AF and weaning

[phebee]

So AF started again yesterday for the first time since DD 11mo was conceived... Or so I thought. Imagine my horror when at 12:30am DD cries for her usual middle of the night comfort feed, I start to feed her and... Nothing! She was dry sucking... What the? I checked Dr Google and apparently it's very common just before AF, then it comes back when AF starts. I thought AF started yesterday but TBH it was just a red tinge when I wiped. It hasn't flowed properly yet, so maybe it will "start" today or tomorrow. Either way I'm thinking maybe I can use this to wean, since she's going to have to be day-weaned anyway in the next few weeks. How would I go about it?

[Heaven]

She would have still been getting milk

If you want to wean though just do it slowly and drop one feed at a time. Start with the easiest first.

[AlligatorsMum]

I am in the process of weaning DS slowly (to get AF back in the hopEs of ttc)

He was sleeping through the night from early on so first I spaced his feeds to four hourly and then his afternoon nap feed was swapped with a bottle of milk. This went on for about two-three weeks. Then while we were away last week on holidays I changed his morning nap milk to a bottle of milk. So he now has a breaky BF and a nighttime bed BF and two bottles of milk during the day. Although he rarely drinks more than 100mls from the bottle but he eats plenty of diary foods and general food during the day so he just doesn't need it.

I recommend only doing one feed per week at least cuz my BBs took quite a while to settle back down with the drop in demand. And I know they also suggest not feeds following each other as it can cuz a lot of discomfort for u.

Good luck!

[phebee]

I'll probably do the same as you AlligatorsMum cause I start work in a couple of weeks (just 2 days though) and won't be there for the 2 daytime feeds, only first thing and bedtime. Will start this arvo

[Barb Glare]

You don’t need to introduce bottles though. If you wean onto a bottle then some-time soon you just need to repeat the whole process and wean them off a bottle. they can just have milk in a sippy cup (formula unnecessary) But, many mums completely manage Breastfeeding and working so if you want to keep breastfeeding there’s no reason not to and lots of advantages

[AlligatorsMum]

Yep - by bottle I mean a sippy cup but what ever u want to give it to them in.

I also have been expressing while bein at work since 6mnths and work four days a week. But I think I read somewhere that ur job isn't particularly practical for pumping. U def need a good setup to manage it I think. And hey if u keep breast feeding morning and night then she is still getting some BM so yay!

[phebee]

Yep, pumping is definitely not doable, but I don't mind. I've enjoyed BFing but I'm not fussed if it ends in the next 6 months. Even if she just ends up on a before-bed feed eventually, that's cool but yes, maybe I should get her onto a sippy cup for milk? She already has one for water though so I don't imagine weaning off bottles would be too difficult if I just used them?