Older children resist weaning from breastfeeding

“Hello everyone! DD just turned 1 on the 29th. She was a tough one in the beginning, because she never took to a bottle. So she was EBF until 6 months when she started solids. She is a great eater. She eats 3 meals a day & 2 snacks. She also drinks homomilk from a sippy cup during meal times. She still nurses to sleep unless I'm at work. And she still nurses throughout the night for comfort it seems (we cosleep) she won't stop biting me. She knows what she's doing because she'”

“Helppppp, my 21 m old girl is amazing, she talks allll day and is so smart and fun but she just will notttt give up the boobs 😩 ya girl is tired !! I’ve tried so many things including (don’t yell at me) apple cider vinegar and she literally was like “yucky, wash” and went and got a wet wipe to wipe my nipples off 😂😭 she will rip my shirt to get to them and cry till she can’t breathe.. I’m at a loss, she nurses all day and multiple times a night… send help submitted by /u/Sluuushpu”

“My baby is 12 months old and ebf since birth. We went to his 12 month appointment and the doctor acted confused as to why I was still breastfeeding. He said it’s bad for his teeth, speech, could cause constipation, and make him anemic. My baby has had no signs of anything like this. I planned on continuing to bf at least this year unless he weaned himself. Doctor said I should feed no more than two times a day. Thoughts? Part of the problem is, my baby very much enjoys breastfeeding. The weaning”

“I found out I was pregnant with our second (unexpected) just before 10 months postpartum. My goal has been to nurse my current babe for 18 months, then with pregnancy challenges, I was hoping to just make it to a year then see what happened. Babe turns 11 months this week and I am 10 weeks pregnant now. I have spent the last couple of days pretty sick with a nasty cold. Well, the illness has tanked my supply and letdown reflex and slowed my milk flow considerably. Yesterday was an extremely diff”

ello, I'm hoping to get some insights and advice from other moms. I have a 13-month-old daughter who has been exclusively breastfed since birth. When I returned to work, I introduced bottle-feeding,…

“My child is 15 months and only breastfeeds twice a day. She has had a stuffed nose the past few days and has basically declined breastfeeding three times now. She can’t breathe properly when she latches and after a few tries she doesn want to try again. She is eating solids well, so there is no issue with nutrition, but it would be sad if my milk production stops because of a cold. I don’t like to pump, but I will if there is a risk that my milk production will stop. At what point do I need to s”

“How did everyone wean their EBF babies? My son will be one on Tuesday and part of me feels ready to be done, but another part of me doesn’t quite feel ready yet. He takes solids well, usually three meals a day and at least one snack and he naturally weaned down to 2 feeds a day. I’m just conflicted on how to stop those feeds. He usually takes a cup of milk with his lunch at daycare and then nurses before dinner when I get home from work. Very occasionally he will wake up overnight to nurse, but”

“My baby and I have had a really positive breastfeeding journey so far. I have felt comfortable saying I will go until two years. But lately it is getting harder. She wants to nurse all the time on the weekends and it’s not as easy to be discreet when we are out and about. Currently she is taking a mid morning nap while nursing and I would like to be getting some things done around the house. She cries when I pick her up and don’t nurse. Naps are harder because she wants to nurse and cries when I”

“Ive tried to wean my “baby” a few times, tried to cut down on feeds, and tried to stop TWIDDLING. Baby is now almost 2 years and 8 months old. I finally felt ready (ish). A part of me was still sad. But nursing has become so painful during ovulation, plus she’s not sleeping thru the night (cosleep) and she ends up just attached to me during the night and I can’t get a nights sleep without a boob barnacle. I was ready to try weaning again. I’ve been talking to her a lot that “mommy milk is going”

“I'm still breastfeeding my 15 month old. We have night weaned as of a few weeks ago, but she typically still nurses 3-4 times a day. Everything still feels mid. I mean, I still don't have nearly the same excitement for life that I did before baby. It's still hard to focus, my brain feels scrambled, the highs and lows all feel the same. At first I thought it was the sleeplessness but since night weaning I've been sleeping quite well. Is it the breastfeeding? Is this a common exper”

