Did you feel sad when you stopped ?

carbafe · Mar 14th, 2012, 09:53 AM

Hi everyone.

My LO is 11 months old and I have started weaning him off of breastmilk. Of his 3 feeds a day he now only breastfeeds in the morning. I decided to stop breastfeeding before I go back to work on 4th April so was thinking of stopping this weekend to give me a couple of weeks in case my hormones go all over the place.

Obviously it is my choice to stop but I can't help but feel sad. I have loved breastfeeding and for the last few weeks everytime I feed him and he is snuggled into me I think O I don't want to stop yet

I have found a nice snuggly position to give him his bottle which is nice but I know soon he will probably have his milk in a cup and be too busy to cuddle in most of the time.

Just wondered if anyone else felt a little sad when they stopped. I would love to go back and tell myself when he was 2 weeks old and I was struggling so much how much I was going to love it and miss it when I had to stop

Maggs · Mar 14th, 2012, 10:23 AM

Could you just keep a morning and night feed while you're still working? It must be hard! It makes me sad thinking about it too. I don't know what will happen when I start working as lo will be nearly 9 months old and I'll be doing shift work. I plan to express to hopefully keep up my supply and DH said he would bring lo into work so I could breastfeed on a break (so nice!) But I'm already stressing about it.

carbafe · Mar 14th, 2012, 10:49 AM

I could keep up the morning feed and still get to work on time but he has also just started getting teeth (4 in the space of 3 weeks and another 2 on the way) and although he has only bitten me a few times by mistake I feel his latch is a bit off now and have been using Lansinoh again after about 7 months as my nipples are a bit grazed. I think it is a good time to stop I am just feeling sentimental about it all

If you can express well hopefully you should be able to continue with feeding once you are back at work. A friend who went back when her LO was 6months invested in a handsfree breast pump which you can attach to your bra and she can express at lunchtime while she eats lunch and surfs the web

(Obviously in a private room lol)

That is lovely that your husband will bring LO in to see you.

Maggs · Mar 14th, 2012, 13:40 PM

My concern is that when I express, I never get more than an once or so, so I'm hoping that at least stimulating the breast like a feed will somewhat mimic baby's feed.

I can see with the teeth too, how that would be a bit of a bother. Keep up with the morning feed for now maybe to see if his latch improves. But I'm sorry you're upset about stopping

patch2006uk · Mar 14th, 2012, 14:14 PM

I totally agree with Maggs - if you're not ready to stop yet, then just keep a couple of feeds a day. Your LO will probably only need water and food during the day anyway, so you won't need to worry about breastmilk substitutes while you're separated, and he'll still benefit from all the antibodies and stuff in the milk.

If you are ready to stop, then go gradually, and keep an eye out for any painful lumps forming. You don't want to get mastitis at this stage of your BF journey! Not a nice way to end things

Whatever you decide, hope the transition back to work goes nice and smoothly for you

jojo2012 · Mar 14th, 2012, 14:34 PM

I feel exactly the same. I'm going back to work in 3 weeks- Emily's only going to be 5 months. We've had lots of attachment and supply issues so we've had to combi feed but I've worked really hard to keep my supply going. I'm a hospital doctor and I do shifts. Quite often I don't get lunch so there's no way I'll be able to express a couple of times a day. So I'm staring to wean her onto bottles during the day. I'm hoping I'll be able to keep a morning and a night feed going but I'm not sure how well that will work.

Although we've had issues I love feeding her. I love the closeness and the comfort she gets from it. I'm really going to miss it

Xxoo

MrsMac5 · Mar 14th, 2012, 14:51 PM

The morning feed was the last of our 3 a day to be stopped. I stopped at about 11 months. I wasn't sad but I felt completely ready to stop. Feel like we had both come to the end of our breastfeeding road. I imagine it would have been different if I had to cut down for some reason ie work.

