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Lo weaning herself off

Hi my lo is 10 and half months and for a while now has only been having a morning feed unless shes ill only wants breast then,Anyway for the past 2 weeks shes really not interested latching on off on off etc never on long enough to cause a let down or get into proper feeding.i've tried everything no distractions in a room just us no tv or anything but its not worked so im wondering if there is anything i can do to encourage her to continue as i really wanted to make it to 1 year i bf her older sister for 10 months only stopped when i went back to work.i'm a bit sad shes not really interested anymore as i really enjoy breastfeeding knowing im helping her grow.So should i try to get her interested again or just let her finish?Any advice would be great thanks
Lin

Replies

  • Hi, it does sound to me like your lo is weaning herself
    off the breast. My son did the same when he was around
    the same age, just wasn't interested, too much else going
    on!! All I can say is that if you want to carry on, offer her
    the breast each morning and if she doesn't take it, express
    it so you don't lose your supply. Is she having a bottle for
    her other feeds now, my son loved his bottles, maybe as it's
    much easier for them to get milk from bottle than breast.
    I understand your sadness at the thought of stopping bf,
    but you have done an excellent job and have given your
    lo an excellent start in life.
    My little girl, was 8 months yesterday and already is on
    just a morning bf and that only lasts 5-10 mins at the
    most. I'm sure she will soon be refusing my breast too.
    Good luck, and do persevere, as it may
    just be a stage she is going thru. x
  • hi! well ds weaned himself off the breast when we went down to just the one morning feed at 7months, did all the same things as ur dd2, so i haven't got any advice on how to keep going. al i can say is i know u wanted to make it to a yr, but, this way u won't feel guilty that ur stopping her feeding and having to wean her off, she's doing trhat for u, i took comfort in the fact that it was ds choice...and the fact that the occasional lay in was now on the cards lol. also i didn't realise our last feed was our last, iyswim? so we just enjoyed it rather than being sad thru it. i still now miss bf him but like i say, our lo's are obv strong willed with minds of their own, and u can take comfort int he fact that u bf her for as long as she wanted u to. xx
  • i agree with siany my eldest son weaned himself off the breast. it made it so much easier that he was choosing rather than me denying him. He just dropped one feed at a time. I am hoping my baby son will do the same when the time comes. Give yourself a big pat on the back for the 10 months that you acheived and don't beat yourself up because you didn't do a full year.
  • it is quite common for babies to go on a nursing strike at around this age, and so is an easy time to wean them off as they virtually do it themselves, however if you continue to express to keep your supply up and keep offering her the breast she may well go back to it. Some people find that they will only nurse whilst your standing up (not an ideal position i know!) It's because as your daughter is developing she is getting more interested in other things other than boobie! so although its fine to stop nursing now if you want, you can also persevere and try and carry on through and almost definatly they will come back to it. I've got an information booklet upstairs somewhere i'll try and dig it out this evening! xxx
  • Hi thanks for the replies i did decide not to feed her anymore but thought about it if there is a chance she might go back to it im going to express and offer her the breast in the morning but if she doesnt want it i'll give her a bottle and see how we go but im kind of expecting her to just refuse im a bit sad i didnt get a good last feed like i did with my dd1 so if she does decide not to even try to feed i'll give up but if she still tries i'll continue expressing and offering and see how we are in a week or two then make a final decision.thanks
  • Hi well i did try to feed her again but she wasnt really interested but we did have a nice last feed this morning she took some without going on and off so im pleased i got a bit of a nice last feed so ive decided to stop now. so im now a non feeding mummy till the next time lol thanks for the replys
  • Dont think im gonna be far behind you 2girlywhirlys! My dd is only having morning feed and she is very on/offish as too interested in everything else going on, even if there is nothing going on!!!
    Also, she is only feeding from one boob now the other is already redundant!! I don't get the full feeling in my boobs at all anymore which i'm a little sad about tbh!! Still we have given them a great start in life and thats what we have to hold onto! Take care. xx
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