“15 whole months later with my EBF, every 2-3 hour waker, no pumping, no formula, anti-bottle, anti-pacifier, anti-swaddle, contact napping, cosleeping daughter, no help with nights whatsoever, and no village besides my partner… it was quite a challenge, but so worth it in the end! (Being a SAHM helped our journey tremendously!) We ended our beautiful breastfeeding journey exactly a week ago. It very, very bittersweet! But I was BEYOND ready to start sleeping through the night, and since we stopp”

“My goal was to BF for 6 months. My baby girl just turned 18 months. I don’t know how to stop. Ugh. I guess I do know how to stop but I just don’t want to. I love the bond and how beneficial it is but I am worried about the fact that she is so dependent on me. I am a SAHM and I nurse on demand. We are also cosleeping and she nursing through the night. I worry about her getting cavities. I brush her teeth twice a day with fluoride and I TRY to wipe at night but I definitely don’t go it after every”

“i (24f) have been ebf for 2.5 years with my first and only. i dont have any plans to have another unless i find a good man that doesnt have any children and wants another of his own. id love a sibling for my son but the only thing holding me back from giving that to him one day is i never want to breastfeed again. ive had enough of it. it is constant. he gets hurts wants boob. i lay down. he wants boob. hes hungry. boob. sleepy. boob. doesnt get what he wants somewhere else. boob. i do not give”

“Hi all. My son is about to be 16 months and I’ve been exclusively nursing him. I’m also not seeking medical advice because I’ve already received the medical advice. Just asking what I should do now that the balls in my court. I have Bipolar II. I manage it fairly well. I’ve been on medications for it for about 7 years. My psychiatrist would like to start me on Lithium. He told me it was the gold standard for treatment. We’ve tried a few other options. This wasn’t the first choice. He told me it’”

“I don't know where the best place to ask this is. I'm just really struggling knowing how to tackle this, and help my poor baby. My now 15mo, always ebf, has gone through phases of biting while nursing, which caused a little cut on one side. I had to switch to feeding on only one side bc it hurt so so bad and wouldn't heal while she was nursing on it. It's been a few weeks, still hasn't healed all the way, and now the same thing has happened on the other side. I'm now tryi”

“Hi, I have so many feelings no one understands (cause no one arounds me breastfeeds after 6 months) so I’m just looking for anyone with similar experiences. My LO is almost 14 months. She is and always has been OBSESSED with the boob. If she can/could she nurses every hour (not always a whole feed just for comfort as well). I have started night weaning the beginning of this month because we really want to start trying for a second and didn’t anticipate my period still not having returned (I also”

“Some context, she’s 6M crawling and standing, doesn’t take bottles so Ive been EBF either in car rides, standing or side lying. There are times i can’t put her down directly as she’ll kick and turn onto her fours. I’ll then hold her up and feed but she’s getting heavier and I’m worried it’ll become too laborious for my shoulders and back. I exercise regularly but this is still quite challenging since Im feeding her 6-7 times a day, at least 3 times are standing up before I put her to bed. Would”

“I am desperate with no options. There is no way for me to stop nursing my 21 month old who is with me 24/7 and never learned to sleep though the night without nursing all night long. The toddler shares a room with an older sibling and we have a big kid too. There's been no chance to cry it out with my husband working so much and kids in school. Now the toddler has cavities and we need to stop nursing, but I can't. I have no support and I don't. Ke what to do. I am sad about stopping”

“I want to give up breastfeeding but it's so damn hard when my 23 month old wants to feed continuously throughout the night, nothing will settle her apart from the boob. I'm finding it most physically and mentally draining. Has anyone got any tips to try and stop or atleast stop the frequent night nursing? submitted by /u/Sufficient-Dress8728 [link] [comments]”

“Hi everyone! I’m planning to wean my 21 month old by going cold turkey. I’ve tried cutting down feeds and night weaning etc but honestly I find it so overwhelming and I feel like cold turkey might actually be easier for us. She’s also gone over a day and a half without breastfeeding a few times before, so I feel like she can handle it. If you went cold turkey, I’d love to hear all your tips! How long did the whole process take, and how long until the really hard part was over lol? Did you find i”

