one-year old crying if not breast feeding constantly!

[livswift]

Help!

My daughter is one year and I still breastfeed in the morning and evening... and often a few times a night as well. She's never slept well and I all-too-easily feed her as when she wakes as I can't face walking a screaming baby around in the early hours... she's too heavy and I've too much on my plate to not sleep. Excuses, excuses.

Because my nipples are bitten and sore, because she's not sleeping and I'm sure it's all tied up with feeding, and because I worry that she's drinking too much milk (though she eats plenty of solids and is about average weight), I now want to stop, slowly. Trouble is, Sofia seems to want to feed non stop, perhaps because I'm busy with work and away from her more than usual... i.e. separation anxiety?). I would really welcome advice and I'm also worried about gaining weight when I stop... I know it's petty/pathetic. I've rejected pressure from my mum and partner to stop thus far as I've not felt ready. Sofia was very ill when young and that experience probably left me anxious to maintain the bond of feeding for as long as possible.

could really use some support!

Thanks,
Olivia

If you really want to stop, I would try to cut the feeds back solely to morning and bedtime and not give extra night feeds. It sounds to me like your daughter needs to learn to feel comforted in other ways, such as some gentle rocking back to sleep, and cuddles during the day.

From there, you can cut out the morning feed, and finally the bedtime one.

I don't know what to say about gaining weight - it seems most people actually lose weight when they stop, and that was the case for me when I cut way back. (I still do one very quick bedtime feed with my 15 month old)

best of luck with it, and try to stick with what you want to do instead of feeling guilty about what others say/wish.

Is she teething? Very common to want to feed constantly if she is.

Hi,

I'm having the same with my 1 year old. She is just getting over a d & v bug and is cutting 4 top teeth at once.

I upped my feeds to 4 or 5 a day when she was ill as she had no appetite for solids and today went back down to two. Her morning feed this morning lasted for over an hour and everytime I wrestled my nipple away she started crying. I eventually distracted her with CBeebies!

Around about 5pm I could tell she was desperate for another feed but I was making tea for the family so I resisted.

I think with my little girl it is a combination of teething and a clinginess phase she is going through.

Could you persuade your partner to do the night settling for the first week of the new regime? It removes the breastfeeding to sleep as an option iyswim...

Thanks everyone. Maybe it's teething, among other factors. Just hearing from others helps actually, and my partner is stepping in some nights which is a godsend. Instinctively I know it'll pass, as everything does.