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Original poster

When did you stop breastfeeding?

112 replies

Jummynbean · 22/04/2019 11:54

Sorry if this is in the wrong place, got a little one on the way and was curious to find out when you all decided to stop breast feeding and also why? Most places online recommend anywhere between 6 months and upwards of 2 years which is pretty vague. If you can also add some pros, cons and whether you think you should have done it differently, keen to learn from your experiences.

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Whoops75 · 22/04/2019 14:08

EBF for 4 months then mixed, she weaned at 6 months.

It happened without me giving it much thought, I loved the bf but she was more settled on bottles because of a lactose intolerance.

I’m glad I hadn’t a number in my head it took away any pressure or feeling of failure.

DramaAlpaca · 22/04/2019 14:17

DC1 9 months - I was 12 weeks pregnant & I think the taste changed because he went off it. I was happy to stop by then.

DC2 8 months - he lost interest & weaned himself off. This was back in the days when the weaning guidelines were from 4 months, so both babies were eating a varied diet by then.

DC3 4 months - not by choice. He'd been mixed fed from 6 weeks as he wasn't gaining weight as for some reason I wasn't producing enough milk, and by four months preferred the bottle.

PolarBearBubbles · 22/04/2019 14:21

10 months. He still fed pretty regularly and I just needed some independence before I went back to work. Plus the biting had started and nothing seemed to stop it! I was just ready for my body to be my own for a while before potentially being pregnant with number 2.

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Talcott2007 · 22/04/2019 14:21

Dd self weaned just before her 2nd Birthday. I would have been fine to carry on a bit longer but she was ready.

Faster · 22/04/2019 14:29

6 weeks. DS was born early and I struggled with getting him to latch, my nipples were cracked and bleeding. I’d been expressing as well. He wasn’t gaining weight as he should and my mental health was taking a huge hit so he went into formula.
If I had another child I would formula feed from birth because I just couldn’t risk the dark places I went to again.

PotolBabu · 22/04/2019 14:32

Both about a year. Keep the targets small. With DS1 I aimed for six weeks, then another month and so on. I do come from a breastfeeding culture and everyone around me (mother, MIL, aunts, sister) all bf so I had loads of support.

cheesenpickles · 22/04/2019 14:35

20 months with my eldest as I was pregnant. Second at about 17ish months, she started sleeping through and the opportunity just presented itself. I ebf both so was somewhat relieved to get my body back after such a long while.

cheesenpickles · 22/04/2019 14:37

Tbh, the main thing I would have done differently was introduced an expressed bottle earlier with my eldest. She was a refuser and I think if I'd trusted my gut rather than taking hv's advice at face value I'd have had less of a hard time. I'm pleased I fed my kids for as long as I did but secretly, if I had my time again I think I would formula feed.

Merename · 22/04/2019 19:06

Congratulations on your pregnancy. DD1 til around 2y3mo when my milk dried up during pregnancy. Feeding DD2 7mo whilst typing and would expect to go to a similar age, whenever she decides really.

I think others have covered most of the pros and cons, it’s definitely hardest at the start, plain sailing eventually for many once you both learn how to do it. The main thing I’d have done differently was what you’re doing now, research a bit more. I just assumed I’d breastfeed and it’d be ok, but looking back, it would’ve been great to go to bf groups while pregnant and talk to the mums about it, watch the different holds etc and get an idea of what a good latch is. I watched a few vids at antenatal classes etc but they were a bit dry without the experience of trying to feed. Knowing where to get help in advance is also a good idea. Kellymom is the go to website for many breastfeeding queries, the milk meg and la Leche league are also great.

outpinked · 23/04/2019 11:31

6 months with DC1&2 because I was pregnant again by that stage and my body found it difficult to keep up a milk supply. 15ish months with DC3, she weaned herself off. DC4 is almost 6 months and still EBF, planning on keeping it that way until he weans himself.

BattenburgIsland · 23/04/2019 11:38

9 months with my son... he had weaned onto solids and started refusing the breast so I thought it was a good time to stop. I had pnd and Dmer so I wasnt enjoying it at all anyway!! The first months were horrific, I kept saying I'd do it one more day then I'd stop.. but luckily managed to just keep going and I'm glad I did. I'm proud of getting through it... and I think getting to grips with it made it much easier the second time round.

With my daughter it's been easier to keep at it and we are still going at close to 10 months... I've not had pnd this time so that's helped massively... and even though I have had Dmer to some extent it hasn't been as bad as last time, and i knew i had it so was expecting it which made it so much easier to cope with tbh! I'm actually sort of enjoying breastfeeding at the moment... now its settled down to 3 times a day and shes old enough to look at me and smile and try and grab my nose.... I think I will miss it when she stops this time!! Surprising after how awful I found it with my first. Its felt really natural and instinctive this time. No mastitis this time around either.

Ohhellothereladyface · 23/04/2019 11:39

Still breastfeeding DD who is 22 months, she loves it so much I’m not sure how to stop!!!

Roomba · 23/04/2019 11:40

2 years with DS1 and 4.5 years with DS2.

Bloocy · 23/04/2019 11:42

Ds was 5 months. He weaned himself - one day he was feeding 3/4 times then the next he was refusing. He was the same with his dummy at 8 months, just took it out of his mouth and never put it back in!