“I know all kids are different, and all moms have different goals and limits! Just wondering when you decided to stop. My sons 21 months and still so so attached to boob. He never would take a bottle as a baby. I figured toddler age maybe he’d take it from a cup. Nope. I returned back to work when he was around 16 months and thought that would slow it down. Working in healthcare has had us catching a lot of bugs and he’s been teething for basically a year straight now lol. I just feel guilty stop”

“Hi, I have been Ebf, my 12 month old, from about 3 months. We were pumping and bottle feeding at night, but I ended up co-sleeping and dropping the bottle feeds altogether out of sheer exhaustion. To be honest, im torn on how I feel about breastfeeding. The love, connection, and bond, i would describe it as the closest feeling I've ever felt to being one with a person. I know how much it means to my daughter because I feel it, too. It's not just about feeding. The thoughts of not having”

“My daughter is 2 and I've been fortunate to EBF her. She's a bit of a boob monster, and while in a perfect world I would tandem nurse with our next baby, I don't know when that's going to happen. Until then, I guess I'm ready to have a bit of myself back, but I don't feel ready to be done nursing. I did have an unplanned c section which was the exact opposite of what I wanted, so I think I latched onto breastfeeding heavily. I've noticed lately that she's having b”

“I feel so guilty. I feel terrible actually. Long story short my supply sipped so I’ve been combo feeding for the past month. At times I wanted to be done but at the same time I absolutely loved nursing her (we cosleep as well) the past nights I’ve done no boob and only 3 oz of formula for her middle of the night wakes and after 4 days of not pumping I got 10oz I’m devastated I had pictured going to at least a year or 18 months. I feel like I should start power pumping 3x a day and doing whatever”

“Bb girl is almost 15 months. Weaning so far has been the hardest part of my BF journey. However, despite all the challenges and hormone drops, I’ve managed to get to twice a day! (Wake up and bedtime) it’s been a week. And bb girl is still asking for milk during the day but it’s easy to redirect and I’ve honestly been so proud of myself (along with extremely emotional). Today she woke up from her nap with a fever, and remained a little hot potato all day until bedtime. She was acting ok and I ma”

“So I might've messed this up. I have a 2.4y old and am two weeks out from having another baby. I weaned my son from BF during the pregnancy, when he was around 20months. He had liked to touch my breasts for support and hasn't stopped yet. I used to be okay with it because I can tell it's for comfort. I also thought he would maybe stop on his own.He basically does it in three situations: -During the day when he needs comfort, like when he got hurt or when he's still waking up from”

“I have a 28 mo and I had told myself I’d wean him at 2. I realize now I was really hoping he would wean himself. He is definitely not weaning himself and I don’t know how to wean him now. I moved to only give when he asks and at home so he really only nurses before sleeping now but I don’t know how to break him of that comfort/habit, especially as I made it the primary way I put him to sleep :\. I hate the idea of pushing him away or denying him so I’m having trouble just saying no or going cold”

“i am 3 months postpartum. my baby was exclusively breastfed for the first few weeks until i got too exhausted and we started introducing formula and were combo feeding. we were combo feeding until almost 2 months postpartum, but during this time i was still nursing for majority of feeds. we found a great rhythm and it was easy for both of us! we went to stay with family for a while and i started to latch and pump less frequently because it was harder to find the time to go somewhere private and”

“My LO is 2 years and 2 months old. I feel that it is time to stop. If I don’t offer her to breastfeed in the morning, give her a bottle or any other breakfast, she doesn’t care. I am the problem, every week I say this is the last, and one day later I go back. The problem is that whenever she is half awake and I want her to go back to sleep, she doesn’t if she feels my breasts, her teeth sometimes hurt when she wants to play and I can’t take some medication, I need to settle for less powerful stu”

“Hi all, I’m a mom to an almost 1 year old and I’m 7 weeks pregnant with my second. We’re looking at about 19-20 month age difference between baby 1 and 2. The original plan was to wean our son by the new year after 15 months of breastfeeding and then wait 9 months to try again for baby 2 but things change. I was wanting to have a break from breastfeeding between children but now I’m unsure. My son loves breastmilk and nursing, he still does before naps, before going to sleep, and in the middle o”

