Please help, need to stop baby breastfeeding

[turquoisegirl6]

For various reasons I want to stop breastfeeding my nearly 10 month old. However he has always refused formula or even expressed milk in a bottle. He now eats 3 good sized meals a day and he will take water in a bottle but he still wants a breastfeeds in the day and in particular wakes up 2/3 times a night for a feed which I'm struggling with as I go back to work soon and I'm shattered. I offer him water every night but he is adamant he wants boob and won't settle without it. I think it's comfort though rather than hunger and I know he should be able to go through the night by now (apart from the wake ups for milk he sleeps well in his own room). I feel really trapped by the breastfeeds and it's making me concerned how we are ever going to stop but I have been advised for health reasons it is better to do so if I can. Also he has started occasionally biting me during feeds, and with going back to work soon I would just like to stop it now, particularly in the night. I would like to know for example that if I had to go into hospital or anything that he would be ok with my husband through the night but currently he won't settle until he has milk. Has anyone got any advice please? Thanks

Will he take milk from someone else? It may be he isn’t interested in you giving him anything but breast milk but would take it from another.

I night weaned at 10 months because I was going back to work. DH just went in with a cup of water and rocked him till he fell asleep. He cried but he was safe in daddy’s arms. After a couple of nights he stopped waking! I continued to bf in the day til 11 months then when j was back at work only fed him morning and eve. They can have cows milk in a cup from 12 months.

Have you tried expressed bm in a Tommy tippee sippy cup? I had successfully got my dc same age to take that when they wouldn’t take a bottle.

This is the sort of thing where the la Leche league telephone helpline is very helpful to talk things through with

If you do want to stop there are gentle ways of doing that, but if you wanted to keep going they will support you on stopping the biting etc. I had a phase where I really wanted to quit but kept going and then the feeds naturally spaced out and it became much more manageable.

Can you send your DH to settle him during the night? I stopped bf at night at around 10 months by just going cold turkey and not feeding him at all between 10pm and 5am. It took DH a couple of nights of patting to sleep for him to sleep through. I carried on bf in the day though and at 17 months he still has a bedtime feed at 6pm and morning feed at 6am ish.

Thanks so much everyone. That is really good advice. We have tried my partner giving him the milk and he wouldn't take it but we will try again. And perhaps in a sippy cup. I think I'm keen to wind down feeding altogether though so I will perhaps stick with formula rather than expressed milk when he tries. And I will suggest this weekend we tackle it when my Partner isn't working so he can get up in the night when he cries for milk (perfect timing for a long weekend). If I could just stop the night feeds I'd be happy to wind down the daytime ones more naturally like some of you so hopefully that will work.
Can I ask, has anyone successfully got pregnant whilst still breastfeeding? Since age isn't on my side we are keen to try again soon which is also swaying my decision to stop. Really hoping for my first full nights sleep in 10 months before long 🤣🤞.

Yes I have! Got pg with dd2 while bf

Thanks all. It's been 5 nights now of trying not to breastfeed and my ds is waking more than ever (4/5 times tonight) and crying. He won't settle with my at all and is trying to get to my boobs so my husband has been eventually managing to settle him mostly but he is back at work today after Easter and can't really continue being up in the night so much. I don't know what to do, I'm at my wits end and wondering if I should just give up and go back to feeding him in the night as there's no sign of improvement and I can't settle him otherwise. I feel so trapped with breastfeeding, nobody ever warns it can be difficult to stop. :-(