How to stop BF?

M

mamaS

Registered User
Since i can't do anything with biting problem and lately baby doesn't want to BF at all anymore. I'm ready to stop at 13 months.

How do i do it? breast little engorge but not hurting, should i just leave it as it is or should i pump every other day to stop it gradually? I'm concern with the little lump that i always experienced before when i don't BF regularly. I felt it last night with one of the breast, thank God baby sucked 2 minutes this morning so it was gone.
 
i would replace each feed with a bottle, replacing only 1 feed per week. then you shouldn't have any problems with engorgment.
 
I weaned both my girls cold turkey at around this time.Both were only on one feed in the am and one in the pm.With in a few days my breasts adjusted and I had minor engorgment.

Within a 10 day/2 week weaning period I did not put them to bed at night to help break the association,but both of them had a couple of feeds during that time which always seemed to coinside with me being engorged and them the feed gave me relief.

I did not offer bottles and they were both breast to cup babies and never had bottles.

I think if you go with the flow,it will happen quite naturally.

Good luck!
 
If you are only feeding a couple times/day then you will only be full a day or two. At 13 months I would just go to a cup as well. Why use a bottle, then have to wean from the bottle later.
 
The nurse gave me this tip to stop engorgement as I could not continue to pump milk for my son. Put an ice pack on your breast (make sure you put it on the ducts not on nipple as I was dumb enough to do), and it seems to "dry up" the milk. Hope this helps.
 
LLL?s usually suggestions are:

To wean a baby under a year, substitute his least favourite feeding first. Let the baby have a few days (or weeks, if possible) between each time you substitute a breastfeeding session with a bottle. Express a little milk from your breasts, to your own comfort, if you become engorged. Don't express a whole feeding's worth of milk; just take the pressure off. Your body will get the signal to make less milk over time.

To wean a baby who is about a year, or older you may not need to go to bottles at all. All you may need to do is stop offering the breast. "Don't offer, don't refuse" may work for you. Or, learn to substitute a cup of water, juice or cow's milk (if tolerated), or solid food, for the baby or toddler's least important feeding. Sometimes Dad (or another relative) can help by taking the baby to the kitchen for a good breakfast--Daddy style. This can become a special time for both of them. (And you get some extra sleep!) For mealtime feeds, try to offer food first, with a short session at the breast for later. Avoid sitting down in your special favourite "nursing chair." If your child won't nap without breastfeeding, sometimes a car ride or a walk in the pushchair will get him or her to sleep.

The nighttime feeding is usually the last to go. Make a bedtime routine not centered around breastfeeding. A good book or two will eventually become more important than a long session at the breast. Your child may agree to rest his head on your breast instead of feeding. Talk to your child about what's going on. He may understand more than you think.

A lot of extra love and attention in other forms will be needed now. Try getting out more, to the playground, a friend's house, shopping, museums, anything your child will be distracted with and stimulated by. Read stories, rub or scratch their little back, sing and dance. It's a whole new stage in your growing child's life. You will still be needed, just in different ways.

A useful resource is The Nursing Mother's Guide to Weaning by Kathleen Huggins and Linda Ziedrich. This book is available in the LLL-HK library. Contact Maggie Holmes at [email protected] or 2817-7475 to borrow the book.

Best wishes,
SARAH
 
Hi MamaS, I did the 'don't offer, don't refuse' tactic, and it worked well for us since my little man never asked anyway! He was so easygoing he just took it if it was there and didn't care if it wasn't.

You do need to cut it down gradually though. Sarah's advice seems good! I did tend to pump a bit to relieve engorgement if it was there, but that didn't happen beyond the first day or so. The morning feed was actually the last to go for us, since it worked to put him back to sleep for a few more hours in the morning.

When he started sleeping through, we just cut out the feed quite naturally.

I had to make sure I remembered to offer him water quite often though, so he was still getting enough fluids through the day. He was 15 months at the time.

All the best, hope it works out for you.
 
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