stopping the breastfeed within a bedtime routine. Don't know how to do it!

[multicolourcat]

DS 12MO is night weaned and self settles without feeding to sleep, and has recently started sleeping through the night (thank you thank you thank you). I now only breastfeed once on wakeup in the morning, and once during the bedtime routine and am now looking to stop both of these.

My question is how best to stop the feed which is a solid part of our bedtime routine. He doesn't take a bottle, but i was thinking of giving a little warm milk in a beaker as a substitute, although he will drink much less this way. Also, this feed is such a lovely cuddly part of the bedtime routine, i am worried about taking it out.

Here is our current bedtime routine:

5.45pm: family dinner
6.30pm: bath time
7.00pm: dressed for bed, put into sleeping bag, breast feed, read a book, turn off lights and put down in cot awake. he generally goes to sleep within 5/10mins.

I just can't see what to do. He loves this bedtime feed, and is not going to be happy for it to go!

Also, any ideas for the morning feed? He also loves this as it is such a cuddly time after sleeping all night on his own. the other feeds were easy to drop, but these ones which are more snuggly feel like they are going to be much harder. Thanks..

I don't suppose you want to do this but when I was swapping breast for formula at 10 months I used a bottle... And he loved it although preferred the breast. So I gave a bottle first and breast second and then over 3 different nights he fell asleep on the bottle and that was it - he'd forgotten the breast at bedtime (tho not in the night yet)....

That's not much help is it? But I really found a bottle a very useful tool - much like the breast. And at 3 he still has a tiny bottle with his books at bed and loves it. Cleans teeth after.

no, she won't take a bottle :( otherwise i would. She drinks from a beaker, but it is messy and not comforting in the same way as a bottle or breast.

Can your DH or other get involved? I stopped BF at about 8 months and DS always loved the bottle, but I found DH was good at breaking associations.

You can still cuddle, snuggle and kiss when giving milk from a beaker though. And my DS comes in to bed for his bottle in the morning. So again, we still have lots of cuddles.

To be honest (and I don't want this to come across badly) I found that it was more ME that missed the closeness, rather than DS. It's tough giving up BF and you feel very emotional. But try not to confuse YOUR feelings with your DD's. I can honestly say that it'll be an emotional rollercoster, but, having done it, you do find other ways of having special mummy time with your LO. So don't worry.

Good luck.