When To Stop Breastfeeding

Baby Boy turns one in a few weeks and our breastfeeding days are totally behind us. You’d think that I’d know exactly what to expect the second time around, but that’s definitely not the case. When to stop breastfeeding is a much heated topic and one I try to steer clear. Baby Boy, like Little Monkey, is in the lower percentile when it comes to weight and so needless to say, I’ve always wondered if he was getting enough on breast milk alone. Yes we pushed through without supplementing because my supply seemed sufficient. However, each time I was caught totally off guard when breastfeeding came to an end.

Weaning off and breastfeeding. When to stop. When to start. Is there even an answer?  

Around the eight month mark, Baby Boy started pushing away and generally seemed uninterested in feeds. He had a voracious appetite and I had a good supply of frozen breast milk so I pulled the stash out on occasion but pushed through with the breastfeeding for another month. I got lazy and stopped pumping around the same time as well. After about two weeks he would do a morning and night feed but was too distracted during the day time and didn’t seem to need anything to fall asleep. He was also sleeping twelve hours at night and has two or three,  three hour naps during the day. All seemed fine so I wasn’t too worried. At the ten month mark the doctor advised that I offer whole milk and add butter to every meal to fatten him up. Whole milk. ALREADY?

You see… in my mind, Little Monkey started weaning herself at 10 months and was on Baboo by 11 months but that friends is not how it happened and I only realized this recently as I read an old blog post. Apparently she and Baby Boy were on the same timelines and both showed signs at similar times. The difference was, I didn’t force myself to continue breastfeeding, starving him for two months prior to giving up the boob feeds. Guess we do learn some lessons along the way… the anxiety and worry is still there though!

After mulling about I jumped on the doctors orders as my father-in-law, who is a family doctor, highlighted that Baby Boy was eating plenty of cheese and yogurt and so whole milk would be fine if he wasn’t interested in breast milk. So there you go! By his 10th month birthday he was all weaned off and I must admit that he seems to be gaining weight. Appetite is still GIANT and everyone seems happy. I also must admit that it was so luxurious travelling to Niagara USA without a pump for the very first time since Baby Boy’s delivery!

To anyone going through the weaning process, my only advice is listen to your baby and no one else. Everyone has opinions, but your kid will be the one  to push you off or pull you in. I followed their cues and after a month of rejection, I figured it was time. Also, each kid is different but both kids weaned me off gradually so that I didn’t have any engorgement issues or perhaps my supply was low and that’s why they weaned off, either way, science took its course and I didn’t have any issues during the weaning process.

They can now enjoy their pints of milk whilst I enjoy my bottle glass of vino, guilt free!