Want to stop breastfeeding soon but don't know how...

[silver28]

My DS is 11mo and i want to stop BFing in a month or so.

He currently feeds mid morning (before his nap) and at bed time, plus when he wakes during the night (usually once or twice, then i feed him back to sleep).

He eats fairly well and drinks water from a cup during the day. he'll sometimes take formula or expressed milk from a cup in the day time with a meal, but goes mad if i offer him a cup or bottle at nap time, bed time or during the night. I've tried this a few times but given in to his screaming and breast fed him.

I'm not too worried about dropping the day time feed - although i know nap time will become a lot more stressful - but i can't imagine how i'm going to manage to drop the evening and night feeds, especially as he seems properly hungry when waking at night, at least the first time he wakes (I know he shouldn't be hungry if eating properly in the day, but i don't know how to make him eat more in order to solve this problem).

Some friends have told me that their babies stopped waking during the night when they stopped breastfeeding. That would be lovely as he hasn't slept through the night once yet, plus i'm due to return to work in a couple of weeks.

Sorry for waffling on, but i wondered if anyone has any advice on how to stop breastfeeding a baby who wakes at night and who won't take a bottle/cup. Is there any option other than letting my hungry baby scream and paw at my chest when he wakes at 2am? Many thanks in anticipation.

Hi, thanks for your response. yes i do have a partner and he would be willing to help me but i have, until now, avoided asking him to as he gets up for work at 5.30am. In a couple of weeks i'm returning to work part time and he's going to go part time too, so i'll feel better about asking him to help me in the night.

I do feel that we may have to resort to letting DS cry in the night - i don't think he's magically going to give up the breastfeeding without a fight! I'm not planning to leave him to cry (i don't object to controlled crying etc, just know that i can't deal with it myself) - hopefully cuddling will eventually settle him, or he may start to take milk from a cup if we keep offering it to him and he's hungry enough.

I'm just in the process of dropping bf's on my 12 month old dd. Day time was easy as she could be distracted! After a few days she stopped 'asking' for day time bfs, I dropped them one at a time.

Then, about 10 days ago, I stopped bfing when she woke in the night. She still had bf before bed (at about 10, she is not good at early nights!). I did it downstairs to try and separate bf and bedtime. First night she cried for 2 hours! DH held her and I hid under the covers, she eventually fell asleep between us (she often co-sleeps) she would have gone bonkers if I had tried to soothe her. Next night, woke 3 time, DH comforted but she only cried for 10 mins, next night she woke once but only grumbled and went back to sleep on her own in her cot!

Since then she hasn't woken! Even better I've been able to start putting her down earlier and I think she's actually starting to want to go to sleep in her cot rather than in DHs arms! I have been amazed at how quicky she has learnt to settle herself. And it is fab not having her in bed and starting to get our evenings back. I'm still bfing her before she goes in her cot, I don't really mind doing that one and I guess it will be harder to drop!
But I have to say the whole thing has depended on DH - he had to comfort her the first few nights and stop me giving in! Maybe show your DP this thread?
GOOD LUCK!!!