Mar 14th, 2012, 09:53 AM	#1
carbafe Mum (Mom) Active BnB Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Edinburgh Posts: 875	Did you feel sad when you stopped ? Hi everyone. My LO is 11 months old and I have started weaning him off of breastmilk. Of his 3 feeds a day he now only breastfeeds in the morning. I decided to stop breastfeeding before I go back to work on 4th April so was thinking of stopping this weekend to give me a couple of weeks in case my hormones go all over the place. Obviously it is my choice to stop but I can't help but feel sad. I have loved breastfeeding and for the last few weeks everytime I feed him and he is snuggled into me I think O I don't want to stop yet I have found a nice snuggly position to give him his bottle which is nice but I know soon he will probably have his milk in a cup and be too busy to cuddle in most of the time. Just wondered if anyone else felt a little sad when they stopped. I would love to go back and tell myself when he was 2 weeks old and I was struggling so much how much I was going to love it and miss it when I had to stop

Status: Offline

Mar 14th, 2012, 10:23 AM	#2
Maggs Mum (Mom) Chat Happy BnB Member Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Canadian living in Scotland Posts: 2,438	Could you just keep a morning and night feed while you're still working? It must be hard! It makes me sad thinking about it too. I don't know what will happen when I start working as lo will be nearly 9 months old and I'll be doing shift work. I plan to express to hopefully keep up my supply and DH said he would bring lo into work so I could breastfeed on a break (so nice!) But I'm already stressing about it.

Status: Offline

Mar 14th, 2012, 10:49 AM	#3
carbafe Mum (Mom) Active BnB Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Edinburgh Posts: 875	I could keep up the morning feed and still get to work on time but he has also just started getting teeth (4 in the space of 3 weeks and another 2 on the way) and although he has only bitten me a few times by mistake I feel his latch is a bit off now and have been using Lansinoh again after about 7 months as my nipples are a bit grazed. I think it is a good time to stop I am just feeling sentimental about it all If you can express well hopefully you should be able to continue with feeding once you are back at work. A friend who went back when her LO was 6months invested in a handsfree breast pump which you can attach to your bra and she can express at lunchtime while she eats lunch and surfs the web (Obviously in a private room lol) That is lovely that your husband will bring LO in to see you.

Status: Offline

Mar 14th, 2012, 13:40 PM	#4
Maggs Mum (Mom) Chat Happy BnB Member Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Canadian living in Scotland Posts: 2,438	My concern is that when I express, I never get more than an once or so, so I'm hoping that at least stimulating the breast like a feed will somewhat mimic baby's feed. I can see with the teeth too, how that would be a bit of a bother. Keep up with the morning feed for now maybe to see if his latch improves. But I'm sorry you're upset about stopping

Status: Offline

Mar 14th, 2012, 14:14 PM	#5
patch2006uk Mum (Mom) BnB Addict Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: West Mids, UK Posts: 5,220	I totally agree with Maggs - if you're not ready to stop yet, then just keep a couple of feeds a day. Your LO will probably only need water and food during the day anyway, so you won't need to worry about breastmilk substitutes while you're separated, and he'll still benefit from all the antibodies and stuff in the milk. If you are ready to stop, then go gradually, and keep an eye out for any painful lumps forming. You don't want to get mastitis at this stage of your BF journey! Not a nice way to end things Whatever you decide, hope the transition back to work goes nice and smoothly for you

Status: Offline

Mar 14th, 2012, 14:34 PM	#6
jojo2012 Mum (Mom) Active BnB Member Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Teesside Posts: 141	I feel exactly the same. I'm going back to work in 3 weeks- Emily's only going to be 5 months. We've had lots of attachment and supply issues so we've had to combi feed but I've worked really hard to keep my supply going. I'm a hospital doctor and I do shifts. Quite often I don't get lunch so there's no way I'll be able to express a couple of times a day. So I'm staring to wean her onto bottles during the day. I'm hoping I'll be able to keep a morning and a night feed going but I'm not sure how well that will work. Although we've had issues I love feeding her. I love the closeness and the comfort she gets from it. I'm really going to miss it Xxoo

Status: Offline

Mar 14th, 2012, 14:51 PM	#7
MrsMac5 Mum (Mom) Active BnB Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: UK Posts: 161	The morning feed was the last of our 3 a day to be stopped. I stopped at about 11 months. I wasn't sad but I felt completely ready to stop. Feel like we had both come to the end of our breastfeeding road. I imagine it would have been different if I had to cut down for some reason ie work.

Status: Offline

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