I have finished breastfeeding....

.... I have decided overnight that Hollie will NOT be having any more milk from me.

We had an absolute terrible night last night and so I have decided if my milk dries up so she can no longer smell it on me then i can't be used as a human dummy anymore.

Last night i was hoping for a good night as we had been out all day and she hadn't had much sleep, but she had other ideas. I gave her milk before bed which she didn't want so i put her in her cot wide awake. Unlike normal she just laid there talking to herself and listening ti her music thing, so i left her to it.

She woke at 1.30 so I got her and sat back in our bed with her and she was adamant she was having milk trying to find it on me. I let her have some and she used me as a dummy for 20minutes falling asleep then waking up and latching back on. Then she decided to bite me which totally woke me up, so i took her downstairs.

She sat on the floor playing with the cat's toys wide awake until 5.45am. She then fell asleep on the floor so i took her to her cot, but at 6.30am she woke me again screming. So in total i have had about an hour and a half sleep and a 30 minute sleep from 6am-6.30am.

So enough is enough, although i am sad to be stopping feeding her, i know she no longer needs it and i have done well passing the 6 months i intended to feed for.

So now i can get my body back and have a rest before we have another baby to feed.

Well we will have to see how tonight goes as it will be the first time she has to go to bed without any milk. I am not going back on my word though or she will still be attached to me at 18 years old

If she drunk cows milk it would be better because at least then she could have something warm before bed, but she wont touch it.  

Karen, like the others have said, you have done amazingly well and should be so proud of yourself, you've got well past a year and thats just incredible

I fed Ethan for a year but it was him that chose to stop (little monkey) so it was  easy weaning him off. Just one point, you might find that Ian will need to deal with her if she's wanting milk as if you go to her it's basically like waving a bottle in her face!!!!!!!

I bet after a few days, she'll get used to it and if she's hungry, she will take cows milk! Also i found when i stopped feeding Amber she really needed a dummy as a replacement, obviously you may not want her to have one, but it may be worth having them in in case you get desperate.

Again, well done xx

Thanks Mel and Tasha.

Tasha she wont touch a dummy as much as i would like her to have one at night, she seems to hate the taste of it. Ian will have to help as much as he can but he is working long hours this week so if she gets difficult i will just take her downstairs, she only seems to want the milk when we are upstairs.

Do you know how long it should take for my milk to dry up?

Laura, I'm not sure about the follow on milk she wouldnt touch formula last timw we tried her when she was about 3 weeks old, so havent really tried since. And i am about wary about spending money on it unless i know she will take it. 

Isabelle decided she wanted to stop at a year and I was going to stop then anyways so that made it a lot easier for both of us!!

Good luck Karen and you have done fab!!

Good Luck Karen!

Hollie will soon adapt to cows milk if you keep offering her it but not making a big deal out of it. I was going to suggest follow on milk, Bronwyn won't touch it, she much prefers cows milk!

I can't offer you any advice I'm afraid but I do think that you should be extrememly proud of yourself for feeding her for this long. 

X 

Thanks everyone. I thought we were in for an ok start to the night but she has just proved that i cant guarantee anything when it comes to her sleep routine.

She actually drunk some cows milk tonight before her bath, she was so cute sitting on the floor drinking milk from her beaker and eating a biscuit. It wasnt much but it is a start and a lot more than she has ever drunk before.

I kept her routine the same and bathed her etc, took her through to her cot and she fell straight to sleep. Only thing is she was awake 20 minutes later and is now screaming, Ian has just taken her downstairs to try and settle her. It is just so hard, but she is never going to sleep when she needs me as a dummy.

Oh hUn, if this is what you want though, you need to stay strong.

Maybe the dummy is worth trying now that she needs a replacement rather than you? Other than that i think it really is a case of riding it out, she will get used to it. In the mean time she might need extra cuddles in the day from you. Ethan became obsessed with fiddling with my brastrap the week he weaned, hestill does it now!!!!

Regarding milk drying up, mine took monhs in fact it only dried up when i concieved Amber then was soon back within months!!!! Hopefully as she's not on so many feeds you won't get too full or sore, if you do don't be tempted to express it will just make you produce more milk, instead try having a warm bath/shower and massaging them.

xx xx

Thanks Tasha, i will try a dummy with teething gel on it. She too is a strange child and likes teething gel.

It is definately what i want as i am fed up of her lying in bed with us latching on falling asleep and rolling away then waking 5 minutes to latch on again. I think i have done enough now by feeding her past a year and so i would like to stop before she starts talking and demanding milk, and also as we are ttc it will be nice to have my body back for a while before another baby.

Mel, we cant do the controlled crying anymore, she refuses to lie down in her cot and so stands up resting her head against the bar. She did this one night, and wouldnt lie down as every time i left she was up again. In the end she cried every 5 minutes for  a few seconds which lasted over 2 hours. She doesnt seem to give in. When i was bfeeding her she was going in wide awake but was a little more chilled as she knew after milk it was bed. Now we are stuck as she doesnt seem to think it is bedtime.

It has finally gone quiet downstairs so i think Ian may have got her to sleep for now, but she isnt in her cot so she wil no doubt scream when he puts her in and start all this again.

It doesnt sound like it is too comfy as she keeps waking up screaming and just as i get to the bedroom door she is out again. I just wish she would be like a normal child and lie down and fall asleep that way. I will try gripe water, i think we have some left over although i will have to check the date on it.

I think i will go down and see if Hollie is asleep then head to bed myself before the fun and games start tonight.