If you breastfed past a year

goodheartedmommy

not necessarily extended BFing (like going 3+ years, but to around 2 or so)...

At what point did you feel comfortable leaving DC without any pumped milk for an extended period of time (like 4-6 hours)? 

Zenya

For DS it was 18mos+ but that's b/c he didn't eat anything.  Sara already I could leave for 4 hours ish I think.

 

Mominator

DS is nearly 17mths and down to about 2-3 sessions a day. I feel more than comfortable leaving him for up to 6 hours at this point.

CleoKitty

12 months. At that point they were drinking cow's milk when I wasn't available to nurse.

AnnapolisLari

CleoKitty:

12 months. At that point they were drinking cow's milk when I wasn't available to nurse.

This.

goodheartedmommy

Bella has never liked cow's milk. Maybe Maile will.

true_norskie

goodheartedmommy:

Bella has never liked cow's milk. Maybe Maile will.

Oh, I hope she will, too!  DD1 was really good about the transition to whole milk and so far DD2 is about the same.  However, DD2 is much more attached to nursing so past a year I'm not sure what will happen. 

I didn't make it much past a year with DD1 (just about 14 mos) and weaning was super easy with her.  I don't anticipate the process being as smooth or as "early" with DD2.  She still wakes (usually just once) more nights than not and needs the comfort to get back to sleep.

I don't think our situations are the same because DD goes to daycare and has no choice but to be done with daytime bottles (and I'll wean daytime feedings at that point, too) just after she turns one because that's all the frozen milk I have left!  So she'll be partially weaned at a year--the nighttime sessions will definitely be the last to go.

Angela814

DD didn't have any pumped milk past 15-16 months.  If I wasn't around, she drank cow's milk.

mamarazzi

11 months-ish.  He'd do fine with solids or a sippy of milk/formula.  He wasn't real interested in BFing by that point anyway and self-weaned at 12.5 months.

JenniC1135

I started offering cow's milk at a year, and I had a good freezer supply at that point too, so several hours was never an issue really.  Now, at 17 months, he nurses at naptime, bedtime, and usually once in the middle of the night, but really only because it's there.  If DH or a sitter puts him down, he doesn't need milk, and I don't remember the last time I had to pump. Missing one of those feedings doesn't leave me engorged.  2 in a row would, but one is no big deal.

cokt

I did not feel comfortable leaving him overnight until he was fully weaned at 18 months. I could leave him for about 6 hours during the day at maybe 15 months.

tanzer13

I BFed DS until he was 20 months.  He self weaned at that point.  From about 17 months on or so he was down to just nursing in the morning and at night so leaving him during the day was not really an issue any more.  Not that I really did....

Air_Force_Wife

I think about 13 months I was more than comfortable because DD was drinking soy milk from a sippy cup.  So if I wasn't around she would happily drink that instead.  I wouldn't have been comfortable with overnight until she was fully weaned because there were rare nights she would wake up and all she wanted was a few minutes of comfort nursing. 

jen5-03

At 8.5mo DD started going to MDO for 5 hours at a time. She would not take a bottle. At all. For the first month I took BM or formula and they tried to give it to her (there was only 1 other baby in the room so plenty of time to try). No dice. She ate solids and she took a little water from a sippy and that was it. We nursed right before going to MDO and right after coming home and I stopped bothering with the bottle.

mauceddie

DD was only bfing every 4 hours by 6 or 8 months ish, so around then. Also, we introduced cows milk around 11 months so I didn't worry abotu it at all after that,