Beginning weaning and feeling mental!

[Elfy95]

Hi everyone,

Really just wondering what others experienced when reducing breastfeeding. My wee one is 8 months and has been EBF (never taken a bottle) started on solids at around 5 months but only recently she's been eating enough to reduce feeds - gone from 3 over night to none in the last week.
I also had a pretty traumatic time in feb - ended up in hospital for a freak accident which has left me with a little PTSD. So trying to work out if it's that or the weaning that's making me feel so awful!

I'm all over the place, crying all the time or irritated. Feeling panicked and like the world is caving in around me despite having a wonderful super chilled baby and an incredibly supportive husband.

Any stories to offer some reassurance that this will pass and I'm not just losing the plot would be great. I never suffered from PND and have general felt great up until last month and the accident.

If feeding overnight has stopped completely it could be a change in your hormones. Night feeding often reduces fertility and you could now be returning to full fertility.

It does sound as though you might need a little help to come to terms with the accident, especially if you say that you're suffering with PTSD. Have you looked into Talking Therapy?

Thanks for getting back to me.
Hope it's the return of my period as haven't had one since pre pregnancy and would be a relief if it is just a hormonal shift!
My lovely health visitor has put me in touch with the right people to help deal with the PTSD. It's definitely getting better - just sick of feeling so all over the place! Only time I've felt remotely similar was early pregnancy.

Not sure if it helps but I am EBF my 10mo and he’s started having less milk more recently now he’s on three big meals a day. I felt crazy this morning. Snapping at DH, crying… and then stomach cramps. It felt like I was coming on my period. Like you, I haven’t had one since DS but I definitely felt a hormone shift today. It really could be that? Good luck and hope you feel better soon.

You mention you felt similar in early pregnancy and have recently dropped night feeds - have you checked to see if you are pregnant again?

I found this stage of babydom very challenging, they are less portable and life is an endless round of cook, feed, play, nap on repeat. I felt much better once I had returned to work.

Thank you, it does help, though I'm sorry you're in a similar boat! Fingers crossed it's short lived if it is a hormonal shift! Hope you're feeling more yourself soon.
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