For those who have weaned before.

[theempress]

@vl32 I thought it had to do with weaning suddenly instead of gradually. Didn't it had something to do with a drastic change in hormones that makes you feel depressed?

I weaned my daughter over several months and didn't feel depressed afterwards.

 

[jjsbergy]

@vl32 I’ve only heard this for people who weaned quickly. I’m sure that produces a massive hormonal drop and throws you for a loop. If you do it gradually, I have not heard this be the case for most, anecdotally. It feels like the natural way to do it, so makes sense.

 

[fumo161]

@vl32 I nursed all my babies (3 of them) for what is considered an "extended" period (3-6 years). For all, weaning was a very gradual process, and I did not see dramatic changes, especially not right after we finished a long process. I kind of miss the closeness of nursing them, and was a little sad to lose the "magic bullet." Just try to take it slow and enjoy the times you have nursing. You will still love your child and enjoy closeness with them. It will just look a little different for both of you.

 

[neverforget]

@vl32 Weaning was heartbreaking and I regret forcing him to wean at 2.5 years instead of letting him self wean. I was starting to feel external pressure from family to wean. I still remember the moment when I told him no more titties (I was down to once or twice a day nursing him just to put him to sleep). He cried and I held him until he fell asleep. But he stopped asking after that and we moved on.

 

[kersh]

@vl32 Both times I had some depression similar to baby blues you experience immediately postpartum. Both times it started to get better after a few days, and I was back to normal by two weeks. Ultimately, I felt so much better and it was a huge relief to be done and have my body back to myself. I think knowing that it was just my hormones balancing out really helped me. Anytime I felt down I knew it wasn’t a real depression and would get better in a few days. So it honestly wasn’t too bad!

 

[anna95cro]

@vl32 Idk I went straight from pregnant to breastfeeding to pregnant to breastfeeding and I can’t WAIT to stop I didn’t feel depressed when I weaned but I was pregnant so idk

 

[whaaat]

@vl32 I started feeling like myself again once I weaned. I was also so scared of having a second round of postpartum emotions. I slowly weaned and so idk if that helped

 

[dlhyman]

@vl32 I have read….and not experienced because I’m still nursing my 22 month old…that a gradual decrease in nursing can help with hormonal shifts. Going cold turkey is a shock to the system. Is that right? Dunno. Sounds reasonable though.

 

[jordan11315]

@vl32 My baby is about to turn 6 mos and I'm dreading solids lol!

 

[kathleenmarie]

@vl32 I felt more depression during the weaning process but when I was actually done done I felt fine and even better afterwards.

 

[blackshire]

@vl32 I never felt better when I weaned. I was so happy not to have to nurse or pump. Fast forward to my 3rd kid who is 2 months old and back to nursing. The benefits are worth it but I also look forward to not ever having to do this again

 

[manueliza]

@vl32 I was pretty sad for like a month.

 

[rufus1963]

@vl32 We weaned at 20 months, took about 6-8 weeks to cut back and felt great!

 

[donburi]

@vl32 Mine weaned at 2.5yrs and I was SO READY. It was a lovely relief and celebration to be done! I went and got a chest tattoo.

 

[dasmaedchen2]

@vl32 I’m in the process of slowly weaning over the past ~2 months, and honestly, a little bit yeah. Disclaimer: I’m weaning my now 15 month old because I’m pregnant so my hormones are all over the place for multiple reasons. Probably more appropriate to call it sad or gloomy rather than truly depressed, but I’ve definitely had some real sad emotions for a few days each time we’ve dropped a feed. Hormones eventually level back out though. We’re down to just one feed at bedtime, and I have a suspicion she’s going to drop that one soon too. Pregnancy has really dried up my supply.

 

[bonbonmon]

@vl32 I don’t recall feeling depressed or down or even just a bit off when my oldest weaned. He was nearly three, though, and had been nursing less (similar frequency but for much shorter durations usually) for a little while, including being at preschool every Friday for a couple of months. He had stopped calming down and cuddling to nurse and was constantly unlatching to jump around instead of getting sleepy at nap/bedtime, so I told him he needed to pick boob or silliness and he picked silliness and…that was pretty much it. So it was abrupt but I was probably already producing less than I had before.

 

[christiancinemaproduction]

@vl32 I weaned two weeks ago when my son got the flu and refused to nurse anymore. I have some hot flashes and dizziness- this happened with my first, too, but other than that I feel amazing.

 

[adnahsheek]

@vl32 Yeah, but I have clinical depression and am on antidepressants for it so it's manageable. I'm starting to feel better now! I stopped on December 29th of last year

 

[jedidiah8196]

@vl32 I had post weaning depression and didn’t know it was a thing! I wish I weaned slowly but my son drank most of the night on demand till around 2 and less in the day. I dropped day feeds slowly but night feeds abruptly. I didn’t get diagnosed till he was closer to 3. For some breastfeeding delays symptoms of ppd sort of masks them cause hormones to some extent are a bit regulated during breastfeeding.

 

[stsdm]

@vl32 Not here. I hardly remember what changes I went through, but depression wasn't one of them. I think it helped that I finally started losing more weight once we weaned and I felt like I had more energy.