 days. Depends on how quickly you want to stop.

I know it's wrong, but I still feed him to sleep at night and I also feed him when he wakes up in the night (thankfully only once a night now). This is why I don't know how to stop as I can't imagine him going to sleep without being fed!
Chicpea - your info is fascinating, I've not heard that before. I have searched for info about stopping bf and have found virtually nothing - everything says offer the child a cup instead which doesn't help us.

I would personally go out for the evening and leave with dh to put to bed for a few nights. Sleep in another room and let dh comfort back to sleep.

With ds if I wasnt there he didnt stress about it.

Actually, as another long-term feeder, I don't agree with what ChicPea says. I don't think you need to worry about reducing feeds when you've been feeding for a year or more.

When dd was 17m I went from feeding her 4 times a day to just twice (first thing in the morning and bedtime) without any gradual reduction without any engorgement or production problems. I've just dropped the bedtime feed at 19m, again without any problems. I doubt I'll have any problems when I eventually drop the morning feed.

The difficulty in your case, maximum, is that your ds will have to learn to go to sleep without your help. Does he have a comfort object to help him along?

You might have to bite the bullet and go for controlled crying, but you may not have to do it all in one go. You could try not going to him when he wakes in the night, and only once he sleeps through try dropping the bedtime feed. You'll definitely need your dother to go to him when he wakes.

Does your ds sleep with you? It will be easier if he is doesn't - I slept in the living room for a week or two when we eliminated dd's night-time wakings.

I stopped feeding my DD in August on her 2nd Birthday. Until January this year she was still having a feed to go down for her naps as well as in the morning and bedtime and if she woke in the night. I eventually dropped the morning feeds by taking her straight down stairs for breakfast when she woke.

From the start of July I told her that she would be a "big girl" and big girls did not have "Nummies" (her name for breastmilk). We started to introduce a cup of warm milk at bed time and she now asks for it after cleaning her teeth.

I know you said that he wont take a cup, but could you try introducing one as we did. You never know, it might just work.

Maximum - when I stopped feeding ds at 17 mths, I just got dh to bring up a cup of milk and a plain biscuit to his room, before we brushed his teeth. He was soooo excited about this new thing happening, that he was not interested in me at all. For a few nights he sat on dh's knee instead of sitting with me and he drank a teeny amount of milk had a story.

Don't panic too much if he won't take the milk from the cup - just offer it and if he takes it then great, if not then stuff him full of cheese tomorrow

Like others have said, now you're down to one feed, you won't get engorged or anything by giving up after this length of time, although it'll take a few weeks for you to stop producing milk.

All the best and stay calm

MadameButterfly - I was really interested in your post. My dd will be 2 at the end of the year and that is when I've decided we will stop bfing completely. You seem to have fed at exactly the same times as me. What I really would like to know is how long you have been giving normal milk aswell? We keep trying to give dd some, cold or warm, in a cup or beaker, but he just screws up his nose and laughs and point blank refuses to drink it. He does take milk on cereal so i know he doesn't dislike it. Any tips?

I have been giving her full fat milk for quite a while (can remember exactly, I think from about 1). She does like it cold, but at night I heat it up in the microwave for her.

As I said in my previous post, I told her for about a month before stopping that their would be no more "nummies" after her birthday, only a cup of warm milk and we started giving her the milk at the same time.

Her routine now is: daddy sits her on the potty, puts on clean nappy and pyjamas and does her teeth. She then goes into her bedroom where I give her the warm milk to drink whilst I read a bedtime story. Before we go to bed I change the cup of milk for one with water, just incase the milk goes off during the night.

Thanks for all your messages. MadameButterfly - I'm so interested that you didn't have any problems getting your dd to drink from a cup. I shall try ds in the evening as you suggest but I don't hold out too much hope as he pushes it away the rest of the time. Does anyone else have this problem?

Also, Hercules, you suggest getting dh to put him to bed - but he gets home too late. What do single parents do in this situation?