About to give up breast feeding but not sure why i'm doing it.....

[amijee]

My ds is going to be a year old this month and is having 3-4 feeds a day ( and i'm working full time)

Have always thought I would continue until he is a year but now the time has come to give up, I'm not sure why I'm doing it.

I'm getting a lot of pressure from dh as he wants the freedom to take ds away on his own and also he thinks ds is being "spoilt" by it.

I can see the advantages of stopping ( more freedom for me, possibly less whiney evreytime he sees me, wearing normal bras again) but my heart's not really in it.

How did other people feel about this?? And how did you cope??

I wish i had been able to bf well into toddlerdom. My DS1 is 21 months and gets his nutritional value basically from fresh air as he eats very little! I wish i had been able to carry on to suppliment his diet when he was poorly or not eating. I have a 4 month old now and really intend to keep bf for as long as i can even if it is just 1 feed a day. You need to do what makes you feel happy as when you stop you can't really go back again if you change your mind.

I don't see any reason to stop as long as you and DS are both enjoying it. I fed both of mine till they were 16 and 18 months. First time I stopped because I had flu (proper flu) and could do nothing but lie in bed shivering for 3 days and he'd gone off the idea by the time i'd recovered.
Second time it just fizzled out gradually.

I bf till ds self weaned this was at 22 months. You have done so well I think it is a shame to quit now. Your lo will change so much over the next few months and so will his needs.
We introduced a sippy cup - you could do this then dh can take him out, you wouldn't need to express as lo can have full fat cows milk from 12 months.
You could cut down your feeds to give you more freedom.
Towards the end we were on 4 feeds a week, at beds time - I was at work for the other 3.
BF is a great comforter and is so easy when they are sick so I would be tempted to continue. Your lo will let you know when they have outgrown it and the transition will be easy.

Follow your instinct that will be the right thing - if you have to rationalise it then you're probably trying to convince your self! You're very unlikely to harm him by continuing. What would you do without any pressure? Carry on? Then maybe that's what you should do - I think you know best what to do!

i breastfed both my children past a year -

dd till 15m & ds till 2yrs - not only is it good for them it's good for you , i think esp. as you are working and dp is main carer as it keeps that important bond and as you say relaxes you.
I don't believe you can spoil a child by breastfeeding .
Also you can easily cut down feeds or limit them to at home if you are starting to feel disaproval from others (or just carry on as you are and "bllcks" to everyonelse!)

good point. I fed ds til he was two just at night and in the early morning, hardly anyone knew coz I didn't like the prejudice.
But it's so fantastic when they're upset or poorly, such great comfort for them and no need to stop if you don't want to is there. By two I was pretty much ready and he didn't kick off too much.