when and how did you stop BF?

[kittypower]

When did you stop BF or when did you reduce the ammount of feeds you BF? Ds is starting on solids now and just wondering how you go about reducing or stopping in the end? What happens to your milk and can you choose to just feed in the morning and at night and still have enough milk?

You don't need to cut down on feeds when your baby is just starting solids. Are you demand feeding? If so you can carry on doing that and as your ds gets older he will gradually demand it less because he will be more interested in doing other things.

As long as you cut down gradually your supply will just adjust, and yes, most people can certainly feed morning and evening, or even just morning, and still have enough milk.

I'm still going with dd2, she's 3 next month. Currently we seem to be having one feed every 2 to 3 days - the milk seems to be still there when she wants it. Your supply adjusts to how often they want to feed so the answer to the second part of the question is that yes you can still just feed morning and night and still have enough milk. This has all been very much led by dd rather than me. I think she was still having quite a few feeds by a year but then I used to always offer before giving any solids.

kitty why are you asking, what are you planning?

Agree with alarkaspree - they say food is for fun until one. Milk is the most important source of nutrition until then - I'd be inclined to let your son lead you.

I cut down to twice a day at 11 months, but we have times when it increases (teething, illness). We're currently on about 4 or 5 times a day at 23 months.

Unless you particularly want to wean from the breast at a specific time there is no need to cut down the feeds yourself (known as mother-led weaning), your DS will naturally do that himself as he starts to need/want more solids. Every baby is different, but it is normal for babies to still get a majority of the nutrients and calories from milk until they are 1 year, and even beyond.

I have let my DS manage his milk & solids intake himself from the start. He really didn't start to have more solids than milk until he was about 18 months. It was such a gradual process thought that unless I really thought about how many times he fed per day I really didn't notice. At times he did seem like he would never wean from the breast, especially when he started having more bm again during growth spurts or illness, but tbh I was thankful I was still feeding during those times as it made them a lot easier to cope with than they would have been with the bfing. During the past year or so he has cut down to just feeding at morning & night with the occasional one in the middle of the day (usually if he was tired & wanted a nap), but now (at 3 & 1/2yrs) only feeds at bedtime maybe every other day, sometimes less.

I can honestly say I never thought when I started breastfeeding that I would still be feeding DS at 3 &1/2yrs (& I distinctly remember thinking the mums who fed their toddlers at LLL meetings were a bit weird ). I don't think I had any idea about when Bfing should/could go on for...just that you fed for 6 months exclusively & then gave up after that sometime. Since then I gradually got used to seeing older babies & children feeding at LLL, and learnt about 'extended' feeding (or natural term feeding as a few people I know like to call it ) over the internet. It's been a very rewarding & invaluable tool to have as a parent of a toddler/young child & I would heartily recommend baby-led weaning from the breast if your circumstances allow it.

These links might interest you:
www.kellymom.com/nutrition/solids/solids-how.html
www.kellymom.com/bf/weaning/index.html
www.kellymom.com/bf/bfextended/ebf-benefits.html