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Infant feeding

Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

Original poster

ok, thinking of stopping bfding at 10months...any point carrying on to 12 months?

50 replies

Heathcliffscathy · 31/08/2004 17:11

weirdly it's both my homeopath and my osteopath (am i alternative hippy dippy type...well, yes!) that have separately said that maybe i should think about stopping. homeopath said this with regards to my hormones (i'm getting terrible headaches at onset of period and at ovulation) and osteopath said it re posture and just heavy boobness.

i'm really pleased i've fed ds to 10 months, altho i have been giving him a bottle of formula at the last feed since he was 4 months old.

is there a massive advantage for him if i carry on to 12 months or beyond? or can i decide whether to stop or not based on my needs? (would love my boobs to go down, wouldn't have the excuse of still bfding for being overweight, plus hormone and postural stuff as above).

would like some genuine advice (not looking for one answer either way).

anyone?

tia

OP posts:
Original poster
Heathcliffscathy · 31/08/2004 17:12

btw he's having two bfds a day one first thing and one in the afternoon after nap. he doesn't seem particularly fussed in terms of comfort, sometimes he doesn't have much at second feed...sometimes he does. eats really well solids wise and takes milk from cup and from bottle last thing at night.

OP posts:
futurity · 31/08/2004 17:18

I stopped at 9 months but DS wasn't having any formula and was on three feeds a day at that point. To be honest for me it was for selfish reasons..I was fed up of feeding by then! So he went over to formula fairly easily for the next three months and then had milk when he was one.

On reflection I should of kept going until he was one as I found it a hassle making bottles (but you already do that so not so much a problem for you?). Although he moved across to beaker really well and I don't know if it would have been harder when he was closer to one.

Doesn't really answer your question but just to say that stopping for your own needs isn't a bad thing...despite feeling bad about it I was very pleased in the end that I did it when he was that age.

mckenzie · 31/08/2004 17:20

it will be easier for you in a way to keep going until 12 months as then you can go straight to cows milk but then if you're already making up one formula feed maybe that isn't so much of an issue.
What do your instincts tell you to do?
Well done for breast feeding for so long btw.
Will you miss it?

Sozie · 31/08/2004 17:24

I think you've given him a great start bfdg to now. I started to wean ds off at 10 months for various reasons such as lop sided boobs as he favoured one and ignored the other, spots on my face (hormones), felt bloated, wanted to wear dresses again and wanted by body back really. It took about 1 month and so he was really 11 months I suppose. A year on and I feel my body is back to normal.

Original poster
Heathcliffscathy · 31/08/2004 17:24

yes and no mackenzie, makes me feel earth mothery, but hate my nursing bras!!!!

OP posts:
maximum · 31/08/2004 17:34

As someone who was advised to carry on until ds was one, I wish I had stopped at 10 months. The reason is teeth! It was fine when he had just the bottom two, but with the top two as well it makes feeding very painful at times. He's not biting but I think it's my nipples rubbing against his teeth which causes me considerable pain.

bundle · 31/08/2004 17:36

i too have more spots on my face than ever before but I don't think this is down to bfeeding - i didn't have them with dd1 and fed her till she was nearly 2 (just one feed a day by then). breastfeeding is about more than just nutrition, it's a very personal thing, and I certainly wouldn't stop because someone else suggested it. 2nd time around my boobs don't really get full like they did with dd1, so I haven't got that problem, but if you feel now is the time, then it is up to you to make that decision. i intend to carry on till me and dd2 are ready to stop. you have - as others have said - done a great thing for your child already. i can't see what your homeopath means - your hormones which fluctuate when you ovulate can't be that closely linked to your breastfeeding, otherwise you wouldn't be ovulating at all...sound just like normal pms symptoms which bf wouldn't really affect imo. if i were you, i'd carry on, unless the boobs are really too much for you. friends have said they felt like they got their life back when they stopped, but it wasn't like that for me (oh and also every year you bfeed, you reduce your own risk of getting breast cancer, apparently)

codswallop · 31/08/2004 17:39

Nah! stop when you want to S
one day you will wake upa nd feel ready

KateandtheGirls · 31/08/2004 17:45

The only tangible disadvantage would be that you wouldn't be able to put him straight onto cows milk, so there may be the extra hassle of dealing with formula. Breast is best, of course, but by 10 months you've done a great job of providing breastmilk for him. I'm sure any further advantage of him continuing to have breastmilk would be negligible.

