swapping from bf to ff - daunted please help

[madmouse]

Hello

When my ds is 8 months old next week I am going to wean him off bf in preparation for back to work 2 months later. I think i need those two months as he is a sucker for comfort , for example when he has had physio and i pick him off the mat he will close his eyes and open his mouth like a bird even though not hungry.

He has three solid meals a day and bf early morning, mid morning, lunch, late afternoon, early evening, after that as often as he can convince me it is milk he wants and not a dummy. He has just started sleeping through 11-12 to 6-7am.

I tried a bottle once or twice but he calls social services and his lawyer when I try. He will sip some water or formula from a doidy cup, but not more than an ounce.

where and how do i start? i think the late afternoon one is best as it is not attached to sleep or comfort. Do I persist with bottles?

I use tommee tippee by the way (closer to nature) and Hipp formula (normal stage one) which he does not seem to mind in principle.

Sorry for the long post, but even though I am ready to stop feeding him i am suddenly quite daunted.

well you know, you needn't stop breastfeeding totally if you don't want to.
he'd be fine at 10 months if you were just breastfeeding before and after work etc.

Agree with the others, at this stage you can just breastfeed him first and last thing and give water or formula during the day, no need to give up b-feeding just because you are going back to work!

lol - calling the social services and a lawyer
seriously though, if you are definitely ready to stop, I personally think slowly but surely is better, as he is also using it as comfort.

how is he with a bottle from (eg) dh?

There was no way dd would ever take a bottle if she had so much of a sniff of the real thing, but she downed three bottles a day (of EBM admittedly) at nursery no problem because she knew there was no alternative.

I carried on bfing morning, evening and weekends because (frankly) it was so much less hassle than fannying about with formula.

I would really like to stop completely. I feel I have done the job and am not enjoying it that much. I fele I get more closeness from all the giggles we have together and the cuddles.

I also worry that he has a stubborn streak a mile wide, which is good as he needs to overcome a problem or two (prob mildish cerebral palsy plus who knows what else in the future)and I fear that he will hold out on drinking during the day and then suck all night when I am back to work.

A part of me knows that feeding evening and night would be a good option, but I am not sure I am up to it.

I am very tired atm, lots of worrying, also have started counselling to help process what happened when he fell very ill after birth, still not sleeping great. I somehow feel it will be easier if he is no longer dependend on me.

madmouse - just wanted to offer some support on the feeling like you need to stop and not enjoying it. although it's great that some people can continue, i know that isn't for everyone. i'm starting to think that way with my 6mo - it hasn't been easy to get this far and i feel like i have bf this far out of duty (it's why i'm on mat leave after all) rather than loving it, and i now feel that i am probably nearly at the beginning of the end, even though feeding is going reasonably well at the moment. i imagine that i'll start dropping bf once he's well established on 3 solid meals.

could you try dropping gradually - it's what i'm planning to do. perhaps pick the time of day (lunch?) when he has a big meal and let him drink formula from his doidy rather than offering a bf. he has probably seen you drink from a cup with food, so it may seem more natural to him that he feeds from a cup rather than your breast then. may make it easier than trying to drop the late afternoon feed. do that consistently for a week or so, and see if it has an effect on his feeding at other times, then if you are feeling it is working try switching another feed to the doidy. if you are consistent with the use of the doidy for those particular feeds then hopefully he will gradually get used to that idea and his milk intake may even go up at those feeds. it also gives you enough time to see if dropping a couple of feeds gets you to a happier place - you may find you do like doing just the morning and evening feeds after all - or if you do feel you really need to stop completely then you can carry on replacing those feeds as well.

good luck with it

Oh madmouse, you totally need to do what is right for you at this point in time.
You have done fantastically to breast feed for 8 months, you've given him the best start you could.
I hope things become more manageable for you - good luck x