When is a good time to stop breastfeeding?

[Ilovemybaby91]

I know it's always personal preference, but is there a 'better' time to try & wean? My daughter is 7 months & on solids now she only feeds for naps/bed. I'm not overly bothered about stopping right away but will she become more reluctant/difficult to wean as she becomes older? What are your experiences?
Thanks! X

DD was a mad crazed round the clock breastfeeder. I gently weaned her over 3 months once she turned 2 and I got pregnant. DD isn't half as fussed. He can go most of the day without a breastfeed if he's doing something exciting. I'll just see how it goes with him. I can't imagine he'll still want it at 2 but you never know.

I EBF until my DS was 2 and a half and he woke up one day and never wanted it again.
So that was that.

boatrace I did think that, she can go straight to cows milk then & just skip the formula all together. But if I was to stop BF before she was one do they still need formula on top of meals? Or is it more of a something warm to drink for sleep times? Thanks everyone for your responses! I'm hoping like some of you she will decide for me

You need to give formula if you stop bf before one

We did try and give DC formula and cows milk when I had to go to hospital for hyperemesis just before he stopped feeding. He refused both of them in bottles and cups (and still refuses anything but water), so if you're going to wean her off yourself, make sure she'll take an alternative if she's under 1.

Until they're one they still get the majority of their calories from milk, so will need formula if you stop bf before then.

At 10 months, DS went to 2/3 bottles a day.

@GummyGoddess I tried nipple shields, but it's just as painful with them. Worked with DS, but DD2 has just caused too much trauma. It's painful to pump, and I'm having to wear the hard cups to stop anything from coming into contact with that side. Should be getting the TT fixed tomorrow though and I have high hopes for things improving afterwards!

Eek could you have a touch of thrush that side? You can get cream from the pharmacy might be worth a try? I always felt pain when I had thrush

I think the right time varies and if one of you is ready to stop.
I fed DD until 15 or 16 months. By this time she only had a bedtime feed. It wasn't too hard, DP did bedtime for a couple of weeks while my milk dried up. I did feel a little sad but it was the right time.

As others have said - you would need formula before one.
And good advice to ensure they'd take it if you did decide to wean from bf

@EekThreek that sounds horrible, I really hope the tt division stops the pain

I mix fed DD1 until 12 months as I thought I had to stop before returning to work.

I have followed the WHO guidelines with DD2. 6 months EBF, alongside solids but still on demand until 24 months then night weaned. She currently feeds morning and bedtime at 3 and half. Hopefully she will wean at natural term.

It looks like I’ve just stopped feeding DS, he’s 16 months and I’m a bit sad, I’d have been willing to carry on as long as he was keen. He was breastfed on demand until 9 months when I was back at work. He refused expressed milk from a bottle or cup so reverse cycled and fed a lot at night until just over 12 months. At that point I was exhausted so we moved to offering cows milk in a cup evening and nighttime and just feeding in the morning. I missed a morning last week because we were rushing, which has happened before but the next day when I offered didn’t try to latch - he just bit me! He did the same thing for the next two days so this morning he didn’t offer and I didn’t ask. I’m sure if I hadn’t night weaned though he’d have still been happily having 3+ feeds.

She isn't a constant feeder at all, she only ever asks for it.. e.g - (nuzzles me) when she's tired. So hopefully when the time comes it'll just happen naturally. But taking the formula thing into consideration I will probably just keep going till she's 1 so she can go straight onto cows milk.. providing she doesn't decide to stop before on her own! I was hoping to stop by 11 months as we're going on holiday for 2 weeks but it's not really a big deal! Thank you all for your replies.. I am too keen to stop on one sense & a little emotional because it means she is growing up!

WHO recommends breastfeeding until 2 years or beyond, complementary to solids from 6 months onwards. However, it really comes down to how long both you and she want to carry on!

Actually going on holiday may be a good reason to keep it up. We went to Italy with DD at 13months. She was so exhausted by the travelling and disruption to routine that being able to breastfeed her rescued the holiday. Especially on the plane when she was hugely upset but was massively comforted by feeding.
Our next plane journey at 16months was a nightmare too and I sooo wished I could feed her!

boatrace30 our first longhaul flight after weaning was also horrific!

That's a good point actually! We are going away with my other halfs family... & I know his mum in particular gets a bit weirded out by breastfeeding especially in public! I think she expected me to stop after a few weeks lol! Deffo seems to be the older generation not the younger generation that have a problem! So strange!

@Ilovemybaby91 - my mum was he same! In-laws not at all but they lived on the continent when they had their kids so have a totally different attitude.
My mum was hugely prudish about it!

@boatrace my mum too... she's like 'yuk' when she sees it??? Seriously??! Lol! If you were a stranger in public I'd give you so much abuse but because you're my mum I have to just roll my eyes!