Giving up breastfeeding at 9.5 months - advice please

[cockle]

Am currently giving one breastfeed in the morning, a bottle in the afternoon and a breastfeed at bedtime. Which breastfeed should I drop first, and how fast? Any tips? Thanks!

if you can drop the bedtime one - that way it doesn't become associated with the bedtime routine. Maybe the best way is to limit the time of the feed, and cut it back by a couple of minutes every couple of days. Then maybe when you are down to one feed keep to that for a couple of weeks and then do the same with that one. That way it is gradual for both of you and you are unlikely to get problems with too much milk building up.

Good luck.

Thanks throckenholt

yes i stopped the nighttime one 1st too

Hi...I have just stopped feeding my 10 month old. She was on 3 feeds, 8am, 3pm and 8pm. I dropped the 3pm one week, the 8am a week later, and the 8pm 10 days after that one. I had no problems at all with feeling full. I chose to keep the 8pm one as a comfort (for me or her?!)before going to bed, although she didn't seem to mind at all, and has never tried to breastfeed since! For the final feed, my husband gave her the beaker of milk for the first few times, but she is fine with either of us actually! Well done for getting so far.

I moved the bedtime feed out of the bedroom, so that other people could put dd to bed if need be. That was around 11-12 months, and I found dd adapted really quickly to the new routine of book and then bedtime. It meant I could have dropped the feed very easily, though in fact I kept it going till > 18 months when she stopped of her own accord, being more interested in playing with her toys than feeding. Morning feed was last to go with us - but not till 2 years, again dd's decision.

i stopped the nightime one for practical reasons - i wanted my dh to give her the bottle cos i knew i would be a wreck and he was at work all day otherwise. i know other people stop the one where their baby is most hungry (usually morning?) and they have no probs either

I did the same as louloubelle. First stopped afternoon one..then few days later the morning and then about a week later (as I had to build up to it!!)the bed time feed which my DH did for the first few times just in case DS got upset. He didn't..I did! Glad I did it at that age though (also 9 months). Oh..one thing I noticed was that DS didn't take loads from the beaker until he had stopped BF completely..only then did he take more than 3oz!

Thanks everyone. Did you all switch to beakers, or did some of you use bottles? (She currently has an afternoon bottle.) What kind of beaker did you use? Were your little ones already used to beakers? DD currently drinks water from a beaker, but never has more than a few sips at a time.

i gave her a bottle but not for long, tried every beaker imaginable and she plumped for the old fashioned hard type ones. you can get them non spill. how old is your wee one? if over 6 mnths i would maybe try a beaker

Oh and louloubelle, thanks for making me feel better about it - I'm doing it primarily so that I can get my periods back as we want to try for number 2 - but it will be a wrench.

cos changing again to beakers from bottles is another nightmare! xxx

would use beakers if you can - you have to ditch bottles sometime so might as well try and make it now - wave goodbye to breastfeeding and bottles at the same time . But you will have to play it by ear - see what works for you.

My DS1 rarely drank much from a bottle or a cup (and at 3 still doesn't) - it came as a shock to me - everyone seems to talk about 8oz bottles !

9.5 months. Do you mean the 'anywayup' type cup, with a hard moulded spout?

Do you have to sterilise beakers??

no i hate the anyway up cup, i cant even drink from it you have to suck so hard! i mean the really old fashioned ones - i found mine in the corner chemist.

at asking how old your baby is cos its in the title of the thread! i cant remember when i stopped sterilising - i think it was when i changed to cows milk at 12 months

Sorry to be boring - did you make the formula up in a bottle then transfer it to a sterilised beaker?

Not sure what you mean by the old-fashioned ones but will see what my local chemist has. DD currently mostly drinks her water from Magicups with toddler spouts - I have tried giving her milk from these a couple of times but she won't take much, if anything.

cockle - definitely don't feel bad - 9.5 months is a brilliant achievement. And trying for no2 very exciting (says she currently expecting no 2)

I would go for a beaker - no point in introducing a bottle at this point. Definitely not a non-drip one like anywayup, my dd never figured out how to get anything out of those! You have to suck REAAAALLY hard. Just go for any beaker which lets the liquid drip out slowly.

none of mine ever managed to get anything out of the anywayup cups - I think they are really bad - I use tommee tippee soft spout things - they can fit in the bottle if you like, or a soft spout I got from tesco (light blue thing - can't describe it !).

dont worry - if you dont think she likes the spout you can change it to a bottle spout with these cups , is that right? these bloody beakers are so confusing i think. i actually made the formula in a big jug (litre or litre and a half and poured it into the beakers (4 a day) i sterilised the jug and the beakers, and because i made enough for the day it was less hassle

i remember now - i got the beaker she liked from tesco too. just a plain 2 handled cup with a hard spout that folded down

Thanks throckenholt, that's helpful. And thanks Pidge for the reassurance!

made by tommeee tipppee...

Thanks np, that makes sense

Cockle you could maybe try and use a magic cup with the valve out for her milk since she is used to them already. My DS had his milk from them at one point.