Parents cannot tell if breastfeeding duration and weaning timing is normal

“I breastfed my first two kids until about 13-14 months. I was planning on trying to hit at least a year with my third, but after having 3 kids in 5 years and being pregnant or breastfeeding for almost my entire marriage, I think I need my body back. I'm also 50 pounds overweight because I was never able to lose the weight I gained with my first. I really want to start weight loss medication because my weight is affecting my health, my energy, my marriage, my social life, and my self esteem.”

“my breastfeeding journey has been amazing from the start and had little to no issues… but my baby had yet to eat normal toddler size meals and I think its because she nurses all day! most posts Ive found are about night weaning and my girl does fall asleep initially right after nursing but she sleeps through the night most nights in her crib (unless were cosleeping while travelling). so night weaning is not the issue. its about the day. she goes to montessori school from 9 to 2h30 and will have”

“Ok mamas.. so I know it’s really not a one size fits all but I’d love any advice & positive affirmations. :) sorry it’s long.. This is my first time successfully breastfeeding, so I don’t want to mess it up or risk mastitis. I’m basically a newbie at breastfeeding and honestly just trying to do what I can without hurting my body. My daughter turned 1 about two weeks ago, and we’ve had the “luxury” of nursing every 2-3 hours on demand as she is in the same building as where I’m working (Child”

“Today was my first day not breastfeeding in 3.5 years. I nursed my first birth until my second was born 2.3 years) and just weaned my 15 month old. I was really ready to be done but now I have a lot of guilt and feel like I made the wrong decision. I have two boys. I feel like it’s harder to ween boys? I could be wrong. But my 15 month old enjoyed nursing for comfort/naps. I feel guilty I am taking that away from him. I feel bad that I nursed his brother almost a year longer than him. He also ha”

“Just needed to vent and share a quick lesson learned the hard way! For all the mummies still breastfeeding toddlers (19 months here!), don't forget to keep offering them water. My little one was asking to nurse every 30 minutes the whole day long. After the 8th feed, I was exhausted and just resting on the sofa. Then he came to me again after 5 minutes and I ended up showing my frustration - and instantly felt awful when I saw the disappointment in his sweet eyes. Later, while in his high ch”

“Hi all! Baby will be 14 months next week. He’s still a boob monster. He wants it all the time. He eats a LOT of solids. Like, more than his sister who is 4.5 years old. He comfort suckles a lot too. I can hear him drinking but then other times its for comfort (teething, feeling overstimulated, etc) He moves back and forth from boob to boob and I don’t like it ! How do I get him to just stay on one boob and finish before moving to the other boob? Also is it normal for a baby at this age to consta”

“Just looking to see if this has happened to anyone else. Breastfeeding was really tough for us in the beginning, but I worked so hard and eventually we got into such a good groove. Once he started eating solids, I knew my supply had dropped because I could feel the difference, but he absolutely LOVES eating, drinks water, and still had no problem nursing. He actually gained above his growth curve at his last doctor’s appointment, so I’m not worried about his health or whether he’s getting enough”

“My 11 month old is showing very little interest in breastfeeding lately. Since she turned 9 months she’s been nursing about 3 times a day. I found out around then that I’m pregnant again as well. Around 10.5 months she dropped the midday feed and is now seeming totally uninterested in the bedtime feed as well. I think she is only interested in the morning session because she doesn’t nurse overnight and is super hungry in the morning. I’m worried she’s not going to get enough nutrients. I know br”

“My 11 month old is showing very little interest in breastfeeding lately. Since she turned 9 months she’s been nursing about 3 times a day. I found out around then that I’m pregnant again as well. Around 10.5 months she dropped the midday feed and is now seeming totally uninterested in the bedtime feed as well. I think she is only interested in the morning session because she doesn’t nurse overnight and is super hungry in the morning. I’m worried she’s not going to get enough nutrients. I know br”

“My 14 month old does this. She eats mostly solids, but still nurses for comfort. She’s started vigorously, nodding her head while nursing. What gives? submitted by /u/LeighSabio [link] [comments]”

“Hi! I’m a first time mom, my son is 12 1/2 months old. He was eating 2-3 meals a day from the 9 month mark but I was spoon feeding him until the very end of 11 months old. So he’s been trying out self feeding for maybe a month now. Usually what I do is I’ll give him some food he can grab on his tray to explore/self feed while I have a bowl of the same food that I spoon feed (because I’m anxious that he can’t survive on 3 pieces of penne 😭) And it was going well until recently, he hates the spoo”

