This past couple of weeks I feel like I have been questioning myself a lot, about whether to return to work and when should I stop breastfeeding
I had decided that once I returned to work, breastfeeding would gradually stop. I know legally work would have had to let me have time to express milk if I wanted but in care work, especially when I’m in the community on a one to one basis it isn’t practical and I wasn’t going to make a fuss about it. I thought I would see how we went with morning and night feeds and take it from there. Now I’m not returning to that job we can continue feeding but this past couple of weeks I have been thinking it may be time to stop.
Breastfeeding was hard to begin with but I have loved it and feel very lucky that we have managed it for so long, being 13 months now I think we have done pretty well.
The last week or two though, where Lucas used to have a feed then fall asleep during the night, he has started holding on. I’ve been struggling to unlatch myself and as soon as I do he wakes crying and won’t be passified with a dummy. He also plays more during the day, he will feed but then scrape or latch on hard without feeding which isn’t pleasant now he has 4 teeth grinding into me. I feel myself wincing and trying to hold him away instead of cuddling him into me.
So the options I have come up with are
- Stop being soft and get on with it
- Stop breastfeeding and express milk for him
- Stop breastfeeding during the day except for the one before his nap and still feed at night, my worry with this is that he will wake more during the night knowing it’s the only time he gets booby
- Stop breastfeeding during the night and give him a bottle of milk or water instead, my worry with this one is I know he won’t accept it straight away and we then start having night battles
- Stop breastfeeding completely, he’s old enough to have cows milk when he wants milk. He has food and water the rest of the time. Comfort him but persevere through the battles until he forgets all about the booby
I don’t know what to do for the best and will most probably still be debating this with myself for the next few weeks x