Baby is 14 months old.
I breastfed her exclusively until she was 6 months, and she's been having solids 3 times a day, plus snacks, since then. However, she still took a lot of milk from me, only occasionally taking formula in a bottle.
The last few months, I've been limiting her milk intake and upping how much food and water she gets during the day. I then went away for a few days a week or so ago (baby stayed with partner and in-laws), and since I've been back I've been limiting her to breastmilk at bedtime. I now want to cease her milk entirely, and I've tried the past few days. I have to go away again for longer (a full week) in a month, so I want her fully weaned by then.
I'm having some issues though. First of all, my girl likes the breast. I've given her a lot of milk over the months, and it's become a time for us to cuddle and relax together. While I haven't given her anywhere near as much as I used to, she has become more demanding the past week as she's noticed I'm limiting her access. She cries, pulls at my top and gets really upset. It's especially hard at night, because we so often used the breast to get her to sleep. I can get her to sleep ok without it (though it takes much longer,) but last night, she woke up and had a meltdown for over an hour. I almost gave in and fed her, but I really feel I need to commit to breaking her dependency on it. I ended up taking her downstairs and sticking on her favourite low-energy cartoons to distract her. Truthfully, I miss it too, and I've been sad about the prospect of stopping. It's emotionally difficult for us both, though I do think it's time to get her off.
Does anyone have any advice on how to do this? Is there a way for me to dry up my milk supply faster and remove the temptation for me to just feed her when she's upset? I feel when I cuddle her I'm taunting her with milk. Do I just distract her as much as possible?