Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Infant feeding

Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

13 month old DS addicted to boob, help!

5 replies

greglet · 25/06/2023 17:55

13 month old DS has been almost exclusively breastfed since birth - he had a bottle of expressed milk a day until he was around four months old but then DH and I got lazy and stopped offering it consistently, after which he became a bottle refuser.

He is more or less night weaned - he's teething at the moment and I've been feeding him when he wakes around 3am for the last few nights, but the majority of the time he doesn't feed between bedtime and waking.

At nursery he eats really well and he'll happily drink milk from a cup. But at home, he's absolutely boob-obsessed - whatever he's doing, he'll crawl over to me every five minutes to yank at my top and demand 'baboo'. It definitely impacts on the amount of solid food he eats when he's at home, and I’m also getting really fed up with it.

I can't cut individual feeds because we basically don't have set feeds during the day - he's constantly on and off the boob if he's with me. A few weeks ago I tried just refusing to feed him full stop, but he was so miserable (and refused to eat any solids - he was definitely on hunger strike!) that I caved.

I'm not really asking for advice because I know my options are either wait for him to lose interest naturally, or hold my ground and tell him no, however sad it makes him. I would really like to hear from others who've been in the same boat, though, to give me hope that I won't be poking my boob through the school gates when he's in reception!

OP posts:
greglet · 26/06/2023 07:09

Just me with a boob fiend, then? 😬

OP posts:
SiouxsieSiouxStiletto · 26/06/2023 07:17

I think it's pretty normal for them to nurse frequently on the days that you're with them at this age, especially if he's teething and learning a new skill. This article on BFing a toddler is pretty informative.

There are a few other things you can do though. I chose one seat to BF in at home, so they associated BFing with me sitting there and made sure I didn't sit there only for a feed. Also, get busy and don't sit down at all.

Offering him nice drinks as alternative might work too like diluted fruit juice or hot chocolate or if it's hot where you are you could give him an ice lolly?

Are you giving him regular pain relief in the day too so that eating solids doesn't bother him as much?

I fed both of mine until around 28 months and it was pretty easy to stop at that point. You'll only be feeding him when he starts school if you both want too Wink

SummerBaby23 · 26/06/2023 07:25

I implemented “breastfeeding manners” one at a time at about 11 months old. Like we only fed in her room or a certain chair, only after meals or at nap time etc. It needs to work both ways and I was just feeling so done with the 5 mins here and there! She got it really quickly and with lots of distraction at the other times in between.

greglet · 26/06/2023 15:47

@SiouxsieSiouxStiletto thanks for that article, really helpful actually!

I probably should be more disciplined about where I feed him; I will try to be more consistent. We give pain relief (Nurofen or Calpol) when he seems to need it; drinks-wise he has water or cow's milk but I’m trying to avoid introducing anything sugary because he already has a super sweet tooth and I don't want to encourage it!

@SummerBaby23 I think I need to be firmer on this front. I'll try. Easy to cave when he's shrieking at me, though!

OP posts:
SiouxsieSiouxStiletto · 26/06/2023 16:07

greglet · 26/06/2023 15:47

@SiouxsieSiouxStiletto thanks for that article, really helpful actually!

I probably should be more disciplined about where I feed him; I will try to be more consistent. We give pain relief (Nurofen or Calpol) when he seems to need it; drinks-wise he has water or cow's milk but I’m trying to avoid introducing anything sugary because he already has a super sweet tooth and I don't want to encourage it!

@SummerBaby23 I think I need to be firmer on this front. I'll try. Easy to cave when he's shrieking at me, though!

I wouldn't worry too much about trying to to encourage a sweet tooth. BM is incredibly sweet so he'll probably have one already Wink

New posts on this thread. Refresh page