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Please help - About to commence weaning off the breast.

Hi,

I go back to work in approx. 8 weeks. My LO will be 11.5 months old, I need to start to wean her from the breast, Because of the demands of my job I won't be able to continue to breast feed her once I go back (I am aware that legally I am allowed to express milk during the working day- but owing to the nature of my job this won't be possible). I need to start weaning Annabel of the breast soon, I have decieded to start when she is 10 month old (2 weeks away).

I would love to hear how you did it, which feed did you drop first? Did you get someone else to bottle feed baby or did you do it, Did you get engorged breasts? How long did it take to completely stop BF?

Any help, tips advise would be much appreciated.

Thanks.

Replies

  • No advice as I wasn't able to bf but good luck and good luck returning to work. I still remember going back to work after my first. Actually really enjoyed the adult company!

  • My little one is 13 months and is at nursery 4 days a week. He still nurses in the morning and evening. I had full breasts for about a week in the afternoons and couldn't wait to plug the little one on to relieve the pressure! Now they have got used to not nursing during the day and i have no issues. I was hoping little one would lose interest in breast feeding. My friend stop by stopping the morning feed first for a week and then the afternoon and then evening feed. She gave it a week before dropping another feed. The little one did protest at first but he got used to not being given the feed very quickly. she would replace the dropped feeds with cows milk. The night time feed was a problem so hubby put the little one to bed so he would disassociate sleeping and being nursed. After 4/5 weeks he was on cows milk.

  • Ive cut down my little boys breast feeds but still has a morning and evening feed and one in the afternoon. When I first dropped his mid morning feed my breasts did get full and I was glad to feed him in the afternoon but it only lasted about 5 days. I need to start thinking about weaning him off his afternoon feed next. I'm lucky that i've not gone back to work so I can do it in my own time. Good luck and I hope it goes well for you image

  • How are you getting on Nicola? If you have more questions, the HV would be a good person to discuss this with.

  • Hi Nicola, firstly, well done for feeding for so long! When I went back to work, I started pumping in my lunch, but then my pump broke and I had to stop. I went home as often as I could to feed my dd, but eventually she was losing interest. So I dropped the lunch feed and just fed her in the morning, when I got home and before bed. Dd was about 8 months at this point. At 15 months, we're still on that schedule. So you don't have to give up, unless you want to. But I find it a godsend to help soothe dd when she is upset or poorly, to get her to sleep or just for some mummy bonding, as I'm at work quite a lot. Good luck., whatever you choose x
  • Hi ladies,

    Thank you so much for all the advice and support. I put this post up about a week before I was due to start the process. It was quite hard at first, partly because I'm not really ready to give up but have to because of work, and also I had recurrent mastitis for the first four months and Annabel's life. So I am really pleased and proud that I managed to feed for this long, as it was really difficult both emotionally and physically.

    I tried to drop the mid morning feed, and attempted to give Annabel 100mls of formula in her feeder cup, she would drink only sips and then cry for the breast or actually rub her head on my chest (which is what she does if she wants a breast feed). It was very distressing for both of us, and of course I ended up giving in and letting her breast feed.

    I changed my tactics, I continued the morning/daytime feeds and continued to let her drink water from her feeder cup. Now at bedtime I give her a bottle (approx. 150-200mls). Surprisingly she took to it really well, and didn't want the breast. Once she is sleepy and has almost finished the bottle I swap it for her dummy and then put her in the cot. She has found it hard not to fall asleep on me, which is what would always happen when I breast fed her at night. So we are doing a bit of sleep training. But overall it has been easier than I thought.

    I was going to drop another feed this week, but I might continue with 2-3 breast feeds a day and bottle at night for a bit longer as now I know she can (will) take a bottle the transition will hopefully not be so hard.

    I'll keep you updated, but any further advice would be great!

  • Thats great Nicola. Glad to hear things are going well so far. Its the bed time feed that I am worried most about stopping so its good to know that its working for you image

  • Hi Nicola, I breastfed both my girls.  My Eldest was weaned off at 9mths when I wanted to TTC, my youngest wasn't completely weaned off until 18mths.