“I have EBF two kids, and my youngest is soon turning 11 months. In just under 4 weeks, I have to leave him for 48 hours so I would like to fully wean by then. I EBF my daughter until 13mo so this is a little earlier than last time due to the circumstances. I know the advice is 12mo - I am comfortable that he’s healthy and that 10 days early won’t matter. He has a dairy and soy intolerance so formula isn’t an option (he never liked the non dairy one). I’ve recently given him a few small tastes of”

“I’m so done breastfeeding. My boy is nearly 13 months, and I’ve loved it, but I’m exhausted and sick of being the only source of comfort. The thing is, I have no idea how to stop. The boy is a boob monster. He still wakes frequently overnight - how often depends on if he’s unwell/teething or whatever - and unless I want to listen to him get increasingly distressed, it has to be boob. Nights where he wakes up lots it is purely comfort, but on the nights where it’s only a few times I’m sure he’s h”

“My baby is 13 months old and she loves solid foods but also still breastfeeds on demand throughout the day and night. She asks to nurse with sign language and body language. I'm ready to start cutting back on how often she nurses but struggling with how to go about it. I'd like to get to the point where she nurses only before bed and when she wakes up. I'll be back to work soon and would like if she could make it through the daytime without my milk. We do 3 solid food meals per day,”

“My 22 month and I both love nursing. It's so comforting and calming to him, and bonding for us both. It's also the easiest way to get him to sleep. I would like to stop around 2.5 and maybe start trying for a second child around then as well. I don't want to be pregnant and nursing. However, I'm aware that the older he gets, the more people think it's weird and not ok. I have only dealt with people online saying he's too old, no one in real life so far but I have preempti”

“I just found out I’m pregnant last night! It’s extremely early but we are so excited. I have a 13 month old who is still nursing on demand. She is weaning herself throughout the day (some days) but still nurses to bed and overnight as we co sleep. I want her to self wean, and I’m ok with cont. nursing as long as possible! Just curious about everyone else’s experience with breastfeeding while pregnant. TIA! submitted by /u/Odd_Entrepreneur6038 [link] [comments]”

“Can I just ask for those mummies who extended their breastfeeding journey, what age did you begin weaning at? My little one is 2.5 years old and absolutely no signs of wanting to come away from the breast. I’m not adverse to her still feeding from me, I have no issues and supply is great but I just feel social pressures to stop soon because of her age. She feeds usually 3-4 times a day (morning, nap time, waking from nap time & bed time). The only ‘issue’ I would say is she is such a twiddle”

“I know this is such a personal decision but I’m really struggling with whether I want to start weaning now or let it happen naturally. I currently nurse morning and before bed, so twice a day. A few weeks ago, my left boob dried up and is completely weaned so my right boob is doing the heavy lifting here. Reasons to wean: * Babe doesn’t seem so hungry for breakfast in the morning (nurse at 6:30, breakfast at 7:15, daycare at 8) and the mornings feel rushed. See note below on dropping morning fee”

“Hi I think we have reached the end of my breastfeeding journey, I am super proud of myself I had everything thrown at me a emergency c section blood clots. So I am sad to see our journey come to an end but I can't handle anymore of nights I did manage to get my son to just nurse during the and sleep through the night for a short stint, then I accidentally undid everything when he was waking up in the middle of the night when we was staying at a hotel. So he's been waking 2 times sometime”

“Not sure what flair I should use. My baby is 14 months old and I breastfeed every morning right after waking up, and every evening before the bedtime routine starts. Seldomly, maybe once more during the day. Backstory: when he was a newborn and up until around 7/8 months, I had so much milk and a fast letdown. His feeding sessions lasted 5mins or less, often just one breast. Since he was around 8 months, I notice that he wants to nurse for around 10-20mins. In the mornings, more like 20-25min, t”

“i’ve heard about cabbage leaves, aloe vera sap etc. my almost 13 mo only wants to nurse to be comforted or to take naps/ go to bed. But i am at my wits end . i have ebf since birth , never supplemented with formula or anything . I’ve introduced cows milk and ripple milk to her and she isn’t ecstatic about it but doesn’t hate it either . I wanted to maybe nurse for longer but this is affecting me mentally now. I get shitty sleep at night as she wakes up at least 4x a night ONLY to nurse for comfo”