“I truly never thought I’d get the chance to write this post, I’ve already cried twice today thinking about it. I wanted to share here because so few people in my life will truly understand the moment. My baby girl is 20 weeks old. She is a wonderful baby, a little sprite. Sunshine in tiny human form. She had a great latch at birth but poor milk transfer, we did a tongue and lip tie revision at 5 weeks old. We started triple feeding. We did stretches, we did exercises. We did weighted feeds. We s”

“Been breastfeeding for a year and am slowing weaning. I now do morning and evening feeds with no mid-day pump. I'm hoping to get some sex drive back but today I tried to think romantically about some rando on the train who I thought was attractive and I immediately thought about my baby and all of whatever I was trying to imagine evaporated into the void. How do I get that back? Will it ever come back? Also, sex is painful now and I seriously want to die when I think about having sex and I a”

“I weaned my older son about a year ago, when our new baby was a few months old. I still let him cuddle my breast while my now 15-month-old nurses, but he often tries to put his mouth on it and still says he's sad that he doesn't nurse anymore. Anyone else have a similar experience? submitted by /u/bon18 [link] [comments]”

“I have always wanted to breastfeed exclusively but he turns 1 month tomorrow and I'm having to give him more and more formula. I keep offering the breast and pumping when he gets formula, but I still get 2-2.5 oz max. I thought it would be more by now, but it stays the same week after week. When he has both breasts he either falls asleep or gets upset and wants a bottle. I feel like a failure and I want to give up. Im so jealous of all the women in my family who were enough for their baby. I”

“How old is “too old”? People keep on telling me that i need to stop breastfeeding my son cause he is “too old” (5) . Is there an age limit? submitted by /u/Almost_too_Innocent [link] [comments]”

“(Wasn’t completely sure about the tag but I guess that’s the closest thing) Be honest with me, long term breastfeeding people. When did your kids start nursing less frequently? My guy is 10 months old and still nurses every 2-3 hours, even at night. We introduced solids at 6ish months but he hasn’t been interested in them until very recently. Still doesn’t eat a lot but he wants to try everything and that was my goal (food under one is just for fun and all that). We’re slowly growing into toddle”

“Hello all, Im pregnant with my second and would love to breastfeed him.. with my first as soon as he was born i asked the nurse staff for formula bottle so I could eat a sandwich. Labor delivery was 48hrs. I was hungry. That being said my milk hadn't came in. My nipples were too flat and little man really liked the easyiness of bottles! He did not like my breasts. I did have colostrum though, are newborns able to sustain themselves with that until milk comes in? This time around I would like”

“My 19 month old daughter self weaned when she was about 15 months old. She LOVES food! My milk supply tanked and she was very disappointed with that. She still distinctly remembers nursing and sometimes gets frustrated and looks for milk and finds me lacking. She still wants me topless when we snuggle in bed so she can see the "mimi"s. She will be 23 months when her brother is born. What are your experiences with tandem nursing after weaning? I don't know what to think. On one hand”

“My LO is approaching a year old and I want to start the weaning process. However, I am struggling to find resources to help. I have absolutely no clue how to go about this. Monday - Friday we do a morning nursing session, I pump at work every three hours, we’ll do a nursing session when we get home if needed, and then a bedtime nursing session. On the weekends I nurse on demand and can tell he isn’t nursing for as long as he previously has been. I’ve also noticed while pumping that my milk suppl”

“Hello! All the other stages of weaning went pretty well, no real issues. We were down to just one feed left, the morning feed. My arbitrary goal was 13 months, but at 12.5 months she was not eating much and just seemed to be enjoying the comfort so I gave her a big cuddle and said we were all done. It’s been two mornings since then and both mornings have been about the same. She points at the nursing chair. She pushes me and grabs at me and points and points to go back into the room. She cries a”

“I don’t think I ever really had mastitis with my first (now 3 years old) and I breastfed him for about 20 months. Now my youngest is almost 15 months and I’m on my fourth time. Ugh. Thankfully I have never had to do antibiotics but every time I think it’s due to dehydration (always in the summer, usually when I’m solo parenting, most recent time was after I ran a 5K and then did not properly hydrate after). Right now I’m down to one morning feed, one night feed, and one pump during the day at wo”

“My lil guy turns 1 next week! Changes abound. We’ve been night weaning these last 2wks, having now managed to get him to sleep through the night except 1 snooze button feed at ~4am. I had initially hoped to get to 1 year breastfeeding, but here we are & weaning seems so far away. He takes 3 meals and a snack with varying gusto, but since night weaning is nursing ~6+ times a day. I’m not in a rush to wean but it’s on my mind. He also will be starting daycare just 1 day per week. Up until now”

