breastfeeding blues

Hi All

My daughter is now 11 months...I'm still bfeeding her and am tired of it! *gasp* can you believe I don't love being nibbled on all day (and night...she's still waking up a few times a night)??? It's really starting to try my patience...and my husband doesn't seem to understand. We were sooooo adament of bfeeding at first and really pushed through all of the struggles for the first 4 months (low milk supply, yeast infections, unsupportive family, etc.), after which nursing her was/is comparatively a breeze.

So, I know it was/is the "right" thing for us, and I'm happy that I'm giving my baby the best that I can, aaaaaand she gets so much comfort from being with me and nursing, buuuuuuut I'm tired of it.

Just needed to vent. Anyone else?

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Been there, done that! And bravo for having done it for 11 months thats great. I say if your tired of it then allow it to come to an end. She would be done with formula in a month or so anyways. The longer you wait at this point the more difficult it will be when you decide to be done with it.

And IMO at 11 months old there is no more getting up t/o the night shes is just doing it for comfort and that is totally normal, but up to you to put an end to it. She will learn to just go back to sleep without it.

Good luck.

I breastfed my son till he was around 11 months old.  He ended up weaning himself around then, I guess we were both done with it.  I think if you're ready to wean, that you've done well so far and you don't have to feel guilty for feeling the way you do.

I am one of four children who were all weaned onto 'real' food at 6 months. Perhaps you could begin the weaning process now by starting to introduce real foods to her diet?

I hear you! I breastfed my daughter exclusively until she was six months old. I was tired of the biting (she had several teeth by then) and I was young and sick of her constant need for me (pretty selfish, eh?). I'm currently breastfeeding my son who is almost 7 months old. I planned to breastfeed him until a year but just this morning I was thinking to myself how I probably wanted to stop when he starts walking. He's already crawling so I'm guessing he'll be walking by 9 months. He has four teeth and they're like little razors on my nipples! My daughter has turned into a daddy's girl because I spend so much time nursing the baby. :(

I think making it 11 months is fantastic! Like chantale1985 said, she'd only be on formula for a month before switching to cow's milk (or soy, rice, almond, etc.). If you have difficulty with the weaning process, make sure you try lots of different bottles/nipples/sippy cups. It took us a couple weeks to find a nipple that my daughter would use. I also found that when I was really engorged, I could hand-express a couple tablespoons for some relief without causing my body to produce more milk. I originally thought if I pumped AT ALL, my body would keep on producing milk but that wasn't true. Redirecting her attention when she wants to nurse is key. The nighttime waking will probably continue for several days but in the end it should stop entirely.

Keep in mind, according to the AAP, formula or breastmilk should be the only source of nutrition the first 12 months of life. When babies eat real food during that time, it's just for practice but it is an excellent deterrent to nursing, especially since she can feed herself :)

I totally understand where you're coming from! Good luck!

Thanks everyone :) Nice to know I'm not alone!

My daughter is actually eating real food and loving it! I started her on cereal I think around 6 or 7 months, and gradually have increased the variety since then. She's got 8 teeth already and is always interested in trying new things, so I think she was ready when we started. Although she is nursing a lot, I think she's switching her main nutrition source from the boob to real food, so nursing now seems mainly for comfort and being close to me...which is nice and I have a feeling I'll miss it, but MAN I'm ready to reclaim my body. But get this, I'm late on my period....geez if I'm preggers already I don't know what I'll do with myelf! I'm not a young chick, but I certainly need my alone time which of course is seriously lacking for a stay-at-home mom....selfish, maybe, but still me, lol :D

anyways, thanks everyone! i'm really nervous about weaning b/c the babe has a FIERCE temper (she's a redhead too!) and so it'll be a struggle. makes me sad to think that, since i was hoping it'd be a natural progression. i'm still holding out for that....hopefully she'll continue to move from teh boob to food. ah well. we shall see.

thanks again! hugs all around. 

My first child weaned himself off after 6 or 9 months of breastfeeding!!!  i was a single mother then who relied on breastfeeding as a money saver as well as a bonding experience but...what can ya do?

