Weaning off breastfeeding

[SnugSheep]

Hello! I‘m looking for advice on weaning. My son is 13 months. He was EBF until 6 months when we weaned onto solids. He’s still demand fed around mealtimes because he’s been a bit slow to wean onto solids (prefers to self-feed). He was night weaned a few months ago but this has slipped due to recent illness. This spring, though, I’d like to begin the process of weaning him off the breast completely. Can anyone recommend an approach for a baby who’s still very keen? Thanks! 🙏

I put large plasters on my nipples and said they were broken, had one bad night, a couple of wake ups on night 2 then plain sailing!

I went away for a long weekend

came back and never offered again 🤷‍♀️ worked both times for me (although kids were a little older maybe 15months)

@FiloPasty I’m pretty sure the plasters wouldn’t work for DS just yet. ☺️ He tries to defeat coats!

@Fupoffyagrasshole yes, by way of starting I’m just not going to offer any more, but at this point I won’t refuse until I fathom some sort of plan for it. Maybe just trying to distract him for the feeds he seems to need a bit less.

DD pretty much weaned herself at 11 months so I’m in new territory here. Can’t imagine DS EVER giving up by himself, but boy am I ready. He’s my last baby and it’s sad in one way, but I’m exhausted now.

See if you still want to stop in spring. Once you night wean and feeds are only morning and evening and occasionally only, it's actually a lovely thing to do. It really calms my toddler, helps with teething etc. I surprised myself really, I couldn't wait to stop but actually once the burden was lessened, it became a good thing rather than a chore.

Thanks. It’s only a burden in that my DS is incredibly active and very aggressive about things. He has always pinched and twiddled and otherwise given me and my poor old boobs quite a hard time. He actually tries to dance (standing!) while feeding if he can and his favourite music is on. 😳 I manage to find it funny on days I have an ounce of energy to spare. We’re past the biting phase, thank god, but with his antics and those of my similarly physically demanding 3.5 year old, I am spent!

@SnugSheep Oh that sounds hard. I was quite strict with biting and twiddling and pinching early on. I ended the feed immediately and let him cry for a minute before I put him back on again. It worked very well and quickly so it wasn't a massive issue. I'm not sure what you can do about it now, have you tried ending the feed if he's pinching?

I only breastfed on the nursing chair in his room after 14/15 months so there were no distractions and he knew not to ask for it everywhere all the time. Although it was quite funny as he sometimes got quite bossy and would order me into his room when I got home from work 😂 he would point to his room with a very serious face and stomp his foot, it was the cutest thing. Try maybe having a designated spot, it might help.

Have a look at Emma Pickett on Instagram for some evidenced based information. She covers nursing manners (how to stop twiddling and other behaviour you don’t like) and how to wean a booby monster.

she does not recommend going away or plasters on nipples as they don’t support the child’s emotional needs at the end of breastfeeding.