I am slowly weaning my baby from the breast and switching over to bottle. So far I've dropped the 2 day time feeds but now I'm trying to figure out if I should drop the bedtime or the morning time. I should mention that he is still eating at least 2 times during the night. It just so happened too that I was feeling a bit engorged last time so thankfully he nursed off of that side. So I'm hoping someone can help me figure out what would be best for me. This is all new to me.
I am still feeding right before bed, once during the night and when he wakes up. I've switched on the feeds during the night to the bottle to help me with feeling engorged.
Either way you're going to be engorged. It might feel better if you drop the night time first, so that way when you wake up in pain you can nurse your son and get some relief. Then, once you wake up less engorged you can drop the morning session.
I found it easier to drop the morning feeding first. I could distract baby from breast in the morning after she just woke up by giving her breakfast immediately. Plus I really enjoyed the one on one time at night while everything was calming down and I wasn't rushed with starting the day.
oh... id drop the morning time. being engorged during the day is much preferred to me as being engorged at night when im trying to sleep... as well as having that bonding time at bedtime and then putting them to bed. such a magical, calm, loving experience... actually, as a former breast-feeder to four kids, the night time feedings are most memorable. Sleepy, dim-lit, un-rushed, serene, peaceful.... Just my preference:)
I'm a peer counselor with Nursing Mothers Counsel (here in the Bay Area), and we recommend 1 nursing session every 4-5 days depending on how mom and baby are doing physically and emotionally. I have a really great weaning handout if you want to give me your email off list!
Also very important to the weaning process is the age of your son and the reason for weaning. If he's old enough, one of the first to try to drop would be one of the night feeds. The 2 nursing sessions that should be dropped last are first thing in the morning and bedtime.
I never forced my child to wean, so I cannot offer any advice except maybe your son is trying to tell you he still needs to nurse. If you are feeling engorged, it is due to trying to wean too fast. It should be one nursing session a MONTH, not per week.
Breastfeeding past the age of 6 months isn't stressful anymore, most do not leak anymore and now it's all about loving/bonding/amazing nutrition... So I'm hoping you may change your mind and allow your baby to stay a baby for awhile longer.
From what I've seen in helping Mothers to breastfeed - but not wean - is that loosing a feed once a week still causes issues with engorgement. She asked how to avoid that and the only way to avoid that is to take things REALLY slow because the Mother's body is designed to breastfeed at least 2 years.
***ADDED***
Just read your past posts... this is your THIRD weaning question. So yes, I know you don't feel like breastfeeding for whatever purpose or reason, but I'm leaving my original post up for those Moms who are in a similar situation and need some advice to feel supported to continue rather than quit.
I dropped the morning feeding before the night time feeding because my kids woke up so hungry in the morning that they cared more about getting fed than where the food was coming from. The night time feed was more of a comfort feed before falling asleep so that one was the last to go. I ended the night time feeding by giving my child a sippy cup of milk with dinner and whatever they didn't finish they could have with their story. Before long they were finishing their milk with dinner and we were just ending the night with a story. This was a great way to then ensure that they were not having liquid before bed when it came time to potty training later on.
drop the bedtime & give cereal to carry thru the night.
