Going through hormone he'll since weaning started

[Casey24]

Hi there, just hoping for some reassurance that I'm not going mad! I started weaning my Ds a couple of weeks ago, after pretty much exclusively breast feeding for the first 5 months, and during the past week I've started to feel increasingly awful - crabby mood, depressed, anxious, no appetite, very tired, teary...it feels very much like a bad dose of pms, did anyone else experience this?? I'm also getting hot flushes and period like cramps, which makes me think it could be hormonal..I'm still breastfeeding but obviously my LO is taking much less now he's getting food and formula twice a day. I don't know what to do, I don't want to take a backward step and exclusively breastfeed again but I can't stand feeling like this, does anyone know of any remedies that would calm it down a bit?? How long does it last? Any advice really appreciated x

Sorry you feel like this, but it can be normal. If you drop anymore feeds I'd only drop one every 2 weeks, to give your body time to adjust. Are you bfing an hour before solids? This might help.

You might get a few more responses if you ask MNHQ to move this to the breast & bottle section too Casey

Ah thanks for getting back to me, I know it wasn't a particularly fun post but I really appreciate the response and I agree that I'm just going to take things more slowly, after all DS is still only 5 months and loves his breast milk so I don't really see any need to change things too much as its still 3 months until I go back to work. I'm feeding a bit better today so hopefully it's starting to balance out x

Are you going back full time? If its not for another 3 months you might find that you only have to replace one feed. I went back at 9 months and 10 months. Mine were fed when I got up, when I picked them up at around 5 and before bed at about 7. In the day they had cows milk as I only worked 2 days.

It might be worth discussing how you are feeling with a BFC. She will also be able to help you come up with a return to work plan that suits you and your Lo. If you haven't got the helpline numbers just google National Breastfeeding Helpline

Great advice thanks,I will do that. I don't think I realised how much both myself and the LO have become attached to BF and thought making the switch to formula and food would be easy.. But it's not! I think my hormones are telling me I shouldn't stop so I'm just going to stick with dropping 1-2 feeds from now on, btw did your periods come back with the routine you mentioned above? Let me know x

Is it just going back to work that has made you decide to replace bf milk feeds with formula milk feeds? If you're only going back a couple of days a week, would it be possible to express while you're there instead of completely stopping bf, if you're both enjoying it?

Oh, and to answer your question (sorry!), dd is primarily bf with one bottle a day and we're starting weaning now. I had a coil fitted about 3 months ago and I've been spotting since then, but haven't had a proper period yet. I have been getting my normal hormonal cycles though so I think I'm gearing up for one.

Thanks, how old is your lo? I started weaning because he looked liked he wanted food, and he is really enjoying it which is great, but also because I was tired of expressing so also giving formula when I go out and just before bed. I'm going back 4 days a week so expressing could be a bit much, but I think I'll still try to follow the above routine and continue bfing 2-3 times per day and see how that goes...thanks for the advice really helped xxx

Normal. Perhaps youre doing it too quick for comfort. Can you ramp it back up and tail off more slowly?

Dd is 6mo, we started weaning on fruit and veg about a month ago as she had demonstrated all the 'ready' signs, and have now ramped it up a bit so she's having 2/3 meals a day with a mixture of purées and finger food.

Mixed feeding has worked really well for us (and I don't get on with expressing), I primarily breast feed but she has one bottle of formula a day to go to bed with - it means DH can put her down which gives me a break but also he can feed her in her cot so I don't have to shift her half asleep and risk her waking up!

I'm going back to work in a couple of months and I'm planning to drop most of the bf feeds except the morning/evening ones, but I think the trick is to replace them one at a time. I'm sure you risk mastitis (and REALLY sore boobs!) if you do it any faster.

Yes, you're right, if you drop more than one feed a fortnight you do risk mastitis