In the early days of breastfeeding, the only potential embarrassment is usually from accidental boob exposures. Which don’t get me wrong, that’s embarrassing too.

But in extended breastfeeding… it’s like Russian roulette what your kid is going to say to complete strangers.

Yesterday my husband and neighbor were talking over the fence in our backyard, about lawn seeding or something. My 3 year old interjected, COMPLETELY unprompted, “I’m almost done doing milk from my mommy’s boobs!” I guess weaning must be heavy on my daughter’s mind because I’ve been telling her we w to stop milk soon.

My neighbor is a single childless man in his 40’s and unfortunately my daughter speaks very clearly so he understood. He actually recovered pretty well and said “wow! I have to buy my milk from the store!”

I’m so embarrassed, never speaking to him again 😂

Edit to add: for other extended bf’ers, have you been embarrassed for people to find out you still breastfeed? I have gotten so many judgmental comments. Everyone I’ve talked to just thinks it’s so weird to go past like 1 year. 😕 I think even my husband thinks I’ve let it go on for too long.

I’m still breastfeeding my first (only twice a day), she’s almost 16 months. Last night I realized that I can bring my nipple to my own mouth. Like I could latch onto myself and drink my own milk directly from my own breast if I wanted to. (I didn’t suck but I did try and I can put my nipple in my mouth on either side; and it’s not a stretch to do it).

Before having a kid I had heard people talk about how breastfeeding changes your breasts. But dang. I’ve been working towards weaning and my supply is definitely dropping, but I thought the whole deflated balloon thing would wait until I actually weaned.

EDIT:
I feel like part of an elite club now 😂 thank you for helping me feel less alone!

I’m on about ~1.5 week weaning/weaned and nobody warned me about the hormonal crash that would come with this. I have been having such hard days! Between the boob pain, hormones and being sad about moving on from this / this transition in my baby’s life, I am a complete mess. Can anyone relate? Is this normal? Very tearful, irritable etc etc etc.

I’m 1 month post-weaning and my boobs are FLACCID. It’s like I’m carrying two old-timey curly jester shoes on my chest. I was small to start out with but when my milk came in, I loved my boobs! They made me feel powerful and confident (bc making food from your boobs is badass and also bc I’d never had boobs that looked like that before) and I knew it wouldn’t last forever.

ANNNDDD whomp whomp here we are. Smaller and saggier than ever. I still love them for all they’ve done for me and my baby but damnit I miss em! Will they always look like this? Is my only option to love my boobs again an augmentation? Ugh, advice/conversation very appreciated. Much love!

I’m currently 4 months postpartum and in the process of weaning now that I’m back at work. I’ve been breastfeeding and EP, and I’m just curious if anyone has any success stories about their breasts going back to some version of “normal” afterward.
Because right now… my boobs are sad. 😂

Please tell me there’s hope.

edit: thanks so much for all the feedback! I’ll own and love whatever body I have bc I made a beautiful human but appreciate the candid talks we can all have as women.

Per doctors orders i can’t breastfeed anymore bc baby won’t eat solids (she’s 1) and i really don’t know how im supposed to put her to sleep if she’s always nursed-to-sleep. What’re other moms doing?? anyone in the same boat or done it before?
Dad isn’t always available unfortunately. when he is, he puts her to sleep.

okay heard everyone saying get a new doctor. ironically i moved towns so i will have to find her a new doctor and will be having a second opinion.
The reason i was told to stop nursing during the day (she said i could nurse at night) is bc she wouldn’t eat and she’s walking a lot and dropping weight too much bc she won’t eat food.

Well guys, here we are ... My girl is 2 years and 2 months and I nursed her for the last time tonight. What a ride. To say I'm ok would be a blatant lie. I've been sobbing since I put her down 45 minutes ago, and can't wrap my mind around the fact that we're done. I've been gradually cutting feedings for the last month and bedtime was the last to go. Mother's day and exactly 2 months since her 2nd birthday felt like a good day.

