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when do you plan on stopping BFing?

I was wanting to stop breastfeeding about 12 weeks(my boy is 3 weeks and 3days)



When do you plan on stopping feeding??



cx

Replies

  • I'm hoping to continue until minimum 6 months, I've been surprised that I've enjoyed breast feeding more than I thought i would. Who knows maybe I'll continue beyond then!
  • I bf'd dd until she was 40 weeks. She lost interest and it was her that decided to stop. I personally found it easier to bf her than formula and she got really poorly at 6 months and was in and out of hospital..... the Dr's also advised I kept feeding her until she was as close to a year as possible as it provided her with the best possible immunity whilst we were in hospital and exposed to other nasties. I'll try to continue to a year this time also, but circumstances are different for me now - I also have a toddler running around and Flo is a much hungrier baby than Elsie was!!



    Do whatever feels best for you, you're doing really well to be doing it now!! If you are finding it no problem then BF'ing may be more convenient beyond 12 weeks! But if you struggle or don't like bf'ing in public / feel tied then start to wean him off. Or you could try to do both?? My friend managed to just feed in the morning and at night and baby had bottles during the day.



    Whatever happens don't put pressure on yourself to continue or to stop - just go with what suits you and your boy x
  • I fully BF my son till he has 6months, then introduced daytime bottles so I could return to work. At 9months I swapped his evening BF for a bottle and 3 weeks later I fed him for the very last time in the morning (he had 3 teeth by that point - 2 bottom & 1 top - and had bitten me a few times, plus I was basically feeding him in bed and then getting up to give him breakfast).

    I'm really pleased with how long we lasted and was sad to stop feeding my little man... When he was poorly or teething it was the one thing that would settle him and sometimes the only nourishment I would manage to give him that wouldn't make him vomit. I believe it gave us and incredible bond and I treasured every moment of him needing his mummy so much.



    Sorry I waffled on a bit there image I personally would say just see how you go! Every day is an important achievement and provides your baby boy with food, comfort, antibodies,... (that stuff is just magic!) And it does just get so easy and convenient!

  • I was only planning on stopping as I was having trouble expressing but tried it again and managed - so relieved! Now feel like I dont have to stop. Wouldn't manage longer than 12 weeks without being able to express!



    thanks for the relies ladies



  • at the beggining i was taking it a day at a time but now we both enjoy it and i plan to continue as long as she wants to, i usually work nights so when i go back i should be able to feed her before i go and when i get back x
  • Hi,



    We had a rough start to bf so we were just taking it a feed at a time and Connor has one formula feed a day at the moment.



    I think we're starting to get more comfortable to the point where I am expressing a little each day when I can and freezing it so we can eventually try to bf for all feeds but have a supply ready if I need a break so Daddy can do the bottle. In a way my hubby loves this time he has with him so he may want to continue anyway. What I don't want to do though is commit to fully bf and then wobble - I prefer to feel there is a back up even if I don't need to use it.

    Plus I don't want to end up switching the one feed between boob and bottle as we'll both get very confused!



    Now I am hoping we might get to 6 months but really not pressuring myself. My midwife told me a friend of hers hated bf so she just told herself she would do it a month at a time and see how she went. She ended up doing 6 months.



    I agree that the best option is the one you both naturally end up doing and the one with the least hassle and stress. People say this all the time but I genuinely believe that's the best route.
  • i bf no1 for 8 months, with 2 of those with some daytime bottles of formula.



    i will bf no2 for a similar time but introduce EBM bottles much quicker.
  • I don't know hun, I have a hard time with expressing never get much even with an expensive pump! I give Mia ebm now but its what I collect when I leak from the other side during feeding.



    I was thinking of cutting down to just morning and evening at 12wks and see what I feel then. I kind of don't want to stop but Mia is my no 3 and my oldest has ASD so I need to spend time working on different therapies with him at home.( excuses excuses lol! I'm sure theres lots of people in the kind of same position) If I get to 12 wks I will be very happy image
  • Forgot to say I stopped at 13wks last time and on one hand I was happy with it and on the other I had awful guilt. Arrrgh why are we mums so hard on ourselves??
  • Before she was born, I planned to feed dd for 6 months. Then we struggled and I took it a day at a time until it got easier at 6 weeks and then easier again at 12. Eventually I fed her for 13 months and stopped because she wasn't interested any more, and I was getting fed up with being bitten etc.



    This time round I am aiming for 6 months again, but will take each day at a time to start with.
  • had planned 6months, then for a little while i thought i wasn't gonna make it, but then we did, 6m exclusively breastfed! yay! but then we were still both enjoying it, so i said to myself, 1yr, but now she's 10m and that one year milestine is coming round quick, and i still don't think either of us are ready to stop just yet, so i think, most likely finish completely on or before 18months ... my first i bf til 7months, he was mixfed from 3weeks though... was gutted i didn't even get to my 12week goal with him image x
  • i would love to do as long as possible, exclusive till 6 months in feb and then with food until i go back to work three days. Would still like to bf around work and for him to have water where i cant bf him rather than formula. At the moment am trying to get him used to occasional ebm in a bottle so that he will take his breast milk another way which will help when i go back to work and help me keep my sanity! I've found its variable what i get off but as long as he has some by teat then hes learning what to do. he's 9 weeks and we struggled with severe soreness in the beginning - have fed with a shield since he was 2 days old and he's gained a pound every week of his life so clearly no problems. Otherwise we've gone from strength to strength and we both love it x
  • I stopped at 6 months with my DD and I want to do the same with my little man.



    It just felt right for me to stop then, my DD was naturally dropping feeds with me and wanting bottles, then when she moved onto solids and was drinking from a cup it just all fell into place for us.



    With my DS I am trying to drop his breast feeds and replace them with bottle feeds. He is currently 16 weeks. He does, however, LOVE breast feeding way more than my DD did. He loves settling to sleep on the boob, he uses me as a bit of a dummy!



    I do love breast feeding but for me 6 months is the right time to stop.



    Just do what feels right with you and your baby. Don't feel pressure by anyone to stop before you're ready or to carry on longer than you feel is right for you.



    xx
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