Breast feeding - done!

[RW0]

My little boy is nearly 18 months old. I wanted to stop BF at 1 year old but here we are. I’m now suffering from clogged ducts as he doesn’t feed all day while at nursery 3 days a week. He will only go to bed at night time on the boob but I’m so done with it now. Is it horrendous to actually think of putting mustard or marmite or something in my boobs to get him off?!

I wouldn’t do that but it’s more than fine to say enough is enough.
Tell him sorry, they’re broken (not too far from the truth), and fond other lovely age appropriate ways to bond before bedtime (stories, toys, cuddles, songs etc). Make this ‘your special thing’ that you do together.

I wouldn't do that... I'd just say 'no more milk/boob/whatever you call it'. Just be firm and say no, offer hugs and stories (or playing with a certain toy/water play/tickles/whatever he likes best) instead.

I'm still BF, DS is 2 and 3 months. I would say you need boundaries. From around 14 months, BF was only bedtime, nap time at the weekends and first thing in the morning. Keep it at that and your BF supply will be less up and down.

You’ve done brilliantly to breastfeed for so long, well done you. It’s ok to say ‘no more’. Wear a tight bra so he can’t wrestle your boob out, buy him a Bluey cup and tell him no, milk all gone. He’ll cry for a while but will soon get used to the idea.

She wants to stop completely.

Well, she says it's because of the clogged ducts and the mismatch in feeding times so I was offering another perspective.

I completely sympathize with the feeling of being done but also, if that's the only way they go to sleep, stopping entirely is quite daunting. 18 months is too old for quick sleep training so it can be a long and painful road to independent sleep, likely a few weeks.

In my experience, it was easier to put in boundaries than to stop completely. And frankly, now he's 2, I'm glad I persevered because I found it to be very useful . And he's now old enough to understand things better so I have actually managed to cut down BF to morning and evening only (and he skips these happily if I'm not there) and he has started to go to sleep independently without any prompts from us so the transition is a lot less difficult.

I put plasters on my nipples and said ‘all done’ he soon got the point!