I'm sorry if this is a weird topic for some but I don't know anyone I could ask about it. When is a good time to start weaning a baby from breastfeeding. I want to slowly stop now that our son has 2 teeth on bottom & is getting his ones on top and is now eating more solid foods. Butttttt.. I feel SO GUILTY! With our daughter I only breastfed her for a month b/c a "doctor" at the base clinic told me I couldn't feed her when the 2 of us got thrush. That may be why I feel guilty but idk. I don't want my son to feel abandonded. He's almost 8 months old now. Any POSITIVE advice would be greatly appreciated! =) 

Also, I'm still considering going for a full year. I am just curious as to when others stopped and how they weaned their babies! Thanks!! =) 

I breastfed my son until he was 12 1/2 months. By the time he was 1 year old, he could drink using a straw so I started giving him whole milk during the day instead of breastfeeding and continued to nurse when he first wake up and before bed. After about a week, I dropped the morning session and then one night, he went to bed without nursing and that was the end.

I nursed my daughter for 11 months but I had to stop because she was a horrible biter. Every few days I replaced one session with toddler formula until she was weaned.

I think feeling guilty is perfectly normal. I still feel guilty 7 months later because I really wanted to nurse my daughter for as long as possible--at least longer than with my son but I just couldn't get her to stop biting. It was so bad, I would end up using lanolin for a few days every few months because of the soreness from the biting. If you are not happy then you are not going to be able to relax and provide milk effectively and that is just going to lead to a frustrated baby. As for him feeling abandoned, you can still take that time that you would have been nursing and still hold him, spend time with him, read to him, talk, etc--that is the most important part of nursing in my opinion.

Good luck. 

I want to breastfeed my daughter until she turns 2 (she's 6 1/2 months now). :) 

I have brestfeed all 4 of my kids. They will let you know when they are ready. I breastfeed my sons til about 9 months, my one daughter I only breastfeed for 4 months and when I went on birth control my milk dried up. That was hard for me. My last daughter was a little over a year. I tried to stop once and she was not happy. It just depends on them. If your milk is filling, etc. Don't feel guilty. I always encourage people to try to breastfeed up to 9 months. 

Yeah.. I'm going to try & do feedings in the morning & before bed and Enfamil during the day. I tried him on formula today and he loved it! There are ALOT of other reasons why slowly weaning would be good. Plus, he seems to only want to breastfeed at bedtime & when he wakes up so it works out good for me. =) I'm feeling a little bit better today about it. 

I breast feeed all three of my children. With the first, it was one year. Second only 7 months and the third is going on 2 years and four months. So my advice is to allow your child to make the decision as when they are ready to be weaned. Breast milk is not only good for the Immune system, it also (according to studies) shows higher iq's in children. The US recommends 1 year, but Europe recommends 2 years. The most important thing to do it to provide as much of the breast milk as possible for a good start in life. It also helps allergies and prevents diabetes/overweight children. So as I said before allow the baby to say when its time. I am currently been trying to wean my two year old, now I only feed her at night and on the weekends. She is smart as heck and amazes me everyday. 

Oh and I forgot to mention, I too had a little bit of thrush on my breast but continued to breast feed and it was never recommended to stop. 

Yeah, I got it again with our 2nd one and Brock told me to continue feeding. I was so upset when I was pretty much made to stop with our daughter. She's still a little smartie pants though! =) I'm listening to my body and to our son for now. I definitely won't do it until he's 2 but for now, we're good! =) 

I think your child will let you know when they need to wean. I actually nursed my little boy until he was 15 months. By then he was eating regular type foods like veggies and such. Also, I introduced a sippy cup with a nipple shape silicone top at 9 months. That helped with weaning. 

Yeah. I'm going to watch what he does and go from there. Like I said before, he's moreso wanting to nurse when he wakes up, at nap time, & at bedtime. I really do love nursing him so whatever he wants, I will do! =)