Weaning questions

[courts&munchkins]

So I have started to wean DD. My breastfeeding aversion was just getting so bad I couldn't cope with it anymore and I didn't think it was healthy at all. My plan was to do it slowly, give her and myself time as I am quite upset that I got to this stage of having to wean her when we are so close to my 12 month goal. So I have dropped so 1 feed so far so she is having about 4 breastfeeds and 2 bottles (she was already having 1 bottle, since about 2 months old) Thing is I feel my supply has taken a massive dive. It is taking her a minute or more of strong sucking to get a let down and then when it finally gets a let down she feeds for about 3 minutes and then often starts fussing and wants the other boob. My boobs feel more than soft, they feel flat, like someone has stuck a pin in them and deflated them. She only ever took one side per feed, she is now takin 2 sides every feed, sometimes going back for a second go on the 1st. I know that dropping feeds will affect your supply, I know that. But I honestly thought we could keep going for awhile on the 4 breastfeeds and the 2 bottles. Even just dropping that one feed has made a major difference to my aversion and I am in a much more stable place right now. I feel I could quite happily maintain the 4 breastfeeds/2 bottle ratio for a few more months. I guess I am just wondering, if for some women once they start to wean there supply disappears pretty quickly. I have a friend who is also currently weaning her 12 month old and she is telling me that by dropping a feed she is suffering major engorgement if he goes even a couple of minutes later than when he normally feeds and is letting down all the time again just talking about feeding like when he was a newborn. I am having none of those issues. Please tell me I am just imagining the drop in my supply, that it is totally normal, that this is a situation where I can have my cake and eat it too. I would love to breastfeed her a little but still have those bottles there to keep my sanity.

Also she loves the bottles I have no trouble getting her to take them. But for her boobie is her comfort item. She doesn't take a dummy or anything. And I am finding I can not get her to go to sleep without boobie. She will just scream in my arms for ages but will not settle. I need some tips/advice on how to settle and comfort her without boobie so when the time comes to wean her completely I am able too. I feel terrible like I am depriving her. I have never let my children cry or anything like that, always been there when they wanted me. So I feel like by taking away her main source of comfort and just denying it to her when she has always had it whenever is like leaving her in a room and shutting the door. She doesn't understand that feeding her makes me want to put my head through a glass window, she just feels like she is being denied her source of comfort. So if anyone has tips on how I can get her to settle and sleep without it I would very much appreciate it.

[Kmn]

I think that if you keep giving her both sides at your 4 feeds you should be fine.

Try introducing a second comfort item whilst you feed her to sleep at the moment - hopefully then she can start to associate sleep with both boobs and whatever the second item is.

The second option is to start to feed almost-to-sleep, so she has to do the last little bit of falling asleep herself. That way she can start to get the hang of it.