How Do I Stop Nursing?

I just dropped a feeding every week. I had no pains or problems, and my daughter did great too!
Good luck!!

Well you can do whatever works for you and your family. The less you nurse the less you will produce so if you just start replacing the breast with a bottle it will eventually work itself out.

If he is already ok with bottle and formula this will probably not be that difficult. however, usually it's helpful to have someone other than you be the person who starts giving him the bottles - when you are near he will smell dinner and be cranky if he gets a bottle and no skin-to-skin contact!!!!!

Then you can continue to breastfeed one feeding a day and then in a week cut to every other day etc.

Or - you can just go could turkey on a weekend. It may be a rough week or so, but you will all adjust.

Good luck.

How quickly do you need to do it. You can just go cold turkey but there is a risk of mastitis or engorgement. I would substitute a bottle for one feeding say the second one of the day, then wait a week and sub another bottle out for the afternoon feeding and so on until the last ones are the morning and the night then drop the morning. Your milk will gradually decrease. Then you might be uncomfortable for a few days but it wont be so bad. Your baby will be fine! It might be emotionally difficult for you but baby will be ok... really.

If he's already taking a bottle and formula it should be very easy! Just gradually nurse/pump less and less. You should dry up in a few days. I've also heard taking Sudafed will dry you up--I've never tried it though.

The best way is to cut out one feeding at a time and let your body adjust to not needing to make milk, otherwise you might be in pain. When I weaned my kids it took a few weeks. Cut out the most inconvenient feeding for a few days and then go from there. If you are able, I would suggest that you keep up the bedtime and/or morning nursing times so your son can still have those wonderful benefits of breast milk. Good luck with the transition.

I agree... that you might try to stick it out. I was a single mom too and BF my son for 18 months. I worked the craziest schedules and often was stressed... but pumping provided some relaxing for me. Sometimes on very busy days I would have to miss a pump session, but I was just engorged and would pump double the next time. Try to keep on BF'ing :) Even if you have to skip pumping a little here and there and supplement with some formula, it is better for your baby. I always found nursing an amazing way to bond with my baby while still working... I always knew I was providing him with something no one else could. Plus, when I was with him, he would play "catch up" on his nursings in the evening and middle of the night. I loved that I could tell he missed nursing and needed to catch up with me. If your milk supply has decreased due to working, there are plenty of ways to increase that.... such as: fenugreek pills/liquid, drinking more water, reglan (RX from dr), etc etc.

I know you will choose whatever is right for your family, body an baby... I just encourage you to try to really stick with it. You mentioned in your post that you are feeling really bad about it... which means you could have guilt if you chose to stop... that is the only reason I encourage you to try a little longer... you can always stop nursing later if you still feel like you need to quit.... so maybe now is not the time? maybe it is :)

Hope this helps a tad! Good luck mommy!!! Way to go nursing this long! That is great!

I'm a stay at home mom and believe in breastfeeding, and nursed my daughter for 22 months, but i don't know if I could have pumped at work if that's where i needed to be. I agree, drop one feeding at a time...do it gradually to make it easier for you, and no reason you can't keep the morning and night nursing times if you want to...your body will adjust . Good luck.

Cabage leaves on the breast will help your supply decrease, also drinking sage tea will help. Then just starting taking out feedings/pumpings, depending on your body. Do what makes you comfortable...

No reason to wean... seriously. I was a single Mom working any and every odd job I could and for 5 months my daughter was in daycares and Grandma's house.

I'd nurse when I was with her - sometimes going out of my way to spend lunch with her to nurse, and pump while I was at my other jobs. We were able to continue a nursing relationship until her toddler years and it was wonderful. It saved her from getting hospitalized when the round of a very nasty rotavirus attacked her and her friends - breastmilk is better than IV fluids and pedialyte! It also made her to be much more independent in almost everything else...

It may seem hard... but it's absolutely feasible AND better for your health and your newborn's.

you skip one feeding consecutive daily to slow down your milk supply. Start with the daytime feedings while you are gone to work then slowly wean off the nighttime and home feedings. You may find that you don't mind feeding your baby at home and continue those feedings if you want to. I did both formula and b/f feedings from the beginning so it was never an issue and I could skip b/f at least one time a day and never had problems with leaking or engorgement from skipping one or 2 feedings. Your milk supply will supply the demand you want or need but you do want to wean slowly because all at once is very painful as I did the first one cold turkey and was painful and seemed to take forever to quit.

It is so much easier to do it slowly and wean off the daytime feedings one at a time. Skip one for 2 days, then move to another one and about every 2-3 days you will notice it not hurting and producing as much.

Oh if you feel like you are full and can't handle the discomfort of the engorgement feeling then take a warm wash cloth and put on your breast to release some of the milk but you don't want to keep pumping full feedings or you will continue to supply that feeding. You can pump a little at a time if you need to release the pressure.
I didn't have this problem when I weaned one feeding at a time. By the next feeding it was starting to get painful but then the baby was eating so released the pressure. If you are at work for the next feeding then pump just enough to release the pressure. AFter a week of just pumping a little off to release pressure you will notice you probably won't have to pump the 2nd week while at work at all. It will start decreasing those daytime feedings.

I actually enjoyed b/f and didn't want to completely give it up until my baby was ready to give it up so I continued the first feeding in the morning and the one before bedtime for a few months longer than I planned to quit because it was working out just fine. You don't have to totally quit if you don't want to and can feed bottles while you are at work and b/f when baby is home or can b/f 1 or 2 feedings if that's what you want to do. No pumping issues while at work and can do both. Do what you feel comfortable with and don't let other pressure you. Your baby will be healthy either way as long as he is eating.

I just stopped one day, but kept on at night time, but only for a week or so, then just gave a formula bottle at night. My son too was very agreeable as far as feedings, so we had no problem. I doubt you will either since he's so easy too.

Congrats on going back to work!