How to stop breastfeeding

[BeTaupeBear]

I currently bf my 12 month old 3 times a day on waking, normally for nap and before bed. He’ll also normally wake once a night for a feed although If that’s not till 5am he may skip his morning feed.
He can fall asleep at bedtime without feeding sometimes with me lying next to him.
I’m trying to slow it down and would like to wean in the next few months but find it hard to know how to ans I don’t want him upset .Any advice? Thanks

You have to acceot there will be tears. It’s a transition! But give it a few days and he will be used to it.

If you have a partner, hand bedtime and nights over to him for a couple of weeks

Does he drink cow's milk out of a cup? At 12 months I just swapped the mid-afternoon breastfeed for cow's milk (often a babychinno so an excuse for a cage trip), then the same for the night one at 13 months and the morning one at 14 months. No complaints from them really, but it was easier once they were happily drinking from a beaker.

I stopped when I had to go away for a week with work. I had take a tablet to stop the milk.

Try the never offer never refuse approach, and do the feeds before sleeping in a new and noisy place.

I stoped a bit later so may be different for you, mine was closer to 2. But I was just telling that she is growing up and that big girls drink milk from a cup that went on for a month or so and then we got Booby moon book and i was reading this every so often and then one day just stopped. She barely cried and when she did I would just say lets get some milk in the cup and cuddle. I liked that booby moon authors idea that like with tooth fairy, santa etc you get to have a magical story about milk and just a celebration about ending breastfeeding rather than a stressful event. So anyway I would recommend this book!

Drop one feed at a time, let DC get used to not having that feed then drop the next.

The easiest for me was the wake up feed - jump out of bed, say "yay it's breakfast time, let's go and see what there is", take DC into the kitchen and make breakfast (you lose your lie in and morning cuddles). Next I dropped the nap feed by making sure the nap took place in the pushchair in the form of an afternoon walk.

The night feed will be the hardest. My friend got her husband to do bedtime, no Mummy no milk. (I did the night feed until DC self weaned which was at age 2.5 years for DC1 one and age 4 for DC2) so your partner would be the better option if you want to completely wean soon.

He likes water out of the tommee tippee sippy cup but wasn’t so keen on cows milk. I think I need to keep trying with it as he does have cows milk with porridge and cereal.
Should I be using a different sippy cup?

Would it be an easier process for us both now or closer to 18 months? I hear conflicting advise

You could do. I probably tried about 4 types!

Drop your morning feed first. Get up, dressed and to kitchen for milk in cup and breakfast. Do this for two weeks. Then ditch the feed before nap. Maybe a walk in pram to get baby to sleep something different from milk then nap. Again two weeks. Then drop the bedtime feed. Give baby milk in cup, then a bath, a bedtime story. Make sure to keep yourself covered up for few weeks so they don’t see your breasts! It may help if your dh does bedtime. I actually found at this age they dropped bedtime very easily. As for nighttime. …if you really want to stop then get your dh to be with baby or be ready to be tough yourself! It can be done. Break it all down into 2 week slots and baby won’t even remember milk from mummy very soon!

Thank you! Can I keep feeding overnight only without my milk going completely?

I just went cold turkey. It worked. 13 months old.

IMO it's easier at this age than at 18 months. I stopped with DS1 and it went better than I expected. I dropped one feed at a time and he was fine.

I think they’re probably all different. My 13m fed similar to yours in the day but a lot more at night and I had to stop cold turkey for work reasons I guess. She was a comfort feeder. There were tears but it was quick. Just a couple of days! Agree with getting partner help and trying a sippy cup where possible x

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