“I am 14.5 months postpartum with my daughter. She is my second. I have been pregnant or breastfeeding (and for 5 months doing both) since August 2022 and I am ready to stop. She is very attached to me like will not go to bed at night unless I am home and she feeds on me. She feeds multiple times at night. How do i stop with this type of attachment. Do I need to supplement with a milk? She cannot tolerate cows milk. submitted by /u/Top_Wealth_6929 [link] [comments]”

“I need weaning tips!!! I'm a FTM and I am just so done with breastfeeding. I'm miserable for a myriad of reasons but mainly that my breasts are prone to clogs and mastitis and I just hate that they're basically always uncomfortable. It's to the point that I have to sleep flat on my back the entire night otherwise I'll be in severe pain the next day and I am a side sleeper lol. My hormones are a disaster and I just want to start to truly heal from the rollercoaster that is pos”

“Toddler is 16months now and she’s been having solid food since 6 months as usual. Rejected the bottle at 6 weeks and no pacifier, so I haven’t pumped. I’ve just been the human milk machine and pacifier, which is all fine and I’ve loved it. For the last one month, she’s started biting more often. My biggest bugbear is however the night weaning as we cosleep. She literally lets her hands wander all over and it sometimes gets me into a real touched out rage. Deny her that and there’s an inconsolabl”

“My toddler just turned 3. They’re still breast feeding and I am now 10 weeks pregnant. My plan is to wean by 4 years old. They have been potty trained for a while and recently had a big regression and I’ve been thirsty like no one’s business. I plan on taking them to the pediatrician to check for a UTI, but I wonder if my pregnancy hormones could be causing this? The only other thing I can think of is they have done nothing but water until recently because I am constantly drinking apple juice mi”

“Not sure if I’m looking for advice or reassurance here - my daughter has been EBF (no pumping/bottles) her whole life but we’ve got to the point recently where she can only get milk for 5 mins or so each feed, and only 2-3 times per day. I started back at work this week (staying away from home during the week) but neither of us were ready to wean, so I just pumped using the haakaa whilst I was gone, then late last night I got home and she breastfed, then again this morning. However for nap time”

“My daughter will be 2 in November. She still breastfeeds all day and all night. I am ready to wean, and have been for a really long time, but I feel guilty when I refuse and end up caving. I have a work trip in October, this will be my first time away from her ever. 3 nights/4 days. Every day I say this will be day one of weaning and then it simply does not happen. I don’t want to make it harder on my husband to leave her cold turkey for that long without really making an effort first. She will”

“TW: good supply, bad sleep (lol) I weaned my baby off a month and 8 days ago. And I feel like I want to share my breastfeeding story! So my baby boy was ebf from day 1. He never took the bottle and I always had a good supply, he had a good latch so it all worked out but I must tell you, I was freaking exhausted. The first few weeks (even months) were pure hell. Because he never took the bottle I was always "on". I barely slept much, he had colic and that took a lot of practice on my si”

“Hey guys, I have a 17mo old toddler at home with me and a 6w old baby boy. I have been exclusively BF but baby boy has a tongue tie. Feeds have been non stop day and night, he’s never gone longer than an hour between feeds. We’ve had the tongue tie released, but no change to feeding yet, still very frequent and very long. I haven’t slept more than I’d say 3hrs total each night since he’s been born, with 30-45 min wakeups cause he also has awful colic. I’m considering introducing formula a few ti”

“My 2 year old has no plans on weaning anytime soon. He is always for mama’s milk. I am currently pregnant and still breastfeed my 6 month old as well. Although, I love breastfeeding I just feel so tired. The 2 year old want both boobs out so he can play with my nipple while he is sucking on the other. I don’t want to wean him off if he’s not ready. This has become kind of an issue when we are out and I forget to bring my cover. We will be at the plaground and he would come ask for milk. So I sit”