    With my eldest, I started 'combi-feeding' by alternating breast & then formula feeds at 6mths (yes my boobs did swell a little with this as they learned to adapt to the change in number of feeds).  She never really took to bottles so we used a 'sippy cup' instead which she loved.  I found it easiest to sit her in her 'highchair' or 'bouncer' to feed her the formula feeds at first as otherwise she smelled my milk & would aim for that instead.

    My youngest was different, she hated formula & refused to accept it so I was forced to express in an effort to teach her to drink from a cup rather than me.  Again I had to sit her down to offer her the cup or she instantly made a 'beeline' for my chest (she was a lot more determined than her sister) & I had to be more patient in allowing her to register the milk was in the cup & not coming from me.  Ironically this time around my breasts didn't swell but rather the opposite.

    There is no right nor wrong way, go with the feeds that work best for you (most will aim for the 'midday' ones first as those are the ones where you'll be working, you can work upon morning & evening once back at work if necessary).  Again there is no harm in having others offer the odd feed (to allow LO to accept that feeds are available even if Mummy isn't).  Be patient & consistent though, baby will learn what to expect at what hour.  Best wishes & good luck.

  • Annabel was really ill this week, we had to take her to hospital. She has a bad chest infection, so basically we have gone back to breast feeding on demand (about 4-5 times a day). The doctor actually advised me to discontinue the weaning, as Annie needed the comfort and the antibodies the breast provided. So we have had a week of exclusively breast feeding. Tomorrow night I will start her on the bottle again!! But now only have one month until I go back to work, so hopefully we can go to two bottles a day before Christmas! I'll let you know how we get on! x x

  • Poor Annabel! I hope she is better now and back to eating soon so she can enjoy her christmas diner image good luck tomorrow x

  • how is Annabel feeling? have you started her back on the bottle?

  • Hi Ladies,

    Annabel is so much better thank you (luckily was well in time for Christmas). But I have been a bit naughty with the weaning, ie: I haven't actually put Annabel back on the bottle. Well actually last night she had a bottle before bed as I went out (woo hoo), she took it fine, but I haven't actually given her one.

    So my new plan is to only give Annabel a bottle on the nights I will not be home for bedtime, 2- 3 times a week. I will aim to still breast-feed her in the mornings and then at lunch time she can have a bottle or just water (most days she only has 2-3 milk feeds). We still have another 2 weeks before she starts at the nursery (and I go back to work). Hopefully by the time she starts at nursery she will only be on 2 milk feeds a day. I know that she will and can take a bottle so I feel a bit happier about the whole thing. I'll let you know how the first week goes.. x x

  • Hello.

    I was quite lucky in the fact that Flo seemed to drop feeds herself during the day, from about 10 months and weaning was very well established. So at this stage we were just feeding first thing and then last thing at bedtime.

    We then dropped the morning feed and she just fed at bedtime for about 10 mins. When she was 12 months, she just stopped being interested and wouldn't feed at bedtime, which obviously I found quite hard and sad, but it also meant that I didn't always have to put her to bed!

    I didn't ever have to supplement with formula or milk, but I just make sure that I keep her diet rich in calcium and other nutrients.

  • UPDATE!!

    Yesterday was the first day we were completely breast-free!! I felt a little bit sad but actually I know that it is time to move on as it were. We have just had a morning bottle, but like your LO Krh, Annabel is slowly losing interest with the night time feed. Wish me luck for today!

     

  • Well done and good luck!

    Remember breast pads...!  With my first we kind of stopped cold turkey and I had a leak about 4-6 weeks after finishing!!  With my second I gradually stopped and didn't have this problem but I'd maybe pack a couple just in case!

  • UPDATE:

    Ladies I have been breast -feeding -free since my last post (21st Jan). Surprisingly it was a really smooth process and not too emotional for me or Annabel. Slowly cutting down and alternating one bottle and one breast feed made the transition much easier. I was dreading it and really worried about the whole process but actually in hindsight there was nothing to worry about. I'm not saying it will be so easy for everyone as I have friends who are now trying to stop and their babies and them) are really struggling. 

    I was proud and happy that we did one year of breast feeding but was more than ready to give up (let go) when I did. Thanks for the support and advice ladies it was really helpful.

  • That is a real achievement hon. Well done. xx

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