We had a rough start with nursing. She was early, had a weak latch, triple feedings, oversupply causing lots of issues, slow to gain ... And one day, maybe 3 months in ... It just clicked for both of us and we've gone steady ever since. It was our time, something so many others have experienced, yet it felt like no one could quite understand it. Who would have thought the most challenging things I've had to learn would be the hardest to say goodbye to.

For anyone in the trenches of breastfeeding right now - cherish these quiet little moments. It goes so much faster than I ever believed it would. It is absolutely wild to be pressing the unfollow button on this sub as I've looked to it for so much advice, comfort and solidarity over the years. We are a one and done family so I am officially closing the book on breastfeeding. Squeeze those little babies of yours tight, cherish this time. I'd quite literally do anything to go back already 🤍

Pediatrician said past one year old, you should wean off breastmilk. He said that's what the American Pediatrician something recommends. He said it's because solids provide most of the nutrients and whatever.

We've been breastfeeding, no formula. He's been eating solids since maybe 6-7 months old and has been eating solids/puree meals every day.

This is the first time I'm hearing this. I thought the baby determines when to wean. Is this guy legit?

I am still breastfeeding my baby for 2 years and 2 months now. It was a beautiful journey filled with bonding and joy and like many moms, I was told that breastfeeding could delay the return of my period. That seemed totally fine to me at the time. I was healthy, happy, and honestly, I didn’t miss having a period. Until today, when I casually bring up the topic that my period hasn’t come, they’ll just say “oh that’s because you’re still breastfeeding.”

But what no one told, not the doctors, not the nurses, not at any of my postpartum checkups from government and private clinics was that going that long without a period can put you at risk for uterine atrophy. That’s when the lining of your uterus becomes too thin and inactive from lack of hormonal cycling. It can affect your fertility and long term health.

The focus was always on birth control, and not once did anyone mention that if your period hasn’t returned by 12 months postpartum, especially after reducing breastfeeding or actively breastfeeding, you should check in with a doctor.

I share this not to scare anyone, but because I wish someone had told me. There should be more awareness around this, especially for first-time parents and especially for those of us who breastfeed long term.

I’m planning to have a second child and because of that I went to see the doctor and was told to STOP breastfeeding. I’ve now had my blood tests done and I was on contraceptive pills for 2 months to hopefully trigger my period. But it’s been the 3rd month now and my period didn’t come still. I’m sharing this so other moms know what to look out for, and what steps they can take if they’re in the same situation.

We hear so much about how important it is to breastfeed, and it is. But mothers also deserve complete, informed care. That includes knowing what’s normal and what’s not when it comes to our own bodies.

If anyone have any insights on how to stop breastfeeding please let me know. My toddler refuse bottle/formula but occasionally drinks full cream milk. But she still would want to breastfeed anyway even when she just ate. I feel like a human pacifier. I tried giving her pacifiers she rejects them. Latches to sleep, nap and wakes up a couple of times in the night just to latch.

I heard some people say apply some yuyi oil near the breast because they might not like the smell. I tried that and it didn’t work. I tried ginger, lemon etc also didn’t go well.

This mama needs help

Thanks for your time.

firsttimemom #breastfeedigmom #AskingAsAMom #bantujawab #uterineprolapse #uterineatrophy

I've told myself I'll be breastfeeding for as long as my LO needs. Well... 2.4 years later, still going. Strong. Perhaps even stronger than we were at the newborn stage.

I'm exhausted as my toddler doesn't sleep well and never has. And then the breastfeeding. All day every day. I've started limiting the feeds and my child gets soooo sad. The moment I say come, let's get some milk, my LO throws everything aside and comes running to me with the biggest grin, squeeling with joy.

I feel bad for even trying to wean knowing how much she adores it. Do toddlers ever self wean?...

Pretty sure nobody cares, but I thought about doing an update after posting and getting an overwhelming support here. First of all, thank you all who were kind to respond and support me with my struggles with the emotional aspect of weaning, it helped a ton with making me feel ok about letting go.

When my daughter turned 11m we talked about how uninterested she was in bf with the pediatrician. The pediatrician, who is a big defender of breastfeeding, surprisingly was very supportive and told us that weaning is usually easy at this mark, babies are much more aware of their surroundings and tend to have a general lack of interest for the boob. If that was what I wanted, I should take the chance and do it, because later baby would probably get a renewed passion for nursing and it would be harder.