“I’m 7 weeks pregnant with my second and I’m really thinking of not breastfeeding this time around. I exclusively breastfed my first and I’m still breastfeeding her at 15 months. I loved being able to breastfeed but It’s took a lot out of me.. I don’t get much sleep. I’ve retained lots of fluid in my face and I overall still don’t feel like myself. I feel guilty for not wanting to breastfed again but I feel like if I don’t Ill be back to myself quicker and most likely happier submitted by &”

“Hello fellow Redditors For a variety of reasons, my wife has decided to wean our son from breast-feeding I’m very proud of what they achieved together, but I agree that at this point it’s probably what’s needed for him to continue to grow and continue to mature The challenge my wife is having is with clogged ducts and fears about mastitis One of the reasons we are weaning him is her supply is not keeping up enough with his demands and his weight was starting to go in the wrong direction coupled”

“My second baby is 8.5 months old and I nursed my first until 17.5 months. Stopped pumping at work at 12 months with my first. As the middle child, it’s important to me to give my children similar experiences if it is at all in my power and I love breastfeeding so it’s an easy choice to continue doing that. However, this time around it has been much rougher since I had to go back to work sooner this time. I live in the US and this country is just not built for breastfeeding mothers. I do work in”

“How many months or years? submitted by /u/ItsSoooooFluffy [link] [comments]”

“As the title states, I’m done breastfeeding my son has self-weaned as of a few days ago. It didn’t end the way I hoped but I’m still so proud of our journey. I have to admit I was worried at first but he’s eating enough food and milk, he just randomly decided that he doesn’t want to anymore! I was hoping to go longer and have more of a goodbye to that chapter but it’s what he wants. So now I’m trying to figure out the best way to dry up my supply since I can’t just slowly do it with him like I p”

“I had my baby boy a week ago and I find myself forgetting the last time I fed him. Do most people use apps to record this, or are there others that need to see it visually and have to write things down? I’m a visual person so I made a whiteboard that contains categories for feeding times, the amount they’ve eaten, sleep times, and if they’ve done tummy time. Do you think other moms would find this useful? Would you change/add any categories? I’d love to hear your thoughts! submitted by &#3”

“My journey started March 9 2022. I nursed my oldest until the day before his 4th birthday (we were down to one feed at the end of the day for the last 2 years). My daughter was born September of 2025. My journey continues on with her. Each experience has been vastly different. My first was filled with a tongue tie/lip tie situation, slow growth and all the things. My son was a big comfort nurser. My daughter on the other hand has been seamless since the start. It's been very blissful. At the”

“I’m a first time mom and plan on breastfeeding until my daughter is at least 2 (or as long as she wants it tbh). She’s 13 months old now and I’m still nursing her 4-6 times a day, every 3-4 hours. Should I be cutting back? I’m just so used to offering her the breast before and after every nap so I’ve just continued it. I’m just now wondering will she cut back on her own? Or should I just eventually stop offering it to her as frequently? Really just don’t know what schedule to follow. I also work”

“So I'm a FTM, my little is 22 months and we've been breastfeeding this whole time. She does great with food, loves snacks, eats lunch and will mostly pick at her dinner, but depending on what we have she will eat her whole dinner. My issue is that during the day she is just GLUED to the boob. I can't even sit down without her wanting to be on the boob. And she gets mad, like meltdown, throwing hands kind of mad if I tell her no. And most of the time she isn't even feeding, she ju”

“My baby will be a year old a month from today. I have exclusively breastfed her since she was born. She’s never had a bottle and started using a straw sippy cup for water about 3 months ago. I started solids at 6 months but she still won’t actually eat the food. She puts it in her mouth and spits it out. I also offer her purées and she seems to hate that even more. Her pediatrician didn’t seem concerned and said she’ll eventually get there. Which is fine but I do not feel comfortable weaning her”

“hi all, my daughter is turning 21months in a few days and I’ve been trying to wean her since 18 months. I started with day weaning - I’d cover myself with silicone nip covers or boob tape during the day, but I still wanted to nurse her to sleep. Now I’m ready to be done-done, but she is very stubborn. She also realized she can just pull the tape off (yay, fine motor skills?) so taping myself isn’t helping anymore. we also cosleep, so she has buffet access all night long 😑 does anyone have any t”

“Pretty much what the title says. I’m 22 and a FTM and my baby (toddler I guess 😫) just turned 1 on August 1st. When I was pregnant, I told my family my goal was to do 10 months of breastfeeding by my boy was so good with it and it didn’t bother me so I wanted to make it to a year. Now that I have, I don’t really have any intention of stopping right now. My son doesn’t really nurse anymore during the day, only before naps and before bedtime and when he wakes up in the morning. I really have no p”

