Breastfeeding weaning - my story

Alert - personal information! Breastfeeding is one of those topics which doesn't suit everyone, let alone read a blog about it. So I'm totally fine with that - only read this if it's something that might help you find some reassurance that it will all work out, just in your own way.

With my youngest, Tractor Boy, I had been trying to wean him off gently because I'd recently found out that I was really low in iron and my acupuncturist kept telling me, you need to reduce reduce reduce! So, I had tried for ages, over about 6 months. But the more I tried reducing in the day, the more he made up for it in the night! To the point where he must have been waking up, up to six times a night and just couldn't seem to settle himself without food!

Our family is the co-sleeping kind, and with 3 under 5yrs and my other half crammed in a standard double - to say it was a squeeze was an understatement! My other 2 self-weaned in the past, but my youngest had been quite happy to carry on. In the end, I decided I couldn't carry on after nearly 6 years, sleeping at bent angles, constant waking in the night and the physically draining aspects of breastfeeding (the iron depletion; I just couldn't keep it on board!).

So, we began in the day and I just kept telling him 'no mummy food', to which he kept sticking his hand down my top! After lots of repeating and offering drinks in cups which he was used to anyway, it was a lot of reinforcing - 'no means no'. The evening was tough, because that was what he was used to, to get to sleep - that night was tough, but we tried replacing it with choices, being old enough to understand 'stories', 'drinks', 'cuddles' - he knew what I was talking about!

By day 2/3 he suddenly realised I meant it! By day 5, he pretty much stopped asking for it in the day and was also for the first time ever, putting himself to sleep at night without the extra food. By day 6, he was sleeping through. Also, his siblings were doing this too - we were completely stunned as that had never happened, well, ever! Today, we all woke up at 8.30am - and oh my, what an occasion!

I haven't had more than 3 hours in a row of sleep since 2008 as there has always been one of the kids stirring! One bit of more personal information though coming up, my chest wasn't sure what was going on. I only expressed a tiny bit for the first 6 days; but by the sixth day, I had to empty them completely as it was just soooo uncomfortable! However, since doing that, they completely stopped making milk - no chest like concrete, no pain, no nothing! So, your body definitely gets the message!

I think I kept it going for so long because it also meant that he wasn't waking everyone else up! What was funny is that at one point near the end of our breastfeeding journey, he was up looking for more about an hour after he'd gone down, then after another 2 hours and then he upped it again and again to so many times a night! I know being Iron deficient had made me so dizzy and tired and feeling sick for 18 months - but it was only discovered 15 months after he was born! I had tried about 3 times to stop, but that was reducing which actually turned out harder than just stopping. My eldest, Minion Boy stopped at 12 months, Banksy Girl at 19 months - I think Tractor Boy was quite happy to carry on.

More sleep is definitely a bonus for everyone! I'm working on the co-sleeping! This morning, when he was still half asleep he did a complete classic which was to sit up and then head-butt me on purpose! So, yes he has been co-sleeping for the last part of the night, usually he will wake up, stroll in to us and then put himself back to sleep.

There have been tears from him - and I completely understand, something you are used to for all this time to be taken away from you sounds so harsh - but I honestly couldn't carry on with it, I felt soooo selfish making the choice, but then as the saying goes, if you aren't ok, then you can't be your best for everyone else that needs you! So decision made!

Thanks for reading my post! :)

#breastfeeding #weaning #breastfeedingweaning