breastfeeding goals

With Yasin I wanted to feed to 1 year but he self weaned and had his last ever booby feed at 11 months and 1 week. I think it might have been because I was pregnant and the combination of my sore nipples and funny tasting milk meant that it just wasn't really working. I felt a bit rejected at the time because he seemed so keen on formula when I started to worry about the amount he was drinking and tried him on it. Now I wonder if I did the wrong thing by offering formula instead of working more at increasing my supply. I geuss I feel a little guilty because I failed to achieve my breastfeeding goal :(.
With Imran I'm hoping to breastfeed until 18 months to 24 months. Hopefully I've learnt a bit from Yasin about not being too quick to offer formula but I feel a little guilty that Imran will have the benefits of breastfeeding for longer than Yasin did.
Anywayz.....what are/were your breastfeeding goals? Have you achieved them, adjusted them or did you never have any goal in mind.
Please do share.

I wanted to breasfeed Lily for about a year but only managed 2 days. This time though i am so desperate to breastfeed for as long as possible(1.5-2yrs) i have read up on so much info since falling pregnant, i have my heart set on it, so i hope it works out this time.

I think your environment, family and social situation can have an effect too. With Marisa I kinda went with the flow, I hadn't been around babies much before then and I just thought that babies had breastmilk and she'd stop when she was ready. I didn't imagine she would feed as long as she did and at times I really felt like weaning, but I think when you have a baby that isn't sleeping well or you have little support, you can feel that you can give less that if you were more supported or rested ... with Elijah he had a bout on formula for a bit and I was very devistated as I thought he would take that and no breastmilk, but he quickly went off formula (thank goodness) and back to boobs. I have been hoping for him to wean, on and off, but I am also very sleep deprived as he's been feeding overnight - nightweaning was going well but he got sick and it fell in a heap. Very tired mummy looking forward to 20 month old bubba weaning, at least at night! Somehow I have held on for dear life!

Dachlostar - i originally thought 6 months to 1 year...or whenever the biting due to teething got too much - lol! Now that dd Ella's almost 12 months i can't believe i ever thought prior to her birth that i'd even consider dropping b/f at 6 months...and the teeth factor has never even been an issue as she hasn't bitten me yet. i absolutely loooooovvvveeee everything about b/f and like u will be sad the day i have to stop.

My goal is to keep going for a while yet, either until my milk dries up (cause she's now only on 2 feeds a day and i'm not making that much milk anymore) or until she goes off it (like if i fall preg soon).

I've been soooooooo fortunate to have been able to b/f so easily for such a long time :)

With Maddison I wanted to feed for about 6-12months... I made it to 7 days due to torn, split, cracked, painful nipples!

With Indah I just wanted to feed (initially) & when it worked so well I figured til I went back to work which was January (Indah was about 4.5 mths) But i managed to express & it has worked pretty well til lately (I am now just running on empty & so I feed her in morning & she has formula during the day (last week) & I feed when i get home & again before bed! I am pleased with this coz I am still feeding, loving it & she loves it too & I am happy that it worked & I will feed # 3 too until I cant! But am comfortable with the bottle of formual she has now, I am over the sadness etc of not exclusively feeding! I am proud & it's only my opinion that matters to me!!!

So I have also far out done my expectations!!!

With Coleman my original goal was 6months as that was how long Lucy was breastfed for before I returned to uni full time. We reached 6months without a hitch, he was a brilliant feeder so we just kept going. My next goal was 12months, which we just reached and I am ery pleased about as I've never had to give him any formula at all.

Now he's 12.5months and there is no sign of stopping anytime soon, he oves his milk 'on tap' so much and is a big mummy's boy! He does occassionally take cows milk from a sippy cup if I am not looking after him that day, but he's never really happy about it and sooks for me...so for now I am just letting him decide when he's had enough. I am quite happy to continue feeeding him first thing in the morning and last thing before bed at night for as long as he likes :)

I never had a goal with Emily - I was very open minded about breastfeeding because I had seen many of my friends really stuggle so I knew it wasn't going to be a piece of cake.
We did have some issues but nothing as major as what others face - I did throw in the towel fairly easily at 2 months and looking back I think in part that was because I had such a blase attitude to start with. About a month after we quit I regretted it and tried to relactate but I couldn't get her back on the breast. I also had to go back to work which just made a bad situation worse.

This time I feel like I'll know what I'm doing more and be more prepared for my own individual issues. I hope to go between 6-12 months with Toby.