“So I just got home from my last vacation of the summer yesterday. My son is almost 14 months old. A couple months ago, I started feeling ready to be done with breastfeeding, but I wanted to wait till my trips were over because it makes it so much easier to feed on the go and is an easier way to get him to sleep on the plane. But now that that’s over, I kind of just want to be done. My one hesitation is that I didn’t know that my last time breastfeeding would be the last time. Part of me wants to”

“My daughter just turned 1 and we're still breastfeeding. I really wanted to continue because it's been working well for us, but lately it's getting really hard. I have to work on-site more often now instead of working from home, and whenever I'm away for too long, my boobs get so hard and painful. I've even had a fever before from being so engorged. I know pumping is an option, but if I'm being honest, I've never been comfortable with it. I've tried, but it's”

“for anyone who has not had a straightforward journey when it comes to breastfeeding, I see you. I’m sharing my journey with it in the hopes it may make one of you feel seen and validated in your breastfeeding/pumping journey. I apologise if this is against the rules - I’m purely doing this because reading this sub and writing on Substack surrounding breastfeeding and pumping has truly helped me, this is my way of coming full circle. https://open.substack.com/pub/letterstomotherhood/p/the-softest”

“I feel so lost with weaning. Hes refusing bottles, and not nursing very long. Our current schedule: Nurse in the AM (sometimes he refuses) 2 bottles at school of 3-4oz each. (Sometimes he refuses at school) Nurse when we get home (sometimes he refuses) Nurse before bed. Nurse at night. He eats breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, and dinner. He is offered water at each meal and snack. So whats the deal. Do I just start giving him milk instead of water? Or is the milk replacing my breast milk? In need”

“My son is almost 14 months and we still nurse about 2-3 times a day just depending on his mood but it’s usually early morning, sometimes a mid day feed & night feed. I keep saying I’m ready to be done but I know he’s not. He eats 3 times a day with snacks and regular milk at daycare but he still just wants me. Last night I tried to not feed him at night and it worked for a bit and then I just gave in. I truly don’t find it to be ruining my life but when as a mom do you know you’re ready to s”

“I found today that I'm pregnant with my second and we are still in shock as to how quickly it happened. I'm still breastfeeding my toddler who is 16 months. How long can I nurse him during my pregnancy? Weaning tips? submitted by /u/nidzk123 [link] [comments]”

“My son is about to be 21 months. I’ve nursed him morning and night almost every day from birth until now, but he did take bottles during the day when I was at work. Right now he nurses at nap when I’m with him on the weekends and random weekdays. He refuses milk (breast or cows) in a cup of any kind. I’ve been giving him vitamin D drops to supplement that. I think that I’m ready to wean but I’m so torn. He’s our last baby and I’m not sure if either of us are ready (probably mainly me). He only n”

submitted by /u/fries_n_coffee [link] [comments]

“I see these posts a lot, thought I’d make one of my own. My baby* (okay she’s 26 months) slept through the night for the first time in a very long time last night. I nurse her to sleep and then usually we bring her into our bed around 1am and she on and off nurses for the rest of the night. I’ve been wanting to wean since she hit 2 but with potty training and what not the time just wasn’t right. But last night she gave us a head start so I’m planning to sleep at my mom’s this weekend. Wish my wi”

“951 days of breastfeeding. That's insane. I'm an emotional wreck but I also know it's time. We had our ups and downs. The start of our breastfeeding journey went really well. She was a little bit jaundiced, but I'd thankfully harvested colostrum and my milk already came in after 48 hours so no one in the hospital suggested formula. I never thought much about breastfeeding before she arrived. But then she was here, and we had this incredible activity that just filled me with joy.”

“I just had my second baby a week ago. I breastfed the first until 16 months and overall it was an extremely smooth breastfeeding experience. However, I am really struggling to remember what exactly it was like in the very early days! I definitely remember a lot of cluster feeding ... But I honestly cannot remember how much my first baby struggled to latch. I feel like number two is struggling more than I would expect, I'm not an expert but I feel reasonably competent about helping a newborn”

“Hi, I’m making this post because I’m absolutely devastated and can’t stop crying and just need to vent to people who understand. My daughter is 14 months old and I’ve been breastfeeding her since birth and have absolutely loved it. It’s one of my favorite parts of being a mom. I was hoping to continue to at least 2 years, and farther if it felt right. But I was admitted to the hospital this morning over a concerning pregnancy (non-viable, to rub salt in the wound) and I’ll be here for the forese”

