Stopping BF after 10-12 months - how did you do it?

[hobnob57]

After a very challenging 10 months of BF, I'm beginning to feel ready to stop. I was just wondering how other mums managed to do this?

Our circumstances are a bit peculiar in that DD is dairy and gluten intolerant (I'm really beginning to crave Christmas indulgences, hence my desire to stop so I can have cake and chocolate! Also, my job as a teacher requires me to work a lot in the evenings, and if DH could do a feed all the better). She's not that keen on her hypoallergenic formula and will only take a few oz from a cup during the day. The dietician has advised to keep her on formula rather than rice milk or equivalent due to the better nutritional content of formula.

If it turns out that she really isn't doing well on cups I'll gladly continue BF if it's in her best interests, but how long should we persevere with trying to stop before deciding it's not working? (the thought of having to express during this time gives me the shudders - I hate it!).

Ah. I also have a dd who was/is (we're just testing) milk intolerant. She also didn't fancy giving up the breast, so I'm still feeding her at 20 months, but have just been able to re-introduce some dairy into my own diet. I guess you know that this is the best option for her, particularly as she already has allergies, if you can bear to go without for just a little bit longer?

Which formula does she have? My dd refused to take Nutramigen, but I was advised that Pepti is more likely to be accepted. Failing that, after 12 months, the dietician said that rice milk (with calcium) would be the next best option (though not as good as breast/formula, as you have already said).

How about if you continued to bf until 12 months, and then just offered bf once or twice a day, and rice milk the rest of the time? You may find that you are ok with a tiny bit of dairy in your diet then - just use it wisely!

When you say testing, is this medical testing or re-introducing things? If it's medical, what test is it?

DD is on Pepti at the moment during the day - she won't entertain the idea of nutramigen or neocate. I'll stick with it until she's 12 months old and then try rice milk I think.

She gets BF morning, evening and at 10:30pm. I'm really just looking to get some of my life back! At the moment I'm even having to dash home from school to do tea, bath, BF and bed before flying out of the door to go back to school for parents' evenings. It'd be nice to occasionally have the option to leave all that to DH and have a more sedate evening!

Just re-introducing. I don't think there is a medical test for intolerance (as opposed to allergy). She had her first taste of actual cows milk last week, and I don't think she's reacted (certainly no upset tummy anyway), unless the symptoms that I'm putting down to teething turn out not to be!!

Does sound a bit of a nightmare evening for you. I first went out leaving dd without a feed just before bed last November (for the MN Xmas meet!) when dd was 9 months. She went to bed with no fuss and slept through (something that she wasn't generally doing at that stage) . If it's just an odd night here and there that is causing you to want to stop, then try going out anyway - she might just suprise you.