My middle child was quite different!  I think if he had his way he would STILL be breastfeeding and he's 6 now!  He loved to nurse and though I said I would stop once he got teeth (my oldest didn't get his 1st tooth til he was 14 months) I was still nursing when he turned one.  So, I took it upon myself to wean him off.  I love nursing & having that special bond & time with the babies but the thought of nursing a child who can physically ask for my boob did not appeal to me!!  So I cut him off!!

My 3rd child stopped nursing between 4 & 6 months.  This was just becuase of the current living & working situation.  It just became a matter of convenince, unfortunately.

The decision is up to you.  You did a GREAT job nursing your baby for this long!! If you want to continue or if you want to stop then do so without any doubts!  Good luck to you!

I BF until my little boy was 11 months, too. The last straw for me was when he bit me so hard he left little baby teeth imprints! I took him right off and that was it. Straight bottles for about 3 weeks and then sippy cups. He loved getting "mama's" but it was time. It hurt so bad! Really, if your child is eating solid foods and can drink from a sippy cup, then BF isn't really doing anything for them now. 

I think you should do what feels right for you.... I recently gave up breastfeeding my third at 4 weeks.... a lot shorter than the others. I felt for diferent reasons that didn't want to do it anymore. I was so afraid of what others would think, making myself feel guilty and selfish and my husband wasn't impressed either. I am glad I did it now and I don't think it is fair that we should feel that way. I feel so much better in myself mentally now. There are plenty of babies out there that don't even get a drop of breast milk and do wonderful. Don't forget that you were pregnant for nine months plus before you even started breastfeeding... I think you have done your time... so if you think that is what you need to do then you should do it for yourself and don't mind the way others make you feel. I don't think it will make you any less of a great mother.......

I have a 9 month old and she is the last of four kids.  I have been pregnant and/or nursing for the last 6 years, my oldest is almost 6.  I am also really wanting my body back but since is the last time I will be nursing I am also wanting to hold off as long as I can before stopping.  (BF is making it so I haven't gotten my period yet either.)  The baby still gets up a couple of times a night to feed and I get bring myself to make her sleep through the night.  I think once I get fed up I will wean her just at night.

Hope you worked things out.

Good luck!  I am still nursing my 9 month old son, except for before his bedtime.  At bedtime I give him a 7oz. bottle of Nestle Good Start formula ( I know gasp) and he sleeps through the night.  I have been doing this for about 3 weeks, and it has been working.  Before that, he would get up a few times.  Now he goes down around 8:30 and wakes for the morning around 8. I am not crazy about the idea of giving him formula, but I need to sleep, so does he. I am a firm believer that breasfeeding is better for my son, even though it is much more demanding than formula/bottle feeding. I am getting tired of it as well, but maybe we can hang in there for a few more months?!  When he turns one I am planning on weaning. 

My son has gotten one bottle of formula a day since he was 6 weeks old. Nothing wrong with that, IMO! It has allowed my husband to get some bonding time with the baby and I get a break from having him (or the pump) attached to the boob! He gets the bottle around dinnertime, though, not right before bed.

I'm now having daily thoughts about giving up breastfeeding. I still enjoy the bonding but I'm kind of looking forward to the day when I am no longer breastfeeding.

You have every reason to feel tired of nursing.  Dont beat yourself up.  I would try and drop the night feedings one at a time over a  month.  But hubby will have to go to her when she wakes up.  She still needs breastmilk/formula as her main source of nutrition for a bit longer.  as long as she has 4-6 good nursing sessions(20 mins) during daytime and 3 meals ie between 6am and 10 pm she will be fine.

You need to let your husband know that reclaiming your nights is very important to you.  I nursed 3 kids oldest until 7 months, middle until 15 months and youngest until 21 months.  But with my last 2 once they hit 9 months I didnt night nurse them anymore just during daytime.  It will be hard and there will be tears but if you really want it then stand firm and make the change now as there are toddlers I know of who at 21 months still get up at night to nurse.