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Original poster

Breastfeeding at 30 months! Tips for stopping

18 replies

MigsyMo · 29/03/2017 18:21

Help please! It wasn't in the plan but I'm still breastfeeding DS who is 2 and a half. I'll admit at times it's easier to let him feed and it's mainly for comfort. He's fine in the day when I'm at work but at the first opportunity it's "Booby!" I can distract to a point but I'm not consistent enough. I've been looking up how others have successfully changed dummy habits and would really appreciate any tips you wise people have that have worked for BF. Is it best to make a "big boy" event of it? Or just stop? it's been on my mind for a while - people are surprised I'm still BF but my child minder gently said this evening it might help him be less babyish. I'm now worried I'm holding him back.

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BellaGoth · 29/03/2017 18:25

My DS was the same age when I'd had enough. I told him if he could go 2 weeks without booby I'd buy him a big box of duplo. He spent 2 weeks asking me if it was duplo day. He got his duplo and never asked for booby again!

carabos · 29/03/2017 18:29

I went to 27 months, so a bit less than you. Stopping was my New Year gift to myself . I just stopped and made him go cold turkey and actually it was fine. He was never going to stop himself.

Original poster

MigsyMo · 29/03/2017 18:38

@BellaGoth I like it! Thank you! A new dinosaur might be a good shout

@Carabos yep, it feels a bit like I'm doing it for me which is why I think I haven't done it yet. But hearing it might help him has encouraged me to be a bit more resolute. My Dad said a while ago (sage that he is) "if every time I asked for booby I got one in face, I'd keep on asking too" - not quite what he said but I'm sure you get my gist. DS is not showing any signs of stopping any time soon.

Just reading I'm not the only one is great! Thank you

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GreenGoblin0 · 29/03/2017 19:02

I stopped at 25 months DD also showed no signs of self weaning. we did cold turkey but I coincided it with a two night conference I had with work which made it a bit easier. she did ask when I came back for milk but just kept saying that mummy's milk was finished. shes nearly 5 now and does ask (and try) for mummys milk every now and then! at the time I was totally ready to stop but do feel a bit sad in hindsight as both she and I did get a lot from the bf experience

Original poster

MigsyMo · 29/03/2017 19:13

@greengoblin I hear you - mixed emotions here. On one hand, it would be great to not be pawed at and may mean better sleep all round (co sleeping is the norm after an initial stint in his own bed) but then sad as it's a lovely way to cuddle together. Although he manages to cuddle DH without a prop 😉

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scrivette · 29/03/2017 19:36

I cut down my 27 month olds to just the evening and morning and then just the morning and it was easier to cut down on the mornings until we were both ready to stop. (Luckily he loved cows milk and was happy with a beaker of that).

TalkingofMichaelAngel0 · 29/03/2017 19:39

My dd stopped when I have birth to
My ds. She said the milk (colostrum) was disgusting.

Ds was determined to keep going. I considered another baby to see if the same trick worked, but i was separated so not a chance . In the end My niece had a baby so i told my ds that the baby had my milk now . He accepted that.

Original poster

MigsyMo · 29/03/2017 20:01

@scrivette I hadn't thought about cutting back that way. Most people who have successfully cut have left the evening one until last. He's not bothered by cows milk either way but it's certainly something to offer.

@TalkingofMichaelAngel0 a new baby? I like it but maybe not mine I'll be making friends with pregnant women! Random friend making aside, I think it's a reason that would make sense to him. Especially as everything is about babies right now.

Thank you 😊 I was declared the longest known BF at the weekend (obviously not true as I'm nowhere near an entry in the guiness book of records) but I did realise I was stuck for someone to compare notes with. You all rock.

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scrivette · 29/03/2017 20:36

I left the morning one until last because I am lazy, it was easier for him to feed from me in the morning in my bed instead of me go downstairs and warm up a beaker of milk

Best of luck!

dairymilkmonster · 29/03/2017 20:37

Dh took ds1 to his parents for 4 nights....we had tried everything but i was too soft and it was becoming very impractical with work. Separation was the only option and it worked with ds1 and then ds2 !