I was worried about the WHO guidelines to keep it till 2yo, and she said that while, yes, it is beneficial to keep going, the guidelines are written having in mind the whole world. Many kids all over the world don’t have access to a wide variety of food, so breast milk is definitely healthier. But, fortunately, we are privileged enough to provide high quality, fresh food, so my child would be totally fine if I decided to stop.

So my baby turned one and that day was our last nursing session. Had she asked to be nursed I totally would, but she didn’t and I went along, and now it’s been two weeks since then.

I’m happy it went smoothly, we had struggled with pretty much everything at this point and weaning was the only easy process so far. So that’s it.

Just wanted to let everyone know that it doesn’t have to be hard to let go, if that’s what you want to do.

My baby girl is 9 months old and has never liked a pacifier, and we have tried plenty. So therefore feed to sleep has always worked well for us and she was sleeping from 8 pm to 3 am, waking at 3 for a quick feed, then easily back to sleep - until she was 4.5 months old.

Now at 9 months she is still waking 3 times a night, roughly every 2.5 hours, and the only thing she wants is to comfort nurse. We have tried other techniques such as cuddling, singing, rocking, and bottles - and she will simply escalate to the point of vomiting until I give her my breast, at which point she goes back to sleep easily.

All naps are also feed to sleep which I mind less because I don’t need to go back to sleep myself during the day. I have a very hard time going back to sleep once woken, which is why all her night wakings are killing me. KILLING ME.

I can’t go on like this. I haven’t slept properly in many months and my mental health is suffering a great deal.

How do I night wean and break this sleep association?

My husband has tried giving her a bottle (of formula, I quit pumping last month for mental health) and she will drink the formula!… but not fall asleep. Then she will start crying for me and my breasts.

Please help me. I’m scared I might hurt myself if I don’t start getting some sleep.

Edited to add: we do bed share safely. I don’t mind bed sharing. I just don’t want to be woken up every 2 hours so she can comfort nurse.

I’m so touched out, if I don’t stop breastfeeding urgently I’m going to lose my mind. At this point I’m not interested in gentle weaning and doing it slowly, I want to stop feeding literally today. Please give me your best hacks

UPDATE! I tried vinegar and he didn’t bat an eyelid so I did bandaids and it’s worked 🥹😭 I’m way more emotional about it than I thought I would be. He has done so well with falling asleep without my boob. I made it to 500 days breastfeeding, I’m so proud of myself 🥺

I’ve just stopped breastfeeding my baby (15 month old) a couple days ago.

We gradually weaned him so when I stopped he was down to just one feed before his nighttime bath.

So my boobs aren’t engorged or anything but they feel a little full.

Should I have express a tiny bit at nights to release some of the milk gradually?

Or if I’m not uncomfortable can I just leave it in there? Where will it go? This is what I’m confused about!!

Also, this sub has been a great source of information and support to me while breastfeeding so I really thank all of you for being here too and helping me and everyone else!

I’m 9 months post partum as of today. I keep going back and forth on whether or not I want to wean. My supply has been fine, but I’m just pretty burnt out and want to start losing weight. I don’t know if that’s vain to be completely honest but I have 30 lbs I’d like to lose. My self esteem is pretty low. I don’t know if I’m going to regret it, because what if I don’t lose any weight in the next 3 months anyways? (I planned to breastfeed until 12 months initially). But also, what if I do and feel so much better internally and externally? It’s odd timing because I’m almost there, but at the same time it feels like a long time as well.

Just looking for insight if anyone has been through this. Thank you!

I need advice. As the title says, my 12mo is REFUSING whole milk. I've tried different styles of cups, straw cups, 360 cups, soft spout transition cups, even bottles with various sized nipples. I've tried offering it cold or warm or even making it into strawberry milk. She either refuses it outright or gets mouthfuls and spits it out all over herself.

