Ending breastfeeding

I’ve not experienced this yet but I know it’s very normal to experience strong emotions while stopping breastfeeding, so don’t feel like there’s something wrong with you

I exclusively pumped for 11 months and had enough to get her to 12 months on breast milk before switching to whole milk. Even though I reached my minimum goal and spent 6 months of my breastfeeding journey literally dreading pumping and counting down the days until I was done, I was still very emotional when I finished. We had a lot of issues from beginning to end and I had a LOT or nipple trauma (ended up seeing a breast specialist multiple times during and after the journey) It's so normal to be sad when you're done, even if you want to be done so badly...

If latching and getting enough nutrients is what is making you want to stop breastfeeding, I would recommend seeing a lactation consultant so they can help you feel comfortable. If this is the end of your breastfeeding journey for other reasons, that's valid too, and feeling like that, I think it's just part of the process.

Aww, I’m really sorry you’re feeling this way. My daughter is almost 2 weeks old and I’ve been using a manual pump and considered giving up so many times, and I feel the same way when I have that thought. It’s super normal to have these feelings, and even if you went exclusively to formula he will be fed. If it means less mental load on you, that alone is worth it. What he really needs most is a mama who feels her best.

I'm 8 months in and my little girl has been constantly bitting my left side which caused trauma and a lot of pain to my nipple so I had to let it rest for a couple of days (did express on this side) but now it's fully healed she's getting super fussy on that side and refusing to latch and when she finally does she's biting again will only feed from right. I've been feeling really overwhelmed with it my little boy gave up breastfeeding the night before his first birthday and I remember been an emotional wreck when he stopped even though looking back it was good as I was just returning to work so it worked out well timing. This time I've been on the fence the last few days if I should stop and move to formula or if I should exclusively pump or if I should just keep trying to get her to relatch in hopes she'll go back to been OK with it but it's taking a massive toll on my mental health but the idea of stopping like you said is also hard to settle on 🥲