With both Olivia and Charlie I managed to get to 6 months. With both of them, as soon as they got a taste of solids they seemed to go off me!!

That said, with both of them, my goal was only ever to get to 6 months, so whilst I was upset both times they weaned, it was only momentary. Once they were on a bottle (usually using up stocks of EBM!) and I could enjoy a glass or 3 of wine again, I felt liberated that I had my body back whilst they were so content.

So I guess my goal for B3 is also 6 months..........but I shall play it by ear......if she wants to go for longer, I'll go with the flow..........

My original goal was 6 months. And there were times when I thought I wouldn't make it!

But now I don't feel any need or desire to wean. In fact I dread it! I will keep b/f as long as Emma wants, probably up to around 18 months. If she hasn't self weaned by then I guess I will reevaluate. I'd like to be p/g again by then, so I guess that will play a role in the decision.

But really, if it ended now, I'd be happy to have made it this far. 12 months would be ideal though. :)

With my first 2 I don't really remember what my goals were, just to breastfeed successfully, which I achieved.

With Noah I was happy feeding him for as long as he wanted and even though there were days that I wanted him off I was very sad when I was told (by a dentist?) to wean him. I still gave him the occassional sneaky feed, but I think it was more for me than him by then. Noah was 20 months.

Tehya is still very much a booby girl and is only now starting to drink bottles of milk. Again, there are days when I want my boobs to myself but generally I just love sitting down and feeding her. She is 16 months old and my plan is to get to 2 years old. Not sure if we will get that far as Tehya is a very independant little girl who doesn't like to sit still for long, much less to feed.

I hope to get there, if not looks like these working boobs will be out to pasture. No more babies means no more work :(

Why were you told by a dentist to wean Trish?

Linda, I had surgery on my mouth andwas told because of the anesthetic to either express and thorw out or wean. Preferably to wean because he was old enough. Didn't fancy expressing for 3 days and sort of figured it was time I got him off as I was feeling the preasure from others to wean him. Guess I could've stuck it out longer if I really wanted too though. Mark told me at the time though, if he can go without it for 3 days then why start up again....

With Jess I just assumed that she would stop when she was ready. I was assured by everyone that that normally occurs around 12 months. (haha) Well that came and went and by 191/2 months and 3 months pregnant she had her last bfeed. With Emily and Olivia I thought i just had to try and keep it fair and so gently moved them onto a cup of water around the same age...though im sure that they would have kept going forever!! Sammy is nearly one and we have no plans to stop anytime soon. I hope to just continue for as long as its enjoyable for both of us.

Jo

Dach - you were only 3 weeks off! Pretty darn good if you ask me.. nothing to feel guilty about :)

I've always wanted to do the exclusive 6 months (and am currently beating my mother off with her suggestions of giving him solids to help him sleep!) and I guess my goal is at least a year. Anything after that is a welcome bonus. I don't think I'd like it to go past 2 years tho. But I haven't been there yet... so don't know how I'll feel if we get to 2 :)

It's funny, coz when I was pregnant, 6 months exclusive sounded sooooo long (prolly coz 6 months of a pregnancy is a very long time!!) but we're over 4 months already!! Time just flies, and I'm sure we'll be at our goal of 1 year before we know it.

And Dach - I'm sure it's the furthest thing from Yasin's mind that his little bro might feed longer than he did ;) Plus.. it's the joys of being the eldest child.. they're the "trial run" and the 2nd one gets it easier. My older bro always hated that I was allowed to do things younger than he was or got more pocket money at my age than he did. hehehe. Don't feel guilty. You've done a great job :)

After a lot of trouble initially where Maggie was almost not breastfed, I have luckily made it beyond the 12 month mark. Initially I thought it would be great if I could continue to 6 months, she loves the boobie so much, that it was just continued.

I was happy to get to 12 months, so very happy to get to 15 months.
More important for me was not the length of time, but the exclusivity of breastfeeding. I didn't want anything else to touch her lips!
Next bubs I will aim for 12 months again, and just take it as it comes after that. I'm not really interested in feeding past 18 months, but thats just me.
The early morning one was really hard to drop as it was such a comfort feed for her, and just sooooo easy for us as parents. I think she would have been happy getting that one until she was 10 years old!!

Dachlostar - I wouldn't feel bad about weaning at 11 months; that's a decent amount of time, and what makes it even better is that he initiated it.