BattenburgIsland · 23/04/2019 11:44

I agree with pp on keeping targets small...start by saying you will do it for a month and then reassess if you want to keep going... it lessens the pressure... and the thing is it gets much better and easier as time goes on anyway... I mean some women find it easy from the get go but a lot find it very hard going for the first months. The baby may feed hourly day and night, sometime even more frequently than that, to try and establish a milk supply so it's hard going. I personally think it's worth doing as it's very rewarding when you get through to the other side, not to mention the health benefits and the cost benefits! It does get so much easier when your milk supply is established and baby is only feeding every 4 hours. And like I said my 10 month old only feeds 3 times a day now shes on solids, and not at all at night.

Ponderfully · 23/04/2019 11:51

I've been exclusively expressing for 8 months and I'm moving him onto formula now. I'm just fed up if being tied to my pump.I've a freezer stash so he'll be getting a bottle or two of breast milk until he is one. Might have made it to a year if he latched but I'm over pumping now.

Original poster
Jummynbean · 24/04/2019 18:58

Wow! Thank you all so much for your replies! Learned a lot more than I expected to! I know this is a really vein question, and it won't really affect my decision, but I'm curious to learn..... Do any of you think breast feeding causes boobs to become saggier in comparison to those who formula fed???

OP posts:
Bloocy · 24/04/2019 19:14

There’s no correlation.

It’s pregnancy that affects your boobs, not feeding

VaselineOnToast · 24/04/2019 19:23

I fed DS for 3.5yrs. Go with the flow, see how you feel. I only stopped because I started having feelings of aversion (ie. bf started to make me feel sick, in a way).

Regarding boobs becoming saggier - no, it's pregnancy that does it Smile. After I stopped bf, my boobs regained their fat content and look pretty much like they used to, with the addition of some stretch marks.

Fr3d · 24/04/2019 19:24

2 years is the minimum recommended (exclusively for 6 months and then alongside solids until at least 2 years).

I stopped bf at 1 year when my dm weaned me. My dc bf for 2 years and beyond. One selfweaned, the other got a deadline.

Breastfeeding doesn't cause your boobs to sag, pregnancy can do that and your milk will still come in even if you never bf.

Breastfeeding does reduce your risk of breast and other cancers, think it reduces your risk of breast cancer by about 4% per year of breastfeeding.

RawRoar · 24/04/2019 19:25

Still feeding at 2.5! Only fed my first for 6 weeks. I’ve loved breastfeeding my second, it was so important to me and is probably the single most fulfilling thing I’ve ever done. I’d have eye rolled at someone saying that to me when I went through the disappointment of not getting it off the ground with my first, but it’s true.

Queenfreak · 24/04/2019 19:32

Still going strong at 2 years. She varies on how often she feeds, some days it's just am and PM, others shes like a newborn.
Tbh I'm ready to stop now, but will try to keep going until she self weans.

InDubiousBattle · 24/04/2019 20:24

With ds I stopped at 7 months because I wanted to ttc. He was mix fed after a terrible start to bf. It absolutely ruined my first month of motherhood and I'm not sure it was worth it tbh, although we did both enjoy it in the end.

Dd bf like a dream, pretty easy after the first two difficult weeks. She was mix fed too because after seeing what my friends who ebf went through I wouldn't countenance it. She had a bottle of f a day and I bf for a year, I would have carried on but she didn't want to know after a year.

He consensus on mn is that it's pregnancy that affects your breasts, I've never seen actual evidence though (not saying it doesn't exist, I've just never seen it). Discussing this among friends we concluded that it does! After feeding tongue tied ds I have some scars on my nipples.

Crabbitstick · 24/04/2019 23:17

3yrs and 11 months. Didn’t set out to feed that long but ending up working really well for us.
Best advice I got was that it could take 6 to 8 weeks to settle into it - so get a comfy seat, tv remote etc and be ready to just sit with baby and feed. Cluster feeding early on can be intense but it passes. First few days were tricky (with both mine) as they get hang of latching etc but it gets much easier pretty quickly. It’s a skill you both need to learn.
BF was great during toddler years for calming, soothing etc. Now have a very happy 6yr old who is independent.
Read up (milk meg and Kelly mom websites both great) and watch some latching videos if they don’t show them at ante natal class. Good luck!

MindfulBear · 24/04/2019 23:28

#1 - 4 years old. Had been sporadic & very brief (think less than 5 mins after waking up or just before bed) for nearly a year but he actually stopped a month after #2 arrived

After a horrific start to our bf journey it never felt right for me to decide to end it prematurely, whilst We were both happy.

#2 still going at almost 3. No plans to do anything but follow her lead. Again it's now only at wake up & bedtime (when I'm home from work anyway). I stopped bf outside the home months ago to put some rules into save my sanity.

Again after a rocky start I'm happy to wait for #2 to also decide when to stop.

Bf a newborn is very different to a 7mo, a 1yo and definitely to a 2 or 3yo.

Health benefits are huge. As is the ability to quickly heal any perceived hurt or illness and prevent a meltdown. Fabulous tool in my Mothering toolkit!!!