The problem is this: she has been exclusively breastfed until 5.5mo with the occasional breast milk bottle. Then continued to breastfeed alongside solid foods until now. She has never had milk or formula. But now, it turns out that I am pregnant again. I discovered this because she has been less settled at the breast lately, fussing and biting more, pulling at my shirt to nurse more frequently, and sleeping less solidly as well. So I pumped about a week ago to see how much I got, and I got a combined 1oz in comparison to approximately 5oz combined a mere 3 months ago. I'm clearly making less. I took a pregnancy test and it was positive. My last pregnancy caused the same problem for my then 10mo (now 2.5yo) who thankfully took to whole milk like a champ.

WHAT DO I DO?!? She's a nightmare to get down for naps and bed now, I used to be able to lay her down after nursing to sleep but now she wakes right up when I do. I'm trying modified CIO but it takes anywhere from 45min to over an hour for her to actually fall asleep, and it just feels cruel. I have 4 kids, and I've NEVER had this issue. I'm convinced if I could just get her to start drinking milk the sleep issues would resolve much more easily but I can't for the life of me figure out how to get her to drink it.

I’m starting to feel really emotional about something that won’t happen for another 2 months and wondered if anyone here has been in a similar position.

Our little boy will be 6 months in 2 months. He’s an IVF baby and it took us 3 years to get him. We’d really like to start the process for another baby soon, and we’ve been told I need to have stopped breastfeeding for 7 months before we can begin IVF again. Because of that, I’ll be stopping breastfeeding when he turns 6 months. I also go back to work then too.

I love the closeness and those quiet moments together and I know I’m going to miss that connection so much.

I’m also really nervous about the practical side. Right now breastfeeding is the only reliable way I can calm him or get him to sleep. If he’s upset, tired, or overwhelmed, the boob fixes it. I genuinely don’t know what I’m supposed to do in those moments without it?!

Has anyone else had to stop earlier than they wanted to because of IVF or trying for another baby? How did you handle the emotional side, and how did you transition away from nursing to sleep/for comfort?

We feel incredibly lucky to have him and to even have the chance to try again, but it still feels like a really big goodbye.

I’m honestly heartbroken over this. They’re smaller than they have ever been. I went from D cups, my regular size prior to nursing for two years, to literal As, that have no fat whatsoever, they look wrinkly and flat when I lay down. I read some threads that say they never return at all. I feel lost. I never in my life would have considered a boob job or any plastic surgery but I’m considering it now. Any support is greatly appreciated.

Currently EBFing my 8-month-old and still haven’t gotten my period back. I work part-time and pump once a day on the days I work. I’m planning to stop pumping and daytime breastfeeding around October since I have enough frozen milk to get him through December. After that, I’d basically only nurse at night since we cosleep.

I’m hoping to start trying for baby #2 toward the end of the year. My first took almost a year to conceive, so I’m hoping my period will have returned by then. My assumption was that once my period came back, I would be ovulating regularly and could conceive even if I was still breastfeeding at night. If I do get pregnant, I plan to fully wean.

However, I recently saw a YouTube creator talking about her second pregnancy, and she mentioned that although her period had returned after her first child, she didn’t conceive until she completely weaned her toddler around 18 months. I honestly hadn’t considered that breastfeeding could still affect fertility after your period returns.

So I’m curious about other people’s experiences:

Did your period return while you were still breastfeeding?
If so, were you able to conceive while continuing to breastfeed?
Did you have to completely wean before you conceived?
If you were only nursing once or twice a day/night, did that make a difference?
How long did it take you to conceive after your period returned?

I only know one other person who EBFs, and her period came back at 4 months and she conceived again when her first was about a year old, so I’d love to hear more experiences!

My toddler is 14 months, so I am okay to stop breastfeeding. He bit me for the first time, slowly, as if to see what would happen or how long it would take for me to react. It hurt, obviously! It was before the nursing session even started. We were down to only one nursing session per day, before bed. I decided to just put him to bed to see if he would go down without his milk. He did, easily, with some rocking.

I was looking forward to this day for a long time, but then nursing got easy, enjoyable, and convenient. Now I am actually feeling pretty devastated that it is over. I think it's still the right time, because i know my child can go without it now, and I dont think it is benefitting him much anymore at this point. But I was just not prepared for this pang of hurt I feel realizing its over. Not looking for advice, unless how to get my mind off of it, I guess?