“Baby is 12 months old and I nurse him when I’m at home and pump when I’m at work. He gets milk in a straw cup. He is currently teething and for the past few days has been uninterested in nursing/biting me immediately upon latching (he knows biting means no nursing). He will still drink the milk in a cup. For the past few weeks his nursing sessions have been getting shorter and he seems uninterested/done faster than before. We’ve also replaced one bottle with whole milk. I’m still pumping to prot”

“Hey! I could use some of your mama input - when did you know you were done breastfeeding? How did you know - was it a feeling, a specific event, a mutual agreement between you and babe, a set date!? My baby turns 11 months tomorrow and I’m so conflicted about if/when I’m stopping. I know we only “have” to breastfeed until age 1 and it’s reccomended until age 2. My mother-in-law asked me if I was still breast-feeding and when I plan to stop, she never breast-fed and I think she’s curious. My mom”

“Hi to this amazing community! I am sure this has been discussed before but looking for success stories or tips regarding cold turkey weaning. My mom is stressing me out for not slowly weaning but unfortunately I have tried and my son is NOT interested in reducing feeds. I am going out of town for the first time this weekend and plan to just kind of say no more milk when I return. I am also about 6 weeks pregnant but that doesn't seem to have deterred him yet. I don’t necessarily needs tips f”

“My daughter is almost 15 months old and I feel completely stuck on how to start weaning her. She still breastfeeds in addition to eating solids, but lately she has been waking A LOT throughout the night wanting to nurse. It’s making me wonder if maybe she isn’t getting enough milk from me anymore, although she’s around the 56th percentile for weight and growing well. She’s my last baby, so I’m honestly pretty emotional about ending our breastfeeding journey, but at the same time I’m exhausted an”

“My son is 20 months old and has been breastfed since birth. I want to make it to 2 years, but I am losing my mind. He asks to nurse like every 20 minutes all day, and if I say no he whines and cries and gets genuinely upset. I try to distract him, but on the rare occasion that I’m able to shift his attention to something else, it doesn’t last long and he’s right back to asking to nurse. We go out to parks and indoor play areas and stores, we go on bike rides, we go on walks… it’s not as if he’s”

“i'm a ftm and i planned to wean last may/june when she was 15 months old. I couldnt do it, she loves it so much. i enjoyed it less with time and felt a discomfort in my body i think will get better after weaning. 3 days ago i bfed her one last time to sleep, after we only bf in the morning and evening for a couple of weeks now. so she's now 18 months, it was the right step for me, i already got more sleep than since she was born. i feel a bit more like myself already. she takes it so har”

“I’m 3 months postpartum with my second boy and all around its been different this time. The past few days hes been refusing to nurse and will just scream into my boob, but will happily take a bottle of pumped milk. He wont nap during the day at all basically but he will sleep 8 hours at night. Its just been really exhausting and frustrating lately - that coupled with my 3 year old toddler who decided to stop napping and started ripping his pull ups off and peeing all over his bed 🙃 My husband r”

“my 18 mo has been ebf since birth. he started daycare about 4 months ago, and when he refused bottles there I thought it was the start of weaning. but, we are still nursing a lot outside of daycare hours. he supposedly eats well there for breakfast lunch and snack, but after school and on weekends, he couldn’t care less about solid food. we try to meal prep and feel like we waste so so much food. he maybe takes a few bites and then throws everything. he often wants a snack or fruit before bed an”

“I’m not ready to stop breastfeeding, though. Im a SAHM and still nurse her before and after sleep (morning, naps, bedtime, etc.), and I’m hoping to continue that for as long as it works for us. For the rest of the day, I’m planning to give her regular milk when she would normally get a bottle/cup of breastmilk. (I’ve always been a very low producer so I don’t have much left for a freezer stash) She’s also a REALLY good eater when it comes to solids and drinks plenty of water. Has anyone else don”

“My LO is 20 months old and as we continue to follow his lead with weaning I find myself panicking. I'm worried my supply will dry up all together or he will need breastmilk and I won't be able to give it to him! But then the other half of me is looking forward to having my body and time back to myself. I just never thought this would be hard on me! I find myself still pumping during old nursing times for fear I will run out of milk! Right now he only nurses at bedtime, I pump in the morn”