poll: if you bf beyond 6 months, why/when did you stop?

[MamaChris]

Before I started bf-ing ds, I had planned to bf to 6 months (and somehow imagined weaning would magically take just 1 day ). Now we've got past the first few difficult weeks, am enjoying it and would like to continue to at least 1 year But I keep reading on here about nursing strikes and am now worrying about how long ds will want to continue for. So, a quick poll. If you stopped after 6 months, was it because you decided you were ready to stop or was it because your dc decided?

DD 3.2, showing no signs of stopping
DS2 1.2, will probably self wean before DD!

Stopped at 8 months, DS was biting and I had no idea how to stop, plus I returned to work so expressed only for a couple of months(I had quite a store in the freezer!) then straight onto cows milk.

ds stopped very abruptly at 10 months. He had hand, foot and mouth and I think his mouth must have been sore.

my ds fed until about 2 years. By this time she was down to just a morning feed and then only now and again and just naturally stopped.

Dd- 18 months, gradually cut down then went on holiday and she missed a few bedtime feeds so I took the opportunity to go col,d turkey. No tears from either of us! She never had nursing strikes or any other issues and I went back to work PT when she was 11 months.
DS is 3 months and I hope to do the same for him

7 months because i went back to work, just gradually introduced formula and gave that more and more.
was very sad when i got my last bag of ebm out of my freezer.
I would defo bf again for about the same amount of time.

I stopped at 10 months with DS1 as I was going back to work and it seemed to be right at the time - people seemed to think it was odd to go beyond a year.

DS2 still feeding at nearly 17 months - no clear intention to stop, I keep on moving the goal posts. He has 1 feed a day first thing as he's an early riser and it give us half an hour snuggling in bed each morning. I just haven't made a big thing about it and he can easily sometimes skip a day if I have to go away with work.

I keep on thinking I would be less tired if we stopped but am worried how small my boobs might be.......

Ds until 18 months...Dd still going at 17 months and wanting to cut it out in a month, but she keeps on grabbing at my clothing, so I don't know that it'll work out my way. Not sure what to do either...Oh, and she wont take cows milk for some reason.

pippy, my cup size increased after Ds I hope they are ok when I've finished with Dd, given that I'm so much older now.

DS1 gave up at 19 months when I was three months pg with DS2. He was just having the bedtime feed and would ask for it, one night he didn't ask and that was it - that was the best way of giving up, no trauma or sadness on either side.

DS2 is four months and we'll just see; DH seems to think that 2 years is a finish date, but I'll wait and see what DS2 wants

Till day after DS's second birthday. Stopped mainly because I was six months pregnant, didn't want to bf two at once, and wanted to give DS time to forget about it before lil sis was born. Was only feeding at nap and bedtime, but it was tricky to drop it before then as he was falling asleep feeding for naptime (though not bedtime). It wasn't too difficult to stop, except that he got ill a few days later, and then wanted to bf again at bedtime. But I stuck to my guns and he'd completely forgotten about it in a few weeks. I used the 'now you're two you're a big boy and you don't have booby any more' line.

stopped at 2nd birthday- 4 months pg and exhuasted, and going away for 5 days following week. DD asked for boob once about a week later, and that was it- but had only been feeding morning and night for a while. we also did the 'big girl' thing.

DD is about to turn 3 and breastfeeding is still REALLY important to her. (At the minute she keeps asking to feed as it will 'make my coco pops go away' (chicken pox) )

People have long stopped asking us when we're stopping - I guess they assume we already have, on the whole.

I will be both happy and sad when she does finally stop!

It gets easier and easier as time goes on. I do ache though, and I'm hoping that will ease once we stop.

ds self-weaned at 9 months. Sometimes I wonder if I could've done more about it, but you can't exactly make them feed and, tbh, it was something of a relief for a variety of reasons.

However, if we ever have another I do hope it lasts for longer.

9 months both times. Would have liked to go on for longer with dd, was very sad when we finished.

i stopped 2 weeksbbefore ds2's third birthday
i had no fixed idea in m mind when i would stop and we just kind of carried on

i stopped for more of my own reasons than ds2's

i had been really ill and had developed a chronic condition. I had also just become pregnant. I felt he was 'ready' and that feeding may have been a factor in prolonging his ridiculous sleep problems.
Went cold turkey but with lots of preparation for him
he kicked up a fuss for a few days and still occasionallly asked up to about 6 weeks later but he was fine

he still has a boob obsession but i think (hope) it is more to do with silly pregnancy chest!

Ds self-weaned a couple of months before he was 4.

I also only thought I would feed for four months (as the advice was then) and then wean onto cow's milk. But he enjoyed it and I didn't really have any problems, apart from a blocked milk duct once, so we just carried on. It felt the most natural thing in the world.

ds - 8 1/2 months - self weaned, although I was relieved when he did as he'd been permanently attached!
dd1 11 1/2 months and dd2 10 1/2 months - stopped because I wanted 'my body back' and they could both go on to cows milk. They would have carried on but I had had enough by that point.

I am still feeding DD at 17 months - am in early pregnancy though and if all goes well am not really sure that I want to tandem feed. I remember the constant feeding with DD at the beginning - I don't think I have enough stamina for newborn and toddler feeding! If DD doesn't self wean over the next few months then I might try to encourage her to stop. I will be sad about it as I've loved bf.

I stopped when DCs wanted to stop. This was between 18 months and 4 years.

DS stopped at 3. He gradually cut down when I was pregnant, so that by the end he was only nursing once every few days, and then stopped altogether once DD was born -- he seemed to now see it as something that only babies did and even pronounced that he used to do it "when I was little".

Ds1 - 6 months. Was very relieved. Never felt either of us enjoyed it much. Was a struggle for both of us.
Ds2 - 16.5 months. Was too thin (had reached 8 stone) despite eating loads extra and was struggling to get through the day. Ds2 would happily have gone on I think. His appetite improved a lot when I stopped.

8 mths with ds1, cou;dnt express and was going back to work. ds2 only 11 weeks.