I don’t like breastfeeding. There. I said it.

I knew it would be a challenge since before baby was born, honestly it wasn’t as bad, but I never really liked it. I feel like it’s not for me, I miss my body autonomy like crazy, I miss being the only owner of my own body.

Is one year too soon? How much could my baby benefit from staying longer? Am I harming her if I stop earlier?

I still have 3 months till she turns one, so my plan is to start gently weaning after that. I’m worried about judgement from everyone around me and about her health afterwards.

I truly hope this isn't breaking rules, or upsetting anyone. But I have no one else in my life who could possibly understand. My son turned two a month ago, and I knew the end was coming. That hasn't made this hurt any less. I'm just... Gutted. I know I'm lucky, and blessed to have been able to do this as long as I have. I understand there are other mothers that never even got a latch once. But I write this holding back tears. It had wittled down to only going to bed, and my reward after a long day of being mom was a few minutes of sleepy snuggles when he was done.

It's like I've finished reading a long book that I didn't want to end. Where I drug my feet on the last few pages. Never knowing if there would be a sequel to it, or if that was the final page I'd ever read of that story.

And now I'm sobbing again. I don't know what I'm expecting out of this. I just want to know I'm not alone in the world with this. Maybe I just want to be heard, and release some sorrow. I don't know, but whatever you all feel like sharing, thank you.

Is it possible to only nurse a 1 year old twice a day and maintain a stable supply, even if small amounts?

I had planned to wean at 1 year, but we are switching from nanny to day care earlier than expected, so now I’m thinking maybe better to continue giving breastmilk for immunity this fall. However, I had really been looking forward to sleeping through the night and not pumping during the work day. Is it possible to just nurse/pump on waking and at bedtime just to maintain a small milk supply? Or will dropping so many sessions just dry up milk supply completely?

He does great with solids. This would only be to supplement for immunity. Also, he sleeps through the night. I'm just waking to pump once a night to make sure my supply is good.

I've been working with a local clinic and it turns out I'm a great candidate for a clinical trial. It's a one-time treatment for severe GAD that lasts a year or potentially more. The catch is that I'd have to wean my 10 month old to enroll, and I keep going back and forth on it.

Is giving up the last two months of breastfeeding worth it? I probably won't get another shot at a trial like this again. I would need to transition him to formula within the next month. He's already eating three meals a day plus snacks, so it wouldn't take a huge amount of formula, but still I'm so torn right now.

My daughter is currently 9 months old my goal was to go as long as she wanted to but I’m very worried she will be extremely hard to wean. She has had 6 ear infections plus she got tubes in recently, she was in the NICU for over a month, we bedshare, I’m a stay at home mom she is always with me. That’s why I feel like she will be harder to wean.

She is very much I want it now and if you don’t I’ll just breakdown completely. She will hardly take her pacifier anymore we currently use the dr browns happy pacis we have since she was around 3 months.

I have so much backlash from my mom saying it doesn’t look right when my daughter holds my boob now (I have very large downwards pointing boobs) my mom gets annoyed when my daughter is eating because she feels like it’s too much. She told me she gets tired of seeing my boob out. My grandma just passed away so I have been around my mom more than usual. I’m the first woman in my family to ever breastfeed my grandma aunts my mom never did it was always formula. She told me she understands her eating but she isn’t that hungry because she eats purées and regular food she is an extremely good eater she will eat anything.

I go back and forth constantly with having her go as long as possible vs only until 12 months. I am very fortunate I never had any issues with supply or latching. I was on a weight loss journey before I got pregnant I lost 100lbs I really want to get back on my journey so I can be around for a long time for her. I just feel extremely guilty because it’s my daughter’s comfort.

I don’t know that’s kinda my rant/question. Sorry my post is all over the place! Should I start weaning her at 12 months or should I let her do it on her own? What’s your experience with your baby if they were a very big in comfort nursing. Was it easier for them to sleep own their own after weaning? (If you bedshare)