Emotions and breastfeeding

[FionaSH]

DS is 7mo and I've started to think about when i'd stop bf-ing. As it is, DS has just had an operation and is totally refusing to even look at the boob, which may signal the end of it anyway.
I didn't realise it meant so much to me until the prospect of losing that special feeding time together is now a possibility. I wanted to make the decision about when it ended (daft I know, and part of my trying-to-keep-control nature). I feel rejected, and like I'm no longer special to DS, and that he doesn't need me.
The rational part of my brain tells me this is all silly and due to hormones, but these feelings seem to be bubbling out of me and taking over.
Has anyone else felt like this???

My ds is 6 months and I've just started to introduce formula.

I'm struggling with how I feel, really horribly sad about the imminent end of such a special time but my head knows that it is the only practical solution for us atm and that I should just feel grateful and happy for the experience that I've had. In some ways bf has been easy, no mastitis or cracked nipples etc but the frequency of his feeding as at times driven me up the wall and made me consider giving up sooner. I'm so pleased that I got to 6 months and now it's finally got easier I'm starting to give up . But I'm going to go back to work and my shifts are long and unpredictable. I hoped that I could still bf a little bit but I'm not sure if this will work. I'm heartbroken at the thought of not bf again, crying as I type , never imagined that I'd feel like this.

I don't think anyone in rl understands how I feel tbh.

oh gosh you 2, neither of you should feel silly. it IS very sad when you stop breastfeeding, it's such a fabulous thing

i'd suggest that if you feel this strongly then neither of you are ready to stop yet! i speak from experience here (still feel awful about stopping with ds1)

Fiona: have you considered contacting one of the breastfeeding helplines, or seeing if you have a local La Leche League group who may be able to give you some advice and support with getting your ds back on the breast?

ladida: maybe you could introduce a bottle in preparation for work, but continue to breastfeed just when you are able to? many women do this and it should work out just fine. you can still feed at night, first thing in the morning etc....

ladidadi - that's exactly how I feel. Maybe its something that's forgotten once one's DC's grow up? Like the whole trauma of labour?! I try to talk to my mum about it (she bf'ed) but she tells me not to be daft.

I spoke to a friend about this recently and we decided that we both felt bad about how we ended bfeeding, but in totally different ways.

Her baby went on boob-strike, like yours Fiona, and she felt awful that she had been rejected, guilty that maybe she wasn't good enough.

Whereas with my DD, I decided when to finish bfeeding and felt awful with guilt that I was denying DD and was being selfish. I can remember wishing that DD had gone on strike because then the decision would have been hers but my friend felt the complete opposite.

In the end we decided that its such an emotional issue that you just can't win. Hope you feel better about it soon.

fiona do you know about this thing that some babies do

Logrrl really interesting article - thank-you!
Currently we fall in the "nursing strike" due to a physical problem but hopefully this will be resolved on Tuesday when he has his stents out. I've been expressing to keep my supply up, and I'm hoping he'll just go straight back to boob after Tuesday. If not then I'll keep expressing and syringing

glad to help

it's unlikely he will stop so early!

Why are you planning to stop if it makes you so unhappy?

Well, I have to stop some time, so it is in my mind. I hadn't really decided anything, but then he's gone on strike anyway, so I have no choice now!