[ruby51]

My DD is 4.5 mths old and I BF and supplement w/formula, but pumping has gotten pretty painful and I'm wondering when some of u have weaned ur babies off BF? If u haven't done so yet, when do u plan on doing it?

I pump b/c BFing directly is EXTREMELY excruciating for me since DD was born, and I figured that if pumping isn't as bad, at least she still gets the good stuff even if it's in a bottle My orig plan is to BF her till she's on solids (at 5 mths according to the doc) but I heard she can still have b-milk while on solids? So I guess that just leaves it up to me, huh?

You answered your own Q... yes indeed you can keep giving BM until whenever you wish to stop pumping! If you wanted to keep going, there is no reason why you shouldn't, you're only swapping BM for formula when you wean...

I weaned DD at 6.5 months but we were both ready to be done with BFing. I pumped very occaisionally but purley because she refused bottles until she weaned.

It's definitely up to you. They need either bm or formula until 1 year of age. Have you met with a lactation consultant to see if there's anything to help with the pain? I'm sorry you're experiencing that, kudos to you for making it this long!

[ambee]

I agree, it's totally a personal decision. As long as they receive either BM or formula until the age of one, it's really up to you. I'd always planned on BFing for a year, and am 3 weeks shy of that goal. We are currently in the process of weaning and have cut down to two nursings a day.

[Hailee&Nevansmommy]

We are in the middle of doing it now... I started giving Nevan 1-2 bottles of formula at 4.5 mo old, and gradually it increased, and now hes biting me , or not much supply is there anymore, so I think hes weaning, and hes 8 mo old.

How's things going? What stage are you at now?

[Spyctre]

I BF till 19 months with mine, but weaning was done on the 18th month. Last nursing session was the day before 19 months.

I think it was easier with me than how it would be with an infant. DD had already cut back to 2 feedings a day by that point. For the two weeks, I nursed only in the evening, cutting out "brunch." The third week I nursed every 36 hours, alternating morning and night. The rest of the month I nursed every other evening, and stopped nursing on her 19th month. It worked really well. I tried once to nurse her after weaning, and she didn't want to.

Are you able to nurse her regularly? I had a lot of problems when I tried to pump. It would hurt a lot, and it also cut back on my milk production. It took a lot of nursing sessions to build it back up.

[adias9684]

I weaned my son at 3 months, pumped for the following month, and had him on formula after that. I wanted to BF as long as I could, but my milk supply just wasn't coming in fast enough and my son was very underweight. The doctor said he wasn't getting enough milk and so I should switch to formula for his health. I'm 21 weeks pregnant, so wish me luck to be able to BF as long as possible!!! :-)