“Hi! I'm a first time mum here looking for tips or just looking to hear from others experiences. I'm about to start weaning my soon to be 11 month old baby. She has been exclusively breastfed, with the exception of a few weeks when she was weeks old. She seems to not like the formulas we've tried these last couple of weeks. She gagged, she refused the bottle. We tried a spoon, a sippy cup. How did you do it? What worked for you guys? I'd rather the complicated stories, not so much”

“Hi all! My baby is approaching 1 year in the next few weeks. He had a slow start with solids, but now he eats a ton and has a good variety of foods. I work part time and baby nurses when I am with him and takes pumped milk when he is with the baby sitter. Over the last month, he has been taking less milk and more food, but I just wanted to see what everyone does after one year in terms of offering food before breast milk or breast milk before food or breast milk with food in a cup etc. I do not”

“Exactly what the title says. I’m 8 weeks pregnant but still breastfeeding my 11 month old. I’m trying to wean her but it’s been really difficult. How long is it even possible for me to continue? My doctor was pretty nonchalant about it and said to start weaning but also not to stress about it. I’ve seen some things online about the potential to induce preterm labor. submitted by /u/Aware-Rent8950 [link] [comments]”

“Just looking for those who weaned around the 1 year mark. How did you do it? What steps did you take? How did your baby respond? How did night time go!? submitted by /u/Freya_1917 [link] [comments]”

“I am a mom of 2, I couldn’t produce much with my first but now I am a bit of an over supplier which is nice because I will have to go back to work in a few weeks so I’ve got a good freezer supply. I just reheated some frozen milk to start getting my daughter used to a bottle and it didn’t smell right.. it was a bit soapy smell to it. I’ve googled and it said you can scald the milk or change pump settings.. has anyone had any luck making your milk not taste off for baby?? Id hate to not be able t”

“My bub is 10 months next week and gradually become less and less interested in the boob as he’s got more into solids. Add my return to work into there and it was becoming very hard to keep up with feeding. I’ve just been doing night feeds for the last couple weeks. I was trying to hold on one more week til the 10 week month but have a horrible virus and I think it’s dried up what little milk I have left. I tried to nurse yesterday but bub wasn’t taking it and there just seemed to be no milk. Any”

“I’ve had a beautiful and difficult journey with breastfeeding and I’ve been feeling like I want to stop. Baby girl is 14 months, nurses 2x a day at wake up and at bedtime. Nursing isn’t inconvenient but it’s started to become something I don’t want to do anymore 🤷🏻‍♀️ It was so hard in the beginning with latching and transferring milk and I’m astonished we’ve come this far with BFing. She’s never been sick and I’m unsure if the breastfeeding has been the main player in that or not (I’m meticul”

“Hi all! I'm a first time Mom to an amazing lil soon to be 10wk old who has been exclusively breastfed. My plan was to always stop breastfeeding around 1 year old. I saw how exhausting it was on my mom (my little sister did quite a number on her) and experiencing it now, it's been hard on me too. The worry/fear I'm not making enough for her and not knowing, the cluster feeding, running out of my frozen stash and having to take time out of work to pump, and make sure I have enough for”

“This is my second time breast feeding with my first she was EBF up until 4 months and the would feed every 4 hours and so she did two bottles while I was at work. This time around I’m not working my second baby is getting to 4 months and she has maybe drank from a bottle twice I don’t have a schedule for her I treat it supply and demand vibe she’ll go 4 hours from when she first wakes then every 2 hours until she goes for her long sleep stretch at night. She’s been sleeping A LOT at night up to”

“My son is 18months, still nursing throughout the day and at night, and just started daycare a few weeks ago. I work from home and prior to this he was watched by my sister at home so I was able to continue nursing. He's at daycare 4 days a week for full days. I didn't really think about the fact that it would be dropping a few feeds since I'm not storing milk (he drinks regular milk at daycare) so the hormone drop absolutely wrecked me physically and emotionally (anxiety absolutely t”

“My LO has been exclusively breastfed (no bottles) for coming on 14 months. I love it so much. If I had it my way, I would probably feed him well past the 2-year mark. It's lovely for us both. However, I have a significant family event taking place next June that I would like to lose about 14 kilos for, and I just don't know if that's possible while breastfeeding. I plan on giving my exercise and nutrition plan a good go until about January, and if I'm not making any progress, I p”

“Hello all! My baby will be turning 11 months old next week, and I’ve noticed a difference in breastfeeding lately. He often nurses throughout the night (we cosleep) and I offer often during the day (usually at waking and before naps, always before solids) but lately he’s either flat out refusing to nurse, or will nurse for a minute and then pop off. He keeps asking for water and solids instead, and although I’m happy that he’s so interested in solids, I worry about his breastmilk intake, and als”