Original poster

MigsyMo · 29/03/2017 22:23

@scrivette it's a moment to pause!

@dairymilkmonster Mum has offered but she's 250 miles away. So it may mean a little trip is in order and a weekend for me and DH

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Writerwannabe83 · 30/03/2017 11:24

I stopped at 2.5 months.

Two weeks prior to this my DH took DS to Barcelona for 8 days and I genuinely thought if DS was away from me for that long he'd forget about breast feeding but as soon as he got back the first thing he asked for was "mommy milk"

The day after they came back I took DS to Butlins with my mom and my sister's children and due to the nature of where we were staying it meant I had to share a bed with DS which meant overnight he was feeding. However, because our days were filled with so much activity and he was busy playing with his cousins he didn't ask for any feeds whereas normally he'd feed at least three times in the day.

We were in Butlins for 5 days and when I got back I made the decision that I was not going to give in to daytime breastfeeding anymore as he'd quite happily gone without for the duration of the Butlins trip. At night time he was back in his own cot so without my breasts to hand he couldn't feed as he wished. Prior to us having gone to Butlins he'd been night weaned for almost a year and thankfully he just slipped back into this routine.

For the first few days of being refused daytime feeds he was pretty angry when I said no but he did eventually stop asking and he has never had a feed again since we can't back from Butlins.

It's been over 5 months now since I stopped feeding him but he's still completely obsessed with my boobs. He's always wanting to hold them and stroke them, he tells me that he loves "mommy's milks" and is always asking to kiss them but he has never asked for a feed or attempted to have one. I really hoped he'd lose interest in them after stopping feeding him but no such luck

Writerwannabe83 · 30/03/2017 11:25

I mean I stopped at 2.5 years, not months

Original poster

MigsyMo · 30/03/2017 11:53

@writerwannabe83 well done for sticking with it! I guessed it was 2.5 yrs

I can absolutely imagine that once he stops, there will be continued attention - he does seem very "in love" with them and sighs happily like he does with cuddly toys "oh boobies". In the past couple of days I've distracted away from day time feeding. In the main it's easier as he's with a child minder in the day. It's more a challenge when I collect him. No sitting down for me! Just lots of stooping for cuddles and kisses. Fortunately he's been distractable. I've gone with the "later, when it's bed time approach" I'm not sure if this is going to make it harder when it comes to night weaning, as it's harder to reason in the middle of the night with dinosaurs in two weeks or milk has gone to other babies or whatever I go with. But I think that's going to need me to be resolute. Could be coincidence, but he woke up in a right state last night - totally inconsolable for 30 mins and this was with the offer of milk from me. Probably molars..

DH is very supportive and keeps reinforcing it's our choice and not to be worried about external view points and when we do it, it's for the good of us and not peer pressure. This helps big time that it's a good decision and not a forced one.

I really appreciate all of your shared experiences. Thank you. No doubt, I'm over thinking and I need to just do.

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Writerwannabe83 · 30/03/2017 12:01

I night weaned my DS at 10 months because he wanted to be on the breast all the time during the night and I was exhausted.

One of the other reasons I decided stop breast feeding altogether was because me and DH had been struggling to conceive DC2 and I'd started to worry that my continued BF was playing a role.

I'm now pregnant and my boobs have gone huge which is only making DS more fascinated with them. He constantly stares at them and says, "Mommy, your milks have gone so big"

I've explained that new milk is being made for the baby and he's decided that the baby can have the left boob and he gets the right one

I'm concerned he's going to want to start feeding again when new baby arrives but I'm hoping that like a previous poster had said, if he does have a go the taste of the colostrum will put him off

Original poster

MigsyMo · 30/03/2017 12:06

Congratulations!! and ha ha ha to his negotiating skills on securing the right boob up front

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JohnLapsleyParlabane · 30/03/2017 12:10

There's a children's book called something like 'milkies when the sun shines' which is supposed to be good when helping older ones to night wean.

Original poster

MigsyMo · 30/03/2017 14:26

@JohnLapsleyPrabane thank you! Just read reviews and ordered!

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