If you're ready to stop, you just have to decide if it's worth doing the formula thing, or whether you want to hang on in there till 12 months and go straight onto cows milk.

muddaofsuburbia · 31/08/2004 18:31

Sophable - I switched back to normal, underwired bras once I was down to one feed a day. It felt so good to have my boobs away from my waist!

However 6 mths later I'm still not back to pre pg size (36D) am now 32G!

Original poster
Heathcliffscathy · 31/08/2004 19:32

oi aloha, just read you on another thread...does that mean you think i should go on til 2 years!

OP posts:
jasper · 31/08/2004 19:41

Stop if YOU want to but in the meantime sack your homoeopath and osteopath . They are talking twaddle.

Beetroot · 31/08/2004 19:54

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

Original poster
Heathcliffscathy · 31/08/2004 19:54

oi jasper! i love them both (homeopath and osteopath have been GENIUS with ds and dh!

OP posts:
codswallop · 31/08/2004 19:54

I would stpop an dgo striahght onto cows milk
its fine really

Original poster
Heathcliffscathy · 31/08/2004 19:57

errr...don't laugh or kill me...t'will be goats milk my dear...he's been off cows milk since 5 months old (and eczema has been brill since). but he drinks little glass of whole goats milk with his supper anyway (thank you waitrose, and for the goats butter and goats cheese)...

i agree that whole milk is ok from 10 months as long as getting iron rich foods (and i give him liver once every couple of weeks and loads of sweet potato so i don't think i'm worried on that front.

i guess i'm wondering if i'll regret it. would certainly not have an excuse for not losing weight anymore!

OP posts:
codswallop · 31/08/2004 19:59

aha

are you back on my weigt loss plan?
mind you I can talk

hercules · 31/08/2004 20:00

It is up to you sophable as if you dont enjoy it it isnt a nice thing to do.

I will feed dd to 2 years as there is lots of excema and asthma in our family. I dont mind this but if i did i wouldnt dop it.

Piffleoffagus · 31/08/2004 20:01

I suffered really bad neck pains this time which osteo said were caused my hormones causing muscle laxity, he was right, not had a niggle sicne U stopped, but dd was 15 mths
I did is cos I loved doing it..
that was the only need I based my decision on...

Original poster
Heathcliffscathy · 31/08/2004 20:02

cod please go to meet up thread at once.

herc...i don't hate it at all...just wondering if i will feel more 'me' if i stop and whether this will have v detrimental effect on ds...

OP posts:
hercules · 31/08/2004 20:04

I know how you feel with the "me" thing. I'm wearing "normsl" bras at work now and it feels great! I'll feed dd as i know i will also feel great guilt if she later develops allergies/excema but i also look forward to stopping as well.

kiwicath · 31/08/2004 20:07

Hi S. Totally up to you my dear but I am curious. By 10 months, shouldn't your hormones be insinc - why are they causing you trouble now and not before? Could it be something else causing your headaches? Would be a shame if you were to stop and headaches etc continue. Sounds a little like your homeopath is having a stab in the dark. I know all body shapes are different but at 10 months I shouldn't think you're boobs are engorged and heavy. My littlin is 8 months and mine look like old socks for the most part, slightly more perky in the morning though . Whatever you decide and for whatever reason, just know that you've given your wee one a fantastic start and some. Don't beat yourself up if you decide to stop.

prettycandles · 31/08/2004 20:07

At this stage it is really up to you how long you feed for. You've done wonderfully well by your ds to feed him for 10m! Any further will be good for him and for you - IIRC the benefits to the mother's future breast health start kicking in after one year's feeding.

I don't find your homeopath's argument convincing at all, though if you are hugely more boobed than normal I could possibly be persuaded to accept your osteopath's argument.

Certainly as far as hormones are concerned, simply having been pregnant can make enormous changes to the way your hormones affect you. For example, since ds I no longer have painful periods, and since dd my PMS has returned (it disappeared between ds and dd) but in a different form.

At this stage you do not have to continue wearing feeding bras - apart from the convenience - you can wear underwires as long as they are well-fitted. That should help any postural issues.

But really, you've done brilliantly and ultimately it's up to you how you feel about it.

Original poster
Heathcliffscathy · 31/08/2004 20:11

hmmmm wear normal bras apart from convenience (so during the day, and inevitably when i'm in gap trying things on .

interesting about benefits kicking in after one year...it's this kind of info i'm after really...what is the compelling evidence that i'm doing a great thing by carrying on now kind of thing...

thanks all

OP posts:
kiwicath · 31/08/2004 20:18

Bugger, found a fantastic sight a day or two back about all the health advantages for mum/babe from birth right up till school age .... can't find the bloody thing again though. Will have a hunt around for you.