For those who have weaned before.

@vl32 It was a rough 2 weeks but things have been sooo much better. When my son turned 12 months I went down to feeding him only before bed and in the morning. Maybe once overnight and for the next 5 months it was soo bad. My skin was insane, my moods were terrible and I felt like I was getting sick very frequently. I’m about 6 weeks out and I feel pretty good.
 
@vl32 I’m sure it doesn’t happen for everyone and I really hope it doesn’t happen to you but WOWWWW this hit me so hard and I was not at all prepared for it 😭

I had trouble maintaining my supply after going back to work at 4 months. At 7 months, we started supplementing with formula. At 10 months, I was probably only pumping enough for 2 out of 5-6 bottles a day. At 11 months I stopped pumping and nursed her at bedtime and first thing in the morning. I thought since my production was gradually decreasing the whole time that I wouldn’t get hit with the crazy hormonal fluctuations but boy was I wrong.

As soon as I stopped pumping it hit me like a ton of bricks. For about a week and a half I was crying all the time, super irritable and I felt like I was actually crazy (I was getting incredibly upset over things I knew were not a big deal at all). For several months after that I felt more depressed than I had since becoming pregnant. I do have a history of anxiety & depression and was so worried about the postpartum period but somehow managed to avoid PPD…until I stopped pumping…when they stopped screening at Dr. appointments…when no one was checking in anymore….it was so hard. My daughter is 15 months now and I feel better but still not 100%, though I have a lot going on with my family so I’m not sure if it’s carryover from weaning or just that.

I hope this doesn’t happen for you. And I don’t want to discourage or scare you but god do I wish someone told me that this happened to them so I could have been more prepared for it. Good luck on your weaning journey! ❤️
 
@vl32 25 month old only gets boob at her one nap and it’s been about three days of no boob for bedtime and it’s a hit saddening that we no longer bond like that during bedtime and it sucks even more so because she’s also been leaning to fall asleep without it and will cry out for me a couple time and each one gets sadder and sadder until she falls asleep. But I’m also currently pregnant and nursing hurts a lot right now so I’m having to cut her off for my wellbeing and mental health. But I’m also emotional from being pregnant and no boob at night and her crying breaks my heart.
 
@vl32 I never felt any depression that correlated with weaning. My daughter weaned naturally and dropped down very slowly, I think it could have been harder on me if it had happened all at once.
 
@vl32 I weaned while pregnant so a little funky here. 21 months when weaned.

I got weepy, sweaty, and my morning sickness kicked into HIGH GEAR after weaning for about 2 weeks. Then everything just kind of balanced back out.

I had a friend who got headaches and cold sweats for a few weeks. Godspeed!
 
@vl32 I went from 4-5 nursing sessions a day to 1 in the last 5 weeks. I don’t have any mood changes yet. Maybe when I drop the 1 it’ll hit but feeling pretty confident in how this is going.
 
@vl32 I felt a little sad that she didn’t need me anymore (in that sense specifically, of course). But that was super short lived because having my body back was amazing. She had no preference to boob or bottle so that made it emotionally much easier on me.
 
@vl32 It did happen to me but it blew over just as suddenly as it happened. Did lots of cuddle time to help and was very gentle with myself during it.
 
@vl32 I went through maybe a 2 week period of feeling pretty down. I didn’t make the connection at the time but it was definitely weaning related even though we did it very slowly, but I wouldn’t say full blown depression.

Once I got past those first few weeks I felt great! That’s when I realized I had been living with PPA for the past year. I thought being a mom just meant being anxious all the time or on guard, but once my body adjusted to weaning I felt so so much more relaxed!
 
@vl32 No. I mean, I missed it some but I was ready for my child to wean. Then six months later or so (I’m guessing when I was pretty much done actively producing/lactating) I actually felt like a fog had lifted. Like I was me again.
 
@vl32 I weaned at 2 years… I think the weaning happened slowly enough that I was OK. I just had trouble dealing with him asking to nurse and saying no, so had to lean on my husband to distract. But ok other than that
 
@vl32 I recently weaned, and yes, I did feel like I was depressed for a short period of time. But the worst feeling was that I was tired all the damn time. And I had 0 appetite or mood to cook anything for myself.

It wasn't the smoothest ride, but I'm mostly ok npw (roughly a month later). I'm still tired all the time, though.
 
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