Stopping BF for a 2 year old - advice appreciated

[boiledeggandsoldiers]

Hi, this is my first post so please be gentle!

I have recently gone back to work and will be working out of the country for ten days every four months or so. I want to give up breastfeeding my 2 year old DS as I think it is impractical with my new work arrangements. I hoped that he would lose interest in breastfeeding but he is showing no signs whatsoever. He has to have it before bed. I have tried altering his bedtime routine and trying to wean him off gradually but it isn't really working.

If any of you have experienced something similar and have any advice, it will be gratefully received. Thanks.

Have you tried mixing breast milk with formula??, starting with mostly breast & a little formula, & gradually up the amount of formula until its formula only, & also maybe get someone else to do the bed time bottle feed for the first few days or week if possible, then theres no alternative breast for him to look for.........

this helped a lot with my DD when I stopped, as it did with a friend whose DD was older than yours, & refusing point blank to be bottle fed

good luck

I recently weaned DS at 19 months so I will be gentle.

Is he only feeding at bedtime? For the last while my DS was. Like you probably are, I was worried about getting him off to sleep without it and TBH I (until a month or two previously anyway) still enjoyed the closeness..

but I started slowly stopping his feed, so one night I let him feed on either side for 3 minutes, the reduced a little etc and eventually he got bored himself. He didn't actually stop alone but started to pull off, look around and not actually feed..

So one night (at Christmas, different setting, lots of activity) I put him down with no booby. This worked fine for 2 nights until he remembered! then he cried a little for 2 nights and..

we were finished..

I hope something from my little story helps..

I wouldn't introduce a bottle for a 2yr old. Or formula for that matter, it's unnecessary and just something else to wean them off in the long run. Cow's milk in a cup is fine for a 2yr old, if you want to move to something else.

My dd is 2.10 and still feeds briefly in an evening and sometimes before breakfast. I started offering her a choice between bmilk and a cup of warm cow's milk before bed about 3 months ago and she's slowly asking for the cow's milk more than the bmilk. I started being the one to sit and cuddle with her while she drank it, then we both sat with her, then just dh. Now dh can put her to bed alone. I did it slowly and seamlessly and always gave the choice. It helped that we had warm milk too and we each have a special cup. She quite likes the ritual of it now I think.

Thanks , each of your comments are very helpful, and it's nice to know I'm not the only one breastfeeding for an extended period of time. I like the idea of introducing a warm cup of cow's milk - DS would probably enjoy choosing a new mug especially for night time milk.