Self-weaning bf babies. How long does it take for them to give up the breast??

[Again]

My ds is only 9 months and I'll be going back to work for 3.5 days a week when he's 10.5 months, but I would like to continue breast feeding as long as he wants.

I have a feeling this could be as long as 3 to 4 years?? Is this right?

In which case what about getting pregnant again. Do you just wait until then? I'm no spring chicken and it would mean I would definitely only be able to have one more if I did that

I've got pg whilst bfing twice, so don't worry about that. Whether you want to tandem feed though is a different matter.

Its early days yet, so don't worry about it getting to 3 or 4, some babies self wean before a year.

What will you be doing when you return to work, expressing or feeding morning and night and supplementing?

Both my girls self weaned at 13 mths, they just completely lost interest .

My dd self-weaned about 4 months ago, one month short of her 3rd birthday. It was very gradual and in the last few months we'd only been feeding very briefly, perhaps once a day/every other day. I have to say that it was a really lovely way for her to stop - I can thoroughly recommend it

My dd has just turned 2 and shows no sign of self-weaning - every time she appears to drop a feed (eg lunchtime) and I think she's starting to self-wean.. a few weeks later she'll want more than ever. But saying that my friend's little boy self-weaned at 8 months so they are all different. At the moment I don't fancy feeding whilst I'm pregnant, not because I find it distasteful in anyway but because I usually feel so ill during pregnancy. I guess if it comes to the crunch and I want to become pregnant again I'd have to look at weaning dd.

My DS1 self weaned at 9 months
DS2 about 11 months
DD about 14 months

I was gutted when DD self weaned as my family is now complete I wont BF again

somewhere between 12 and 13 months for ds.

It's most common to self wean between the ages of 2 and 4, though some children may go on as long as 6.

You can still get pregnant whilst breastfeeding. My dd is currently 2.2 yo, still feeds several times a day, and I am 14 weeks pregnant with number 2.

My daughter self-weaned at about fourteen months.

I fell pregnant when dd1 was 6 months and fully bf

DS is the only one of mine who self weaned, and he was about 14 months. Once I introduced cows milk, he quickly lost interest in me

my ds weaned at nearly 4 years
by that time he was down to a very short feed at night time which was purely relaxing for both of us
I hadn't fed him at any other time for ages at that point

usually it is between 3 or 4, yes
and there's no problem about getting pg and feeding both dc if that is what you want to do

oh plenty of of breastfed children will wean during pregnancy anyway! the taste and amount changes both in the first trimester and the third, and many (most?) children find they don't like it so much

My 20 month old DD is down to 2 feeds a day and I'm 22 weeks pregnant. I am torn, if she is ready to wean so be it but I half think it will ease things with the new baby if she is still nursing. I'm just seeing how things go.

DS is 3.8 & only having one feed (in the evening) every week or so....not sure how long it will be until he stops entirely though. Every time I think he's had his last feed he has another

As for getting pregnant, it varies a lot for different women. Some don't have normal cycles until they stop breastfeeding, some return to normal straight after the birth...and there's a lot of variation in between. I got my periods back at around 9 months when DS started sleeping for longer at night all the time (before then he would wake at least once or twice a week which I think kept AF away). But my cycles didn't return to what is normal for me for a few months.

I probably won't have time for the huge family I wanted...but I'm actually glad we have held off trying for another as DS has obviously needed my full attention as well as the breastfeeding until now.

These links might interest you:
www.kellymom.com/bf/weaning/index.html
www.kellymom.com/bf/normal/fertility.html
www.llli.org/NB/NBfertility.html

Thanks so much and congrats to can'tsleep and babieseverywhere!

I haven't expressed for a long time now. I really hate it because ds didn't starting bfing for 2.5 weeks after he was born so I was expressing full time, so brings back bad memories!

I could conceivably come home at lunch times as work is only a 10 minute walk away and do morning evening and night.

Still haven't got my periods, but I'm on progesterone only pill

Just read there on one of the links terramom that it's rare to be infertile until complete weaning has stopped.

Seems like a lovely way for him to stop!

ds is 20 months and still feeds morning and night but only for 5 mins, if he misses one for some reason he demands it a while later, but he never looks for more feeds than that.

dd self weaned at 12 months but it turned out i was pregnant with ds and that's probably what put her off.

with dd i was working 3-6 hours a day 5 days a week from 8 months and it didn't disrupt bf too much, i never expressed as it took hours to get enough for one feed, i just fed her right before i left and the second i got back

good luck!

DD 23 months and still feeding morning and night (most days) and before her nap at weekends. I got pregnant within a month of reducing her feeds to this level ready to go back to work. Been a bit up and down through the pregnancy but she still seems keen so we'll see how it goes when the new one arrives.

DS1 self weaned at around 2 ish when I was around 3 months pregnant with DS2.
My periods came back both times as soon as they started having solid food at 6 months, even though I was feeding every 3-4 hours at least (day and night), so please dont worry about getting pregnant. Am sure you would be fine.