Breastfeeding. We’ve had a good go, but after 10 months, I think it’s safe to say Inès and I are both starting to lose interest. She has become utterly bored with nursing and prefers the speed and ease of drinking from a bottle, not to mention being able to look at all of the exciting things happening around her! When she does nurse, Inès is either clawing my chest with her razor sharp nails, bopping me in the face with her free arm, or biting my boob and then SMILING at me as I try to keep from screaming. Sure there are still plenty of sweet moments, but every stage of breastfeeding has its challenges whether you’re 10 hours, 10 days or 10 months in.
So here we are, just two months away from my goal of nursing both my babies for an entire year. I’m fortunate to have been able to do that and proud of myself for sticking with it, but I must say, I’m pretty darn excited to get my boobs back! As sad as they may look after two babies, at least they will be my own again.
I know weaning happens naturally for many mamas, but I have two baby-free trips coming up this fall, the first one right around Inès’ first birthday. All you nursing mamas out there know how inconvenient it is to go anywhere without your baby, whether it’s to the office for the day or a weekend getaway, so I plan to start now and have Inès fully weaned by the time I travel solo this fall.
Throughout this journey, I’ve been blessed with an excellent supply and boobs that weirdly love the pump (I joke I would make a great dairy cow…) which has allowed me to stash away over 350 ounces of liquid gold in the freezer. My husband frequently complains that there’s no room for ice cream… I then offer to make him breastmilk ice cream and well, he stops complaining. The plan is to tap into that freezer stash when my supply drops below what Inès is drinking.
My goal for weaning is to make it gradual which is why I’m starting the process now. I figure 8 weeks will give both the babe and me plenty of time to adjust, emotionally and physically, without too much stress or discomfort. That being said, I hope to maintain as much of the supply that I currently have for at least the first half of that, which is why I plan to take it slow in the beginning and then drop feeds + pumps closer together during the last 4 weeks.
I took a similar approach when weaning Noah and can honestly say it was a relatively smooth transition for both parties. Sure there were some tears shed (mine, not his) and mild discomfort involved (again mine, not his), but overall, weaning Noah went pretty smoothly, and I’m optimistic it will go just as well this time around.
CURRENT FEED-PUMP SCHEDULE
To give you an idea of what we’re currently doing, here’s what a typical day looks like when Inès at her nanny share. At 10 months, she’s currently drinking 18-20 ounces a day and I’m producing right around that, some days a touch more, some a touch less. Also, we’re not super strict schedule people so the times below are all approximate.
Inès’ Feeding Schedule
- 3AM Breastfeed (BF)
- 6AM Morning BF + breakfast
- 10AM Mid-morning bottle (3-4 ounces) + snack if still hungry
- 12PM Lunch
- 3PM Mid-afternoon bottle (3-4 ounces) + snack if still hungry
- 5PM Dinner
- 7PM Bedtime bottle (4-5 ounces)
Since my supply is lower in the evening, I prefer to offer Inès a pumped bottle over breastfeeding at bedtime. This way I know she’s getting as much milk as she needs and going to bed with a full tummy. I then try not to nurse her until that 3AM feed, even if she wakes up.
My Nursing/Pumping Schedule
- 3AM Breastfeed (BF)
- 6AM Morning BF + pump what’s left (usually while I down a cup of coffee and feed the kids!)
- 11AM Mid-morning pump
- 3PM Mid-afternoon pump
- 9PM Evening Pump
My 8-Week Weaning Plan
I’ve broken my weaning plan down into 4 steps lasting roughly 8 weeks. Keep in mind, I’ll be dropping feeds and pumps, but Inès will continue to nurse or get pumped bottles 4-5 times a day for quite a while: early morning, morning, mid-morning, mid-afternoon and before bed.
Weeks 1-4
This week I’m consolidating the mid-morning and mid-afternoon pump sessions and will do the evening pump a tad earlier. I don’t think my supply will drop significantly with this change but again, with Inès eating well and self-regulating her own milk intake, I’m completely okay with whatever happens. Here’s what September breastfeeding + pumping will look like.
- 3AM BF
- 6AM BF + pump
- 1PM Midday pump
- 8PM Evening pump
Week 5
At the start of Week 5, I plan to eliminate the midday pump. Since I’m cutting out a pump that usually produces 4-5 ounces, I’m guessing I’ll begin to produce less than what Inès will be drinking at this point. If we haven’t had to already, we’ll start dipping into that freezer stash to supplement and/or cutting bottles of breastmilk with an ounce or two of organic formula here and there.
- 3AM BF
- 6AM BF + pump
- 8PM Evening pump
Week 6
Come Week 6, I will eliminate the 7AM BF + pump. Inès will get a morning bottle instead of the boob, which means she’ll only be nursing once a day at that early morning feed.
- 3AM BF
- 8PM Evening pump
Week 7
At the start of week 7, I will eliminate the 3AM breastfeed. I hear sometimes a baby will magically stop waking once you send Dad in with a bottle so if this happens, great! If not, she’ll have to settle for a pumped bottle. That leaves me with:
- 8PM Evening pump
Week 8
By Week 8, I could probably stop the evening pump cold turkey but, for optimal comfort, I’m planning to reduce the amount of time I pump by a few minutes each night. If all goes as planned my production will be all but a trickle by the end of the week!
Post-Weaning Plan
Inès will continue to get pumped milk from our freezer stash until it’s mostly gone, though I plan to keep some on hand should she need a boost of mama’s immunity once cold season rolls around. Once we’re getting low on breastmilk, the plan is to gradually transition Inès to whole milk. She shows no sign of dairy sensitivity so I’m optimistic it’ll be a smooth transition.
So there it is – my 8-week weaning plan after one year of breastfeeding! No two breastfeeding journeys are exactly alike, but if you’re nursing and pumping and wanting to wean, feel free to adapt it however you like. I hope it helps!