Any hints or tips? Planning on going cold turkey stopping bfing a v.demanding 2 year old.

[FourArms]

Title says it all really. Don't really know how we've ended up like this, combination of factors really, but I'm still demand feeding at 26m old, and quite unhappy about it. DS2 will probably feed 12+ times during the day, whenever he feels like it, and will scream for ages if I don't feed him.

Would love to gradually wean him in the same way that DS1 did, but just can't see it happening, so I think cold turkey will be the only way.

could you go cold turkey day time and just do a night time feed for a few weeks?

If it helps, you're not alone in having a very demanding frequent feeder at this age. Dd is the same at 2.6 yrs, despite me being 33 weeks pregnant, and lots of us were saying the same on a thread a while ago.

I'd like to Giraffes. In fact, I'm hoping that might work well as he has a bedtime feed and a morning feed in bed, as well as a lunchtime feed before his nap. I've thought that maybe then he'll realise that he will only get feeds in bed, and understand that I'm stopping at all other times.

CSWS - thanks for that. I'll check out the other thread. It's just so disheartening since weaning with DS1 was so easy, 3 feeds a day at 18m, down to 1 by 22m, and I just stopped one day with no drama at all. It's so hard when you're pg isn't it. I was 22w pg with DS2 when I stopped bfing DS1, and it made me realise that most of what I'd put down to pg tiredness was associated with bfing too.

You could always try a slightly more gradual process where it's not so much that he doesn't get to bf on demand any more, but that when he does, you reach out for other things he might like. Is he thirsty? Offer some water. Is he hungry? Offer a yummy snack. Is he bored? Start reading the kind of book together where he'll want to get off the breast and start shouting out the refrain at the end of every page (or whatever). Or start doing a jigsaw and see if he comes off the breast to join in. And keep cuddling while these other activities are going on.

Might require you to do some contortions, and to be really prepared at the start of the day with bottles of water/whatever else he drinks, and snacks laid out on plates with cling film over or something, so you can grab them on the trot.

And then gradually, as this becomes more established, you'll be able to offer the drink/food/activity at the same time as the breast, and then you'll be able to offer just the drink/food/activity.

Found the other thread for you, as much easier when you have some idea of what you're looking for .

O&U - thanks for those suggestions. I do try to distract him some of the time, but it doesn't often work!

Thanks CSWS, will check that out now.

Hi FourArms,

I could write your post!! My dd3 is 23months & feeds 10+times a day. In fact she isn't very interested in food at all. At night she tries to feed 4-5 times a night. Sometimes I'm exhaused waking. I am planning to cold turkey stop the night feeds when she hits two.

On dd1 I stopped her cold turkey at 3. There was no way I could have done it any other way. We had 3 weeks of hysterics and dh had to take her off a lot but we got there in the end. You just have to be persistent and at that age, even two, they understand no. Say 'boobie all gone', or whatever your word for it. Offer a bottle or drink at night when they wake up. You will have to expect it will be hard but I reckon in two weeks all will be forgotten.

On dd2 I cold-turkey stopped the night feeds at two and after 3 nights she was grand. Then at 2 1/4 I had to stop her feeds altoghet as I was 5 months pregnant and had enough. We had two weeks on and off of crying but generally she accepted it more.

Best of luck and I reckon it takes them about a week per year to forget about it, e.g if they are 1 it'll take them 1 week, two, 2 weeks, etc. Sorry for the long winded post.

Emer