Cutting down feeds - 17mo really clingy and sad

[Maveta]

I was still feeding ds (17mo) in the early morning (3/4am) and when I got up (8am), after work and at bedtime until a couple of weeks ago when it all became a bit much. I decided to cut the middle of the night feed which eventually lead to him sleeping through (cautious YAY as it's only been a few days). The morning feed seemed easy enough to cut out, I just started giving his brekkie straight away to distract him and it worked (yay).

It's been 10 days- 2weeks now since I cut that feed and he was fine. On sunday he woke up very early (5am) and by 7am was tearful and tired and I gave him a feed without thinking (of course he went out like a light). But since then he has been really tearful every morning (from 6am wake up to me leaving house at 8-8.30), clawing at my chest, biting it (!), generally being clingy and wanting to feed . I try to distract him but it is driving me nutty. If dh takes him off he is 100% fine.

I don't really know what advice I want tbh, just for someone to tell me this too will pass? Maybe tell me how long did it take for your babes to forget about a feed? Or anything I might not have tried that could help?

Hi maveta. My ds is quite a bit older than yours (he will be three next month) but I still find that tinkering with his feeding and making changes that he is not ready for affects his behaviour.

I stopped feeding him through the day a while ago and after around three days he was fine, but by the end of four weeks, he was very down and crying and tantrumming (which he hardly does) a lot more. I decided just to go back to feeding him in the daytime because I really felt that he needed it but I would understand if that's not something you want to do.

You might find La Leche League's "How weaning happens" book useful. If you have a local branch, they may have it in the library.

Thanks Mawbroon.. it's so hard, isn't it? Today he was a bit better so I think I am going to try and hang in there. I hate seeing him sad and thinking I could so easily give him what he wants. But then I have to balance it with what I need too, right? And I think if we carried on at 4x a day feeds I'd soon be wanting to give up completely..

Have you tried letting him find something else to comfort him? I know hes over one but I started to give my 2 a bottle of expressed milk, then cows milk in the evening feed at ten months. Then at the morning feed aswell when I wanted to stop bf at 14m. They looked forward to this almost as much as boobie and it is a compromise if they will take it. I know some people dont like the thought of bottles but its just a thought......