Breastfeeding & Weaning

Is anyone else still breastfeeding and finds little one prefers boob to food? My little one usually ate well, but he’s been poorly with colds on and off, flu & HFM since November. He’s definitely lost his appetite throughout. He’s seemed to get better this past week however does not want to eat. Today he’s ate a banana for breakfast (was given eggs on toast with banana & raspberries). Half a cheese wrap for lunch (was given a cheese wrap, raspberries and soft carrot sticks). Half a cucumber stick for dinner (was given homemade pizza and cucumber). He’s slept most of the day so I haven’t done any snacks in between meals and he’s drinking plenty. He’s having plenty of wet nappies but 2 poos which have been fairly runny, exactly like when he was solely breastfed as a baby. My boobs are like taps at the moment which again hasn’t happened since the baby days. I’m not sure what I should do as the health visitors just tell me to stop offering my boob. But I don’t exactly want to do that.

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Do you want to stop breastfeeding? If not, then I would just carry on. Your little boy has obviously been through a really tough time recently with being ill and is still looking for comfort from feeding. Depending on volumes, they can still get a decent amount of nutrition from breastmilk even at this age (I will try and find the data for you). If you are looking to wean then I can't help as I am still feeding my lg morning and night, and more if she is poorly. 😀

@Zoe thank you for this!! I definitely don’t want to stop, I plan to keep going as long as he does. I haven’t had the best time with the HV. I didn’t start weaning at 6 months, started around 9 months and at this point I only fed him fruit, veg and eggs. I told them this at the 1 year check, he had dropped in growth slightly from last being weighed at 6 weeks old, but his weight was perfectly in line with his height they told me. From that point they were concerned I was not feeding him, literally their words. They said my milk was useless after 6 months, I need to stop co sleeping because he does a feed in the night and restrict him from feeding. They scheduled regular appointments for weighings but he followed his growth chart perfectly. I eventually stopped turning up to their appointments to which a different HV turned up at my door, weighed him and stopped the appointments. We had a chat about weaning, but now I’m worried if I have done everything wrong.

If it makes you feel any better my little one took to solids really well but has been ill most of December so has been breastfeeding loads and not eating like she usually does. I'm actually glad she's been breastfeeding as I know she is getting nutrients and vitamins in. I'm sorry to hear you've had a negative experience with the HV, it's complete rubbish that breastmilk loses it's nutritional value after 6 months!

We’re in a similar situation and I was literally just wondering this morning if maybe I am giving him too much milk. Reading your post made me feel a little better. He’s also been ill on and off all of December and I’ve noticed that since then he’s been asking for milk way more and eating way less solids. He’s got another cold now and after having two bites of breakfast he was insisting that he’s all done and wanted to get out of his chair immediately. Then two minutes later was signing for milk 😅 I’m telling myself it’s just a phase and he just needs more comfort while he’s poorly and will hopefully be back to eating more in no time. It’s so hard not to second guess yourself in these situations. I try to be relaxed about food and just let him decide how much he wants to eat and try not to stress but once in a while I panic thinking that surely he’s not eating enough and needs more nutrients and what if I’m hindering his development etc. It’s so difficulticult to know what’s best

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