Question for former breast fed mamas!

[BabyDragon]

Does your baby still look for boobies?! If so...how long we're you bf for? Did you stop cold turkey? How long has it been?!

It breaks my heart!

my little monkey is 3 months, and I was bf her for about a month (not exclusively due to jaundice, me having a csection which delayed my milk coming in and her being borderline dehydrated) before I developed severe mastitis which resulted in two aspirations, surgery and eventually me quitting cold turkey.

It's been more than two months since I bf her... But yet she still cries for her boobies! She does not want the bottle, and she really doesn't like pacifiers.

Especially at night, before bed time, she will cry and cry and my arms will become soaked from her sucking on it. Eventually after struggling for a bit, sometimes a while if she's having a difficult day she'll eventually take a pacifier and then pass out...

I just feel so bad since I feel as though I'm forcing her to take a pacifier!

At the same time... I find it amazing she still remembers my boobs!

She'll only root like CRAZY when I'm holding her, or my sister.... No one else!

This is every night! Needless to say, only I can settle her down for the night.... Anyone else and she'll only fall asleep from exhaustion from crying so much for her boobes!

Anyone else in the same situation? Anything I can do to help her forget the boobies?

 

[socitycourty]

Mine was BF for 2 months. We weaned over 2 weeks, slowly.

She never rooted after that. She had already been using a pacifier because I had an oversupply problem.

I'm sure she will forget in time, don't worry. Also are you still leaking milk? because supposedly they can smell it and also if you're holding her close to you you will start to lactate if you're still having a supply

 

[MindUtopia]

Yes, mine still does. I breastfeed her for 2 months (she's 3 months now). I had all sorts of issues with recurring mastitis and dermatitis and tried to pump, but my milk just stopped even though I was pumping like 6 hours a day. We co-sleep and she still wakes me up every time but rooting. I think it's really cute and brings back good memories of our times BF. She adjusted easily to the bottle though, I think because she had such a hard time at the breast and I was so sick for so long, it must have been a relief to her to a degree.

Something I've done when my daughter is really upset and just wants to comfort nurse is to hold her in the same hold I used when BF and offer her the pacifier and when she takes it, I prop it in with my boob. So she's literally 'comfort nursing' but with the pacifier (obviously I'm clothed though, no bare boob). She doesn't really take it otherwise, but when I do that, she loves it. I think it's because it feels more natural to her. She always settles and falls asleep.

 

[hopingforit]

I pump/supplement some days with a bottle of formula. When they were in the NICU, I tried to breastfeed but they were poor feeders so I didn't really try after 3-4 weeks. At that time, they would root but they stopped after they were about 7 weeks. I actually wanted to see if DD would latch today and she screamed when she got near my boob. She wanted nothing to do with it so I guess they do forget eventually.

 

[detterose]

Yes my LO still does at 15 weeks. We only BF for 2 weeks as he has a tongue and lip tie so latching was a nightmare and then severe mastitis also, I gave up. As LO has gotten older his latch has improved, I let him comfort suck. Not sure if that's a bad idea, but it soothes him and he still takes his bottles just fine

 

[cupcaker]

I breast fed for 6 weeks and now pump breastmilk and use formula top ups, and formula in the night. Luckily he's just switched over and doesn't care providing it's food. I'm sure she will stop soon xx