Breast feeding weaning support

[mamatoizzybee]

Hi ,

My daughter is 5 months old and is combination fed. Though predominantly breastfed about 90/10 .

I would like to start thinking about giving up breastfeeding within the next couple of months . However , I find it such a useful tool to get my daughter off to sleep and to generally settle her down. Our sleep routine is to breast feed - either to fully sleep , or drowsy enough for me to put her down and sing her to sleep. It depends on her mood on the day as to which method she will accept . Some days I really try to persist with the drowsy sing song stage , but if she gets in a pickle , only breast will do!

Has anyone else had any experience in going from breast to bottle , especially if you used breast to settle as I do

Thanks in advance

Do you use a dummy? I found that helpful for my daughter when she woke and didn’t need feeding, so perhaps you could use one in the same way?

@DancerOnIce if only she would accept a dummy!!! Sorry I probably should have explained that! I have just about every variety of dummy on the market and she refuses every one!! She has began to suck her thumb a little but never for very long and it's never sent her to sleep yet ! I'm holding out some hope that she takes to her thumb eventually !

Oh no that’s a pain! Do you mind me asking why you’re thinking of stopping breastfeeding? I’m not judging at all! Only wanted to mention that it quickly gets a lot easier in that it gets less and less, and soon enough her only feeds will be before going to sleep. I realise this might not be practical though or what you want to do

@DancerOnIce - does it really get easier? I don't mind it so much , as I know she really enjoys it, but I am constantly worrying that I am going to still be nursing her when she's toddling and I definitely don't want to be doing that . (No hate to those that do of course , but it's just not for me)
I worry that nursing is the only thing she will associate sleep with - and that really worries me! Maybe I'm just being silly and should just wait and see what happens when it happens and deal with it then!!

@DancerOnIce - do you mind me asking if you breastfed to sleep for day time naps ? Or was it just the night time sleep?

Perhaps I need to stop breastfeeding to sleep for naps too !?

It’s completely your choice. My experience was that I wanted to breastfeed until 6 months. Then once I got to 6 months I carried on because she was feeding to sleep and I also didn’t want the hassle of trying to get her used to s bottle. She then ate solids, and the more she ate the less milk she wanted. After s while I was just feeding twice a day - before her nap and before bedtime. No one even knew I was doing it unless I told them. Then when I wanted to stop breastfeeding, I sat with her for a few nights but didn’t feed, then that was it! She sleeps great now and she’s nearly 5. I did use a dummy for a while though for if she stirred rather than breastfeed again.
My advice would be to wait another month or 2 if you can and see how you feel then

I breastfed to sleep for naps and bedtime! If she didn’t fall asleep after feeding at nap time then the pushchair or car always worked. She wouldn’t let me put her down in her cot awake!

@DancerOnIce - oh you sound exactly like me! Thank you so much for posting , I can't tell you how much this be reassured me!
I have been talking to friends who BF who say things like "oh I never let them comfort on me " and "I never fed to sleep" or "I only fed to sleep at night but absolutely never in the day" .

Comments like that make me feel as though what I am doing is wrong and creating bad habits etc etc even though it is by far the easiest least stressful thing to do- I hear of people going out in the car at midnight to get their baby to sleep and that just sounds horrendous !!

day time naps are mainly on me as She will wake up if I transfer and plus i do enjoy the cuddles and I get a rest! If I'm not feeding for her naps, I also take her out for a walk in her harness which immediately works.

It's so nice to hear that someone else has experienced the same thing as me.

I always intended to feed myself for the first 6 months and now that mark is approaching I have started to question my habits around feeding and sleep . One day I think , my goodness I have to stop this before it creates a bad habit , and then another day I think, this is the most natural thing and surely I am just making use of what nature has given me ! My brain flits from these two thoughts constantly and drives me scranny !!

Can I ask how old your little one was when they stopped needing to be fed to sleep ? Xx

Yes it sounds like exactly the same situation! I was worried I was “creating a rod for my own back” etc, but with hindsight I wish I’d worried less and just trusted my instincts. I have another baby now, similar age to yours, and this time I feel much more relaxed and know that everything is just a phase
I ended up feeding my daughter until the week she turned 2, but to be honest I think she would’ve been fine stopping sooner, as when I did stop she didn’t seem to care at all! I was just worried about how I’d get her to sleep otherwise so kept on going. With this baby, I doubt I’ll feed quite as long. But I’ll just see how it goes

I let mine nap on me too as she’ll sleep the longest that way. I can get her to nap I n her cot now, but she doesn’t sleep as long. Just enjoy it, and do whatever works for you

@DancerOnIce - thank you . That's really helpful advice . It's so nice to hear from someone in a similar situation .
Maybe there are more mums out there who do the same thing but just don't admit it. Who knows!
I think I'll just crack on with BF and not worry about the 6months deadline . My daughter clearly needs the comfort and closeness to sleep , so why would I deny her it !

Don't worry OP. My son was an absolute boob monster until 1 - he fed allllll the time, fed to sleep etc. After 1 he gradually reduced feeds but still fed to sleep. Then at 18mo he just stopped totally! His own choice completely. I thought I'd be feeding him til he was about 6 years old! He still likes to be cuddled to sleep at 2yo which is fine by me and that's what replaced the feed to sleep.

@KatnissK thank you so much, that's really lovely to hear . I too have thoughts or feeding until she's starting school and that just terrifies me! I long for a day when I can cuddle my daughter to sleep without her needing my boob in her mouth 😂🤦‍♀️ but you are both right in that I just need to go with it . I don't want to look back at this time and regret wishing it away as I know this will pass . It just so nice to hear that there are others out there experiencing the same as me ☺️thank you x x

Sounds like a good plan Just go with it and if you get to the point that youve had enough, then reevaluate then

It sounds like you've been really responsive to your baby's needs. I dropped night feeds for both of mine before feeding to sleep. Like you say, feeding to sleep works really well. They both started nursery at 10 months and it caused zero issues with napping there.

Oh yes I meant to say, I warned the nursery she wouldn’t sleep without feeding to sleep. She slept fine 🙄

I cant believe i came across this thread i am in the exact same situation OP reading all you're replies have completely made me relax now! I have a 6 month old who feeds to sleep i let her comfort feed and i let her nap in my arms and i love it but suddenly had this worry that i had maybe started bad habits.

@Mamma92 it's so nice to hear there are plenty of others out there who do this !
I have to keep reminding myself that a dummy was invented to replace the nipple - and a dummies job is to soothe , especially soothe to sleep - when i think of it like this, I think why on earth would society dismiss what is so natural .

I guess, even if I am still feeding to sleep when my daughter is past 1 years old , it isn't the worst thing in the world and she will so quickly grow up and she won't be doing it when she goes to school . I am sure I will be missing those sleepy cuddles then so will just make the most of it now :)

mamatoizzybee you are so right we seem to be made to seel guilty about doing what feels and is completely natural! Im going to keep the same mindset as you from now on and just try and enjoy every part of this crazy parenting journey!