How did weaning change your breastfeeding journey?

[Lizbiz89]

Just really interested to know how weaning affected peoples breastfeeding experience. My ds is a month off weaning and as this is my 1st baby where I've ebf I am wondering how weaning changes feeding. Did you find it reduced feeding straight away? Or did feeding continue the same until baby was fully weaned? Were you still nursing in the night as well? Would love to know people's experiences with it.

My baby is almost 14 months. She took to weaning really well and ate everything offered, I went quite slowly just once a day aged 6 months so her milk feeds never changed, she probably BF 4/5 times in the day and 1-2 at night. At 7 months we did solids twice a day then at 8 months 3x a day. Then she dropped a late morning feed so fed 3/4 times a day and mostly once in the night. She dropped quite quickly then to BF first thing, in the afternoon then for bed and either slept through or 1 night feed. On her 1st birthday I went to BF her in the afternoon and she just refused! So instead I moved to a cup of cows milk and she just BF morning and bedtime, then dropped the morning and just at bedtime and now I think our BF journey has come to an end, she started biting and not too bothered about the bedtime feed she'd rather suck her thumb and hold her comforter so last night I gave her a cup of cows milk at bedtime and she was happy with that!

Sorry I've gone a bit past weaning there!

I never breastfed in a schedule so I never "dropped a feed". Just continued breastfeeding on demand. The demand probably reduced but it was so gradual I didn't really notice.

You seem to be looking for probllems that aren't there, You haven't saie how old your child is , which makes a tremendous difference to the issue

@Tumbler2121 I'm not looking for issues? I've just asked for people's experiences. Thank you everyone else for sharing.

I didn't find it impacted on feeds initially. Much like with bottle feeding, instead of solid foods replacing feeds, it's more that you just add extra feeding. So for me, it felt like I was literally feeding them all the time. It is definitely more work rather than less initially, unfortunately. One of mine was bottle fed and one was breastfed and I think feeds were mostly the same until about 8-9 months (weaning from 6 months).

My LO is nearly 9 months, and only just breastfeeding a bit less now. He has taken to solids really well and eats a decent meal 3 times a day, with breastfeeds on demand around it, he just seems to love eating and milk so we do it all!

Honestly, I never paid much attention. There was no set routine and a pattern just emerged organically with weaning.

He breastfed when he wanted and at 6 months he started eating bits of things here and there. Gradually he ate more and more and gradually the breastfeeding became less and less. There was a period of breastfeeding morning, before nap, before bed. Then just morning and before bed. Then just before bed. Then one day he had his last feed before bed and that was that. I knew it was coming so for about a week or so before he stopped I made sure to really be present for every bedtime feed, and really took it all in. I wanted breastfeeding to end that way, when he was ready, and was so pleased that it did.

It was very gradual and he did it at his own pace. He was fully self-weaned a little before his 2nd birthday. I had already night weaned around 15 months old.

My child was exclusive breast-milk fed until weaning at 5.5 months. I was back at work by then so some of the feeds were with expressed milk that I pumped. Weaning was a great relief because it eased some of the pressure off me to always provide. She took to solids fast and we gradually dropped one milk feed after another. We night weaned her at around 9 months (basically my husband started doing all the night wakings until she lost the feeding habit), and then the only feed left was the bedtime feed just before she went to sleep. And now 3 years later she's nearly 4 and is still breastfeeding just before bedtime! I keep expecting her to stop it but she keeps asking for it. Good luck with the weaning and the rest of your breastfeeding journey.