To Continue to Breastfeed or Not

I nursed longer with my first than with my second. I think that's actually pretty normal among the 99% of mommies who are not breastfeeding divas. =) I have a friend with 4 kids who BF the first one for a year, the second one nine months, the third one 3 months, and I think she made it a month with #4. She said she was so busy by the time #4 came around that she just didn't have time to sit for 20 minutes and nurse! It's life. What can you do, right? You've already made it longer with your second baby than I did with my first! If you're mostly ready to be over it, then don't feel badly about giving up BF. I think the shift in hormones that goes along with stopping is enough to make you feel a little sad. It's a survival mechanism, I'm sure (i.e. back in the caveman era, a mother who felt sad about not feeding her baby would be more likely to feed her baby more often, therefore baby lives to see another day). But now we have options for feeding our babies other ways, and so our hormonal sadness translates to guilt. It will pass, your baby will do fine, all will be well!

You responded to one of my posts about my similar situation :) Honestly, for me, I beat myself up over it but I ended up weaning without even knowing it. A few super busy days and then it was like 'huh, it's done'... staying busy kept my mind off of it and now my son is SOOO much happier! If I had known he would have been this happy, I would have stopped sooner. You've already nursed longer than most moms and you should applaude yourself for your accomplishment. It's tough nursing with other kids running around! Now, the older kids can help with a bottle feeding. Don't be sad and compare this child with your other child... they both know nothing but full bellies and your love :)

I'm a big proponent of "extended" breastfeeding...but ultimately the choice is yours. Really, what is the difference between 10 months or 12? Honestly, by the time you fully wean him, he could be 11 months anyway. If you were going for a year anyway...not such a big deal when you consider the big picture.

I had to return to work when my daughter was 10 weeks old and she got only breast milk until she was nearly 9 months old. I stopped pumping when she was a year and continued to nurse until she was 18 months. While ending the nursing was a certain sort of freedom, what I realized was that I was REALLY TIRED OF PUMPING! I was SO happy to stop pumping...I was a little sad when we stopped nursing.

I nursed as long as I could (I lasted only about 9 months with both kids) and at the tail end, I was only nursing them once a day/pumping once a day. My milk dried up pretty quick and there was no pain what so ever. Just give him formula to get him thru the night and all will be fine.

Congrats in nursing him this far!

You have done a great job no matter how you look at it!! I felt the need to continue breastfeeding and pumping while at work (despite having a job that was not tolerant of it), just due to social pressure of the benefits of breastfeeding. I had a hard time when I finally quit. I was drying up rather quickly and only feeding/pumping a few times a day, but once I made the decision to be done and got over the initial sadness, I was fine. Do what you are comfortable with, and don't feel the need to continue just because society says you should. Good luck & great job!!

When my son started eating baby food and other things, there came a point where he was almost a year when we both started leaning toward morning feedings only. That was our cuddle time and I had already built a routine in the morning and wasn't ready to give it up. We still had that bonding and he still had some of the nutrition, but it wasn't more than once a day. 2 or 3 months after that, I couldn't stop the biting and he didn't seem interested much anymore, so I stopped nursing at almost 14 months. I would say to try and stick it out until he can drink regular milk. It seems like it is so worth it not having to buy formula. Good luck, and good for you!

We (me and baby) weaned slowly. ~9-10 months she only needed to nurse 4x/day (24hr period) and then my supply was slowing down. Next we traded the morning feeding for a bottle and I never got engorged. by 11 months, I think I was only nursing the early AM and the night time feeding, and I introduced sippy cups and supplemented that way. I could have stopped nursing during this month b/c I wasn't really producing--it was more about cuddling, but I just wanted to make it to an even 12 months...so I had to offer a sippy cup after nursing or she wouldn't have had enough to drink. I was sad to stop (I cried on her 1st bday which was the last time she nursed), but am SO HAPPY to have freedom and my body back--even if my boobs shrunk, at least they are all mine!

I had hoped to make it to a year with my son, but we made it just over 7 months. Due to returning to work full time, him eating more foods, and taking some supplemental formula, my milk supply just began diminishing, and he was happier to have the bottle/baby food where he got more satisfaction. It was a natural, gradual process, I had no engorgement, and he was not traumatized at all, because he seemed to decide on his own he was done. I'd say if things are going this direction for you, just go with it. You've done a great job, and in my humble opinion, it's better to stop when it happens easily and naturally.

Stick it out to at least a year. You can do it.