Help me plan my exit from breastfeeding

[MoreThanRubies]

How can I stop breastfeeding during the day? What do 1 year olds actually need in terms of milk?

DD (10M) will be going to nursery in February when she’s 12M old. She’s been breastfed so far. I don’t mind continuing to breastfeed first thing and before bedtime, but I would like to move her away from daytime feeds over the next month. How would you do this?

She currently has four feeds a day (7am, 11am, 4pm, 8pm approx) and three small meals. She drinks water from a cup at meal times.

I tried switching one feed to formula a month ago but she doesn’t drink it so I didn’t push it. She rejects bottles entirely so I’d be using a cup for any solution. I don’t want to pump at work.

Most advice seems to be aimed at introducing formula to younger babies. No one else is available to give a formula feed during the day, which seems to be the main tip.

What should I do? Persist with formula? Try to skip the 11am so we’re only dealing with one missed feed (4pm) when I’m back at work? Try her with cow’s milk nearer to the time? What will happen at nursery? Ideally she would be having cow’s milk during the day by then.

I’d like our last full time month together to be as calm as possible but do I just need to tough it out for a few days while we drop/switch feeds?

Help! I didn’t intend to breastfeed for this long but I got seduced by how convenient it eventually became.

TIA

Try half and half breast milk /formula then try reducing the amount of breast milk. Offer cool boiled water throughout the day. Replace just one feed at a time. If she still refuses I wouldn't worry too much just keep offering breast until nursery and they may have success with water and cows milk away from you.

I have a formula milk & bottle refuser. On the days she's at nursery she may drink an oz here and there and some water but it's nowhere near what my son used to guzzle. On the days she's at home I still try a bit of formula in a beaker but offer breast if she's persistent.

I'm continuing with breast feeding during the day as I've read it's a good protector against Covid if the mother has had it for up to 10 months after.

Good luck!

I know nothing about breastfeeding, but both mine at 10 months were on only two formula bottles, morning and night, and then one at 11 months and dropped fully at 1 year. So I think you don’t need to mess around with formula - just drop the feeds. With formula you just make the feeds smaller and smaller until they don’t notice or care when they’re dropped. Could you do that with length of time nursing? I guess that’d be less painful for you, too.

At this age I wouldn't bother with formula. Try replacing one feed with a yoghurt & bit of banana. Then when she's 11 months try giving her more food at mealtimes to get rid of the 4pm feed. Do you give yogurt / fruit after meals? You can introduce that.

Ds2 is 12 months and only feeds morning and bedtime now except if he's ill then he might want a feed overnight.

Remember to give more water if you're dropping breastfeeds

Agree to giving a food snack to compensate and skip 1 feed for a few days, and then another, so it's comfy for you.

My DS didn't even notice that he was no longer having day feeds.

However, after I started back at work part time, DS started asking for milk all day again. That was 6 months ago. I think he must have 4 feeds a day (6 with am/pm) and I have no idea how it will reduce because I'm following the don't offer/don't refuse advice.

So maybe watch out for that and avoid going backwards like I have. Good luck!

I agree to swap one of the daytime feeds for a snack and a drink of water.
Wouldn't bother with formula, won't be long until you can try cows milk instead x

Thanks everyone, some really good ideas here. DD is enthusiastic about yogurt and banana so I’ll see how that goes. @expressomartiniweeny, it’s reassuring to hear that your DD copes ok at nursery without feeds!