Personally, before I had my baby, I told myself that if I didn't breastfeed for 12 months, then I wouldn't be happy; and that I would probably wean him aroud 2 years. Now that he is here, and nearly 15 months, I don't think I would want to stop at 2 years, I love the closeness and my ability to provide milk for him. Honestly I will let him self-wean, although if he is still feeding at 3, I will try to gently encourage him to wean.....but we'll see how we go!

With George I wanted to b/f exclusively for 6 months and continue until at least 2. After he was born we had huge problems so I aimed initially for 3 mths, then 6, then 12. We ended up introducing solids at 5 1/2 mths and he weaned himself at 14 1/2 mths. Milly was much easier, we had no problems apart from a bit of soreness and mastitis. I made it to 6 mths before we started food. She's now 13mths and not as yetr looking like she wants to wean.

my goal was and is to feed my boys until they weaned themselves (Josh was 2 and a bit and zak was 3 & 10months). so i achieved this with the first two and oscar is no-where near ready to wean (he is still only a baby). i think my goal was achieved by confidence that my body could produce enough milk for my bubbas, not introducing other milks until well after 1 year old and just following their cues as to when to feed. i never look at a clock and when all else fails offer a breastfeed. now that i am back at work 2 days a week i express there (cos i work with neonates we have a handy expressing room!) and den feeds him that so he still hasn't had any cows milk yet. good luck achieving your goals mummas
beckles

my goal was a year sadly i didn't make it this time! i think i really felt let down with constantly being told that makon wasn't putting on enough weight and no one IRL to tell me that my milk is perfect for him just keep going! so at about 8 months he was weaned. Although next one i will be more confident in my boobies!

With my first I had no idea how long you were ment to BFed for so I figured if you give a baby formula till 12 months I will bfed for 12 months. The I learn there was toddler formula, so I figured I will bf him as a toddler as well. By the time he was 7 months I was involved with ABA & was happy to just follow Evan flow. He self weaned at 18 months. I think if I wasn't pg it may have been longer but I dunno. But it was the same story, sore nipples & probably funny tasting milk that encouraged him to wean with out me realising.
With Glenn I have always said once we get to 2 I would probably encourage weaning, but once again I am pg & he is 2 next month. I could put a stop to feeds now if I wanted too. I am sure there is no milk but Glenn is happy to suckle to sleep. Its the only time the breast is offered. He is asleep with in minutes. But I have also just layed him inbed next to me & he eventually goes to sleep with just a cuddle. No crying etc, just lots of chatting!
If he is really tired I will just cuddle to sleep but if he wants to keep getting up & running around I offer the breast & bang he is asleep.

Chloe, my goal is to bf Lucy for 12 mths and beyond. I intend to stop when she gets closer to 2 yrs if she doesn't self-wean before that.

I'd love to talk more but she's chomping on my arm as we speak, I think that's her way of saying 'enough typing about feeding, how about putting it into practice Mummy!'

My goal was always no less than 12 months - Will's goal seems to be the same! He is 14 months and still having at least 6 feeds in 24 hours - often at night. I have no thoughts as to when it should stop, but by 3ish sounds good to me. Who knows how I'll feel then? My ideal is to let him wean when he's ready.

Jo

I wanted to feed Jack for at least 2 years (seeing as this is the WHO recommendation and also what many of my ABA friends had done/were doing), but unfortunately he self-weaned at 14 months (I was about 3 1/2 months pg at the time and I think that had a lot to do with it). I loved bf and was really sad when he stopped. I still am a bit, I feel like I didn't achieve my goal, but at least I feel some relief that he did it his way and I didn't force it on him (except maybe by falling pg!). I also feel some guilt that lo#2 might get to feed for longer as I don't intend to fall pg again. But hopefully I will get over that. I do feel proud that I fed through 3 - 4 weeks of attachment problems, 2 bouts of mastitis, lots of bouts of sore/cracked nipples and my return to work (managed to keep him exclusively on bb and EBM). So that's the positive!

Melanie

well my 'goal' with my first was 12 months, and i b'fed her until 13 months?? I wish i had been better informed then as i would have fed for longer. i read all the books that told you basically to stop at 1 year:( by then she was only having a feed at bedtime..she was fed on demand, but not totally iykwim- if i thought she didn't need it i never offered....so i was really encouraging weaning....
so i think maybe if i hadn't had the 'goal' i may have researched more and kept going??
Bree is 18months and still bf like a trooper....totally on demand. i am hoping she feed until 2, but its up to her;):D

We are at 7 months and still going strong. My aim is for at least 2 years and would love the opportunity to tandem feed :)