How to stop day time breastfeeding with a 1 year old

[WidowWadman]

The daughter is a year old and during the week only is breastfed in the evenings and at night, but doesn't get any breastmilk at nursery. I was expressing for a while, but she wasn't interested, so I stopped and she's on 3 full meals of solids there.

However at weekends/holidays she still demands the breast at daytime. No normal cuddle will do, she dives straight for the boob, and I'm getting a bit tired of it. I don't mind evening and night feeds, it's just the day time feeds, which start grating. Am not overly keen on public feeding anymore, it was never an issue with a baby, but a wriggly toddler is a completely different problem when it comes to protecting your modesty, iyswim

Is there anyway how I can stop it without causing major tantrums and big tears?

I used tempting food as a distraction. raisins if possible, but a biscuit if necessary. I know that this is not ideal, but I really wanted to stop doing it in the daytime. Also she was my second baby, I was much less precious about sugar than with my pfb. It worked quite well.

Thanks, that sounds like an idea worth trying.

Hi WW,
I'm in a similar-ihs position. My DS is coming up to 1 yo and I BF him first thing in the morning and at bedtime. He has formula at nursery, although lately he has seemed less keen on this - perhaps because he is eating more. I am a bit concerned though because of the 'milk should be the major part of their diet till 1' advice. At weekends I usually fill in with an extra BF somewhere in the day, although my DS isn't hugely demanding. Does your daughter have formula while at nursery, or does she just have solids?

I did same as HC when DS1 was 13mo as I was going back to part-time work (still kept morning and bedtime BFs). My bribe was grapes as they were his favourite snack at the time.

SleightiesChick - She just has solids. She started nursery at 9 months and for the first month I expressed, so she could have breastmilk, but she hardly took an ounce, so it was just not worth the effort.

She's blw'd and has been getting toddler food at the nursery from the start and is happily eating it all (breakfast, lunch + pudding and tea plus pudding)and copes with no breastmilk for stretches over 12 hours (she usually doesn't feed in the morning, but prefers to snooze a bit longer, so she probably gets her last bit of breastmilk around 3-4 AM and then again at around 6-7PM depending when we get home.

I wouldn't worry too much about the "should be main part of the diet til one" advice, but just follow his lead - if he's not demanding he's probably alright. They don't magically change on their first birthday, it's a gradual thing.