Ready to stop breastfeeding, help!

[SLHRK]

So I'm aware there is a breastfeeding thread but thought I may get more response here!!

My daughter has just turned 8 months and I'm ready to stop breastfeeding for a number of different reasons, I'm just looking for some advice on the best way to do this before I try anything! Here's abit of background;

- she's just turned 8 months and is on her 3 meals a day, a snack in the afternoon and porridge before bed, and will take water from her sippy cup
- she very rarely falls asleep anywhere else apart from when she's on the boob feeding. She will occasionally fall asleep with her dad in the kitchen and very reluctantly cry herself to sleep in the car if I know she has everything she needs but that's the exception
- she still wakes for feeds during the night, sometimes it's just 2 and others it can be 5, just depends how she goes!! She has just recently started sleeping in her cot at the start of the night but comes in with us cause she wakes so much I am getting next to no sleep (I know I need to be persistenr with this but it's catching up on me!!)
- she will take expressed milk from a bottle, but I can't express enough to give her a full bottle

Anything else I can think of that would be useful information I will post in the comments

I would prefer not to use controlled crying but if you have successful stories please feel free to share!!

I have made my mind up that it's time, so please don't comment telling me it's best to continue breastfeeding, it's a hard enough decision to make as I love my daughter to the end of this earth and would continue for her sake but it's getting so draining on me.

Thanks ladies!

 

[kumber]

You'll need to get her into having a feed with formula as opposed to expressed and work with a different sleeping method, perhaps rocking her in a cuddle and gradually do less rocking and more of her being in bed. The gentle process is always a longer process but it's absolutely worth it in the end so don't let it put you off if it's taking some time to work.

Some babies will want to come in with you regardless of bfing, so be aware that may change, and her sleeping may not change much but hopefully she'll go longer as she'll have a fuller tummy with formula being thicker.

 

[Rose83]

Hey! I feel like I could have almost written your description myself except for my son. He fed every hour and a half night and day. Although I could get him to sleep by bouncing him in a bouncer or instantly if he was in the car seat. But he was ending up in bed with me after about midnight just so I could get some sleep. I got pregnant again when he was 9 months and my milk had dried up by 9 and a half. I knew that would likely happen as it happened when my daughter was 8 months and I got pregnant with him. So at 9 months I started giving him a formula bottle as his last feed at 7pm, it took persistence to get him to take it but after a couple of days he realised that was the only option and had it. Then I switched his 11pm feed to that and any in the night that he might have after that. By 9 months it was only between 7pm and 4am that he would have milk. I used aptamil with both children and didn't have a problem with them rejecting it for taste or anything. I used medela calma bottles with my daughter and tommee tippee closer to nature with him. He is now 15 months and has cow's milk (he switched totally easily at 12 months) and has 6oz at 7pm and 4oz at 11pm which is am slowly dropping to try and phase it out. He has only now started doing the odd night sleeping through and often still wakes at say 6am and won't sleep for longer unless I cuddle him x

 

[SLHRK]

Hey ladies, thanks for the advice on both! Thought I would share that yesterday I decided to try her on formula all day and then breastfeed during the night if she looked for it. She's been brilliant so far, never refused the formula from the word go and has it for all 3 of her milk feeds during the day, and came to me for the boob during the night. I've decided to try the pick up/put down method and see how she gets on, as napping and sleeping was the most worrying part for me as she never fell asleep without the boob as a dummy. So far yesterday and today she has fallen asleep at one nap with her dad pacing the kitchen and the second nap she has been cuddled into me in the feeding position and taking a dummy, so it's working for us for now!

I will update at the end of the week xx

 

[Slb24]

Same here ladies! My daughter is exactly like your little ones except she is 6 months. I feel like she's up all night. At least hourly if she's in her cot. All night on the breast though! I do the same. I somehow manage the beginning of the night. But by 4/5am I Give up and put her in my bed. I'm shattered constantly. I'm not ready to give up BF yet and neither is my daughter. She won't take a bottle, I've tried expressed milk and formula. But she will go to sleep if rocked.
I'm not really sure what to do? Any ideas?
Fingers crossed your little one takes to formula! It's hard work BF lol x


Oh and she's just starting on food. Won't take puréed but will eat finger foods. She likes water though but doesn't drink loads. And she's just got her first tooth so not sure if it's related x

 

[Dyan Belinda]

My daughter is 5 weeks old and my milk supply is not adequate. If I only feed him breastmilk, she wants to eat every hour to hour and a half. And, her pediatrician wants me to only feed her every 3 hours, so the only way she is satisfied is with formula. I stopped breastfeeding her on Monday at 4 am. My OBGYN said that the worst is 48 to 72 hours after you stop.

The nurse gave me some hints to help: She said to get a head of cabbage and put a leaf on each breast in a tight bra, namely a sports bra. It's pretty gross, but it is somewhat soothing. And, a couple of moms told me that the cabbage helped them. The nurse also told me to wrap ace bandage around my breasts under my bra. This seems to be the better option for me... it's a little uncomfortable, mainly because it's kinda hard to breathe. I can say that this whole process is painful, but there is an end in sight. I've taken tylenol every 4 hours to help, too. If you do the cabbage thing, be sure to wash and dry it really well.

 

[SLHRK]

Hi ladies, so I've us no issues with getting Aela to take the formula. She now has formula for all 3 of her bottles during the day and napping is no issue so that's great! My new issue is her nights! She has had really bad wind since starting formula and she wakes every 2 or so hours now because of big sore pumps! She still dream feeds which I don't mind but I always offer the dummy before me and it works sometimes. I've had no issues atal with my milk supply decreasing, I expressed for maybe 3 days and never had to from there. So I'm back to write a new post